Most practicing safety professionals in the USA have seen The Wizard of Oz. This is an excellent movie, and it reminds me of our journey to achieve a safe workplace. First … the Ruby Red slippers – many managers today state that “safety is #1”, that “our people are our #1 asset”, or “we do not want to see anyone get hurt.” We should believe them – take them at their word. We fall short because most managers have no idea what it takes to achieve these lofty desires. I do not call these statements “goals,” but rather “desires” we can measure goals – desires not so much. Like Dorthy and her Ruby Red Slippers – click the heels three times, and Dorthy would be taken home to Kansas. But even for Dorthy, it was not that easy; even she had to take a journey to make it to her promised land.
Dorthy was lucky; she had a yellow brick road to follow.
