Enterprise leaders play a crucial role in an organization’s safety performance, even though they’re not directly performing the work that involves safety procedures. They are responsible for establishing the values, standards, and culture in an enterprise and have the power to enforce necessary safety requirements.

But when it comes to cultivating a culture of safety and maintaining safe practices, the buy-in of  the people doing the actual inspecting is essential. That’s why it’s essential to have “safety leaders” in every work group in the organization.

Whether they have a formal leadership role in the group (e.g., supervisor, crew manager), safety leaders tend to emerge among every work group, regardless of how small or big the group may be. Management needs to recognize and empower these employees.

They understand that incidents are the result of human factors

Safety leaders exhibit personal safety behaviors and inspire others to do so as well. They understand and follow safety procedures, proactively prevent safety issues, report safety issues, implement safety processes, and encourage others to take workplace safety seriously.

Safety leaders—at whatever level in the company—share characteristics:

They always care about safety

Safety leaders always look for new processes to improve workplace safety, and they always stay alert. They care for the health and safety of their colleagues and encourage them to always use their safety skills.

They understand that safety is about people

Safety leaders understand and emphasize the importance of the procedures, regulations, and procedures that are the basis of the company’s safety programs. They use coaching, education, and spur-of-the-moment personal influence (“C’mon, man, you know better than that. Are you trying to kill me?”). They always keep the ultimate goal in mind: keeping everyone safe.

They are good communicators

Open communication is a prerequisite for effective implementation and adherence to safety practices. For a safety program to succeed, it first needs to be aligned with workers’ needs.

 They understand that incidents are the result of human factors

Complacency, frustration, fatigue, or rushing are often the main causes of workplace injuries, and safety leaders understand that. For example, if a safety leader notices that a team member is complacent or exhausted after long hours of work, the leader should offer assistance, such as encouraging them to take a break instead of “pushing through” to finish the task earlier.

Takeaway

Being a safety leader comes naturally to most people who understand the importance of safety in keeping their colleagues safe.

The Checker is there to support your health and safety initiatives by providing comprehensive checklist books and cloud-based checklist software that will make your audits and inspections more effective and quick.