Canadian Occupational Safety

12 Canadian occupational safety www.cos-mag.com ere is a huge disconnect in measur- ing what doesn't happen to us as proof that something else exists. Recording no injury during a period of time does not prove the existence of safety. We all know this because at some point in our lives we have all done something unsafe, and yet, had the good luck of not being hurt. But "luck" measures don't sit very legAl ConneCtion i CompensAtion wAtCh By AlAn d. Quilley TRaiNiNg But "luck" measures don't sit very Creators of safety Aligning health and safety culture with business processes key to success S afety management is o en out of step with the other parts of our businesses. This can be corrected if we make safety manage- ment look more like the production of goods and services. e more we can align safety process and measures with other business-like processes the more successful we will be in reaching safety excellence in our businesses. well in business discussions. Shi ing safety measures away from the tradi- tional "lack of loss" measures to one aligned with how management nor- mally measures progress towards goals will help us in signifi cant ways. Key performance indicators Using the classic four functions of management — planning, organizing, leading and controlling — it's impor- tant to point out that "preventing" is not one of the four fundamental manage- ment functions. Develop, implement and monitor activities and the resulting outcomes is how most businesses accomplish their management functions. e measures we choose need to be about things a company does to produce an outcome. Who in your organization is planning around making the workplace safe? at question needs to be answered through activity measures. How many planning sessions are held monthly? What is produced at these planning sessions? What initiatives are being implemented? ese questions can and do form the kinds of reports your management team is used to seeing. ey see them all the time when measuring productivity performance. We need to actually mea- sure the creation of safety to be aligned with other business functions. A er all, most management teams are not focused on "preventing" a lack of profi t. e fundamental two questions that need to be asked and answered are: • What are we doing to create safety (behaviours, culture, environment and accountability)? • What are we getting for those eff orts (movement toward the goals)? Most businesses set similar types of goals and do similar activities to reach those goals. Raw numbers, percentage of progress and percentage of change towards a target are usually seen as reasonable measures to help man- agement steer the process of creating production. ese will also work in safety management if we keep in mind we are not here to "prevent injuries." We are here to "create safety." Nesting measurable activities ere is no better way to keep a boss interested than holding her accountable for activities that create the expected results. I call this "nesting safety activi- ties." Here's an example: A senior manager I know holds his direct reports responsible to report to him activities that have created safety on a weekly basis. Some of these reported activities are selected to receive special recognition by way of a personal phone call to the person — or persons — responsible for the activity. e phone conversation starts with a THeRe is a HUge DisCoNNeCT iN measURiNg WHaT DoesN'T HaPPeN To Us as PRooF THaT someTHiNg else eXisTs ntitled-2 1 13-03-13 3:50 PM ntitled-2 1 13-03-13 3:46 PM

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