Trusted Leader Blog

One of the things I like about my job is consulting with safety professionals on how to improve their safety communication. 

I get to review monthly safety themes and safety articles for the company newsletter and proffer suggestions for improvement.  Often, a complete overhaul is required.

Safety professionals are great at the technical, but struggle when it comes to packaging information for other people to digest.  Sadly, just because you find restraining loads very interesting, doesn't mean others will automatically share your enthusiasm.

Recently, I was talking to a safety consultant who told me about a business he visited a while ago that had staff handling pieces of wood with multiple nails sticking out, while not wearing gloves.

Every day these employees were constantly subjecting their hands to pain, yet, no-one complained.

What's interesting about human behaviour is that when we are in physical pain the body will learn to adapt and avoid it.

Think about the last time you had a sore tooth.  You automatically started eating on the other side of your mouth.

In this company where people were ignoring the daily pain of work, they just got used to it because everyone else was doing it and nobody protested.  Management was okay and would have been open to suggestions (provided enough people let them knew of the issue).

Marie-Claire Ross, author of the highly acclaimed book, Transform Your Safety Communication, is helping safety leaders and safety professionals improve their safety leadership and communication skills, in order to change how workers think about safety compliance.