30 www.thesafetymag.com/ca
P E O P L E
ALWAYS
READY TO
LEARN
Kirwin Lalla is the national EHS director for a
large warehousing and food distribution
organization. With 18 years in the industry, Lalla
says that learning about safety is a continuous
process
Q
How did you get into health and safety, and why?
A
I wish there were some altruistic origin story, but I first understood safety as
'my own benefit,' working on cruise lines 25 years ago and learning how to
escape in the event of an emergency. I carried that sentiment when I started
working on offshore exploration platforms because at that time everyone knew
about the Piper Alpha disaster. Working offshore, you start to create a familial
bond with the persons on your hitch/rotation, and then ensuring your brothers got
home safely with you became personal — and just like that, my safety became our
safety, and the journey began.
Q
What has been the biggest challenge so far in your career?
A
This is often a controversial response to a simple question, but my challenge is
the profession itself. Specifically, the zealot-like behaviour in the workplace,
the mentality that 'the sky is falling' when it's only clouds, or the belief that
organizations exist to serve a safety objective when it's exactly the opposite. The
profession must evolve into a value-add partnership that benefits everyone.
Legislative requirements are important, and some bureaucracy is needed, but
bureaucracy for the sake of it undermines the real goal of protecting employees.
Q
At work, what takes up the most of your time?
A
At different times in my career this response would change from policy
and procedural development, strategy creation, managing people and
measuring performance. Reflecting over the 18 years in safety, listening to
people and understanding their reasoning behind their actions would be the
number one activity taking up my time, and I would not change that. Actively
listening to individuals and following up with them is a slow process, but it has
worked for me and I have been pleasantly surprised by some of the feedback
received.
Q
How do you promote health and safety outside of work?
A
Leading by example — but I am not perfect, and nor should we be. Most of my
time is spent continuously learning new approaches in safety and health and
educating my peers, or quite frankly, whoever will listen to a different perspective.
Promoting risk management and demonstrating how we balance risk every day in
our lives is another mission of mine mostly because when people see me, they
automatically think I am going to bore them with my safe behaviour.
Lalla enjoying the great
outdoors.
Manchester United
Football Club, "to be
in the presence of
greatness."
M Y S A F E T Y M O M E N T