We hear the phrase “safety culture” being tossed around in today’s management like it is some measurable object or goal. This, in its own right, shows the vast lack of understanding of what a safety culture is. My first boss, who I will always praise, was all about his employees. He wanted the very best for them when it came to safety and it did not end at the gate! He knew that if one of the employees was injured at home, they would suffer the consequences, as too would the business (in-direct cost of injuries). So Claude was always reminding me to work on getting the employees to want to work safely for their benefit – NOT for OSHA. This man hated OSHA and all it took was for me to mention “we can’t do X because it violates 1910.XXX”. This was the kindest and gentlest soul and man would he get a case of “red a_ _” towards me. He had one of the simplest ways to determine if we have a “safety culture” or just an “amazingly obedient workforce”.
