As you know, I always like to go back in time and pass on what I learned from my former bosses and mentors. This one is a classic and is usually in the Top 5 frustrations of non-safety management personnel:
The ever-changing safety programs and expectations every time we get a new safety leader
I hate to be the one to say it, but usually, I’m one of the few who will say it, but this problem/frustration lies SOLEY AT THE FEET OF MANAGEMENT!
As safety pros, we have all experienced this and the backlash we get when trying to improve a “safety program.” The lack of MANAGEMENT OWNERSHIP of said compliance program drives this scenario and the frustrations accompanying it. This lack of ownership may also be why there is so much turnover in a facility’s safety role(s).
But in 1999, I got many a_s handed to me by my new plant manager when I began to identify necessary changes to out-of-date or poorly written safety programs based on MY PERSONAL (and VPP Star) safety standards. He was not against me making improvements; after all, that is precisely what he hired me to do. He got fired up about how I was making those changes as if the “safety program” was all “mine” to do with as I pleased. Granted, most of the other managers on his staff were fine with me doing everything within my little world of safety. However, my PM “politely” clarified that this is a management program for which I am just the SME. They OWN it, not me or my team. And from that day forward, this is how safety got managed…
