Page 28 - OHS, January/February 2021

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY
There has to be a robust value-based culture that fosters nurtures, supports, rewards, and values safe operations.
The theory proposed that injuries resulted from a number of inter- related and preceding factors.
Heinrich proposed that injuries were the result of a series of events that happened in sequence, and the removal of any one of the preceding events would stop the injury from occurring. He proposed five elements to this series. An occupational example:
1. The worker engaging in his task (driving nails)
2. The worker swings the hammer
3. But the worker makes an error and misses the nail
4. The worker then hits his other hand
5. The worker smashes his fingers causing an injury
Since just about every accident occurs due to some unsafe act
on the part of workers, supervisors and management tried to find reason for this. These could be attributed to factors such as: inatten- tion, rushing, carelessness, distraction, or unfamiliarity with safety, best practices or the safety program elements.
All of these pointed to some form of deficiency or negligence on the part of the worker. The more common approach to deal- ing with this was to provide safety training to workers and conduct more inspections.
Evolution of Safety
The management of safety evolved over time due to a number of factors. The industrial revolution created a demand for a large number of workers in factory settings. Those organizations were not terribly concerned with worker safety, as it was deemed that workers were responsible for their own safety and wellbeing.
With the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, organizations were required to comply with safety standards and report results. The frequency of certain accidents or the annual risk evaluation of safety outcomes with a broker or insurance car- rier caused the safety function of the organization to make certain program elements a priority in order to try to control similar ac- cidents. Forward thinking organizations, through leadership and management, were able to make safety a value which not only re- duced the risk of injuries but reduced their severity and, to some extent, controlled cost.
Foundational Elements
Starting with a solid foundation the five pillars will support con- tinued excellence in operations as well as provide a framework for achieving excellence in workforce safety. Foundationally the orga- nizational systems, polices, procedures and practices must be in- tegrated and aligned in order to support effective operations. The
value proposition must exceed customer and partner expectations and build trustful and loyal relationships, leadership must create a supportive work environment which reduces risk, and enables worker performance, success and job satisfaction.
There has to be a robust value-based culture that fosters nur- tures, supports, rewards, and values safe operations. There exists a positive leader-member exchange, with organizational justice, mu- tual trust and respect, along with excellent communication foster- ing cooperation which results in efficient and effective operations. In a value-based organizational culture, everyone leads from core principles, contributes to safe operations, is involved and champi- ons the safety and health of all involved. This will, and should make safety processes, procedures and practices instinctual.
The Five Pillars framework for Excellence
The five pillars then provide the framework that creates an inno- vative, excellence driven, business focused approach to address- ing challenges and fostering the implementation of a robust safety management process.
Business & Operational Excellence. Business and operational integration is crucial to the creation of efficient and effective sys- tems which allow for and support an injury free workplace. The in- ternal systems, processes and procedures must be in harmony and all work towards the creation of a risk and injury free workplace. This internal alignment drives a 360 degree focus horizontally, ver- tically and inside to outside the organization approach. The outside factor involves the value chain partners, vendors and suppliers. They need to be in alignment with the organization’s systems in order to further excellence in all aspects of the business. It also in- volves partners cooperating and delivering on their promises with flawless execution, which reduces risk and supports the safety and health of all workers.
Relationship, Trust, and Value Proposition. In many indus- tries there is a long value chain populated by a number of orga- nizations, all of which have to ensure the achievement of com- mon interest objectives by cooperating in order to accomplish their common goals. They have to make sure they deliver on their promises in order to build trust. Trust is critical to every business exchange and a key factor in influencing behavior. Organizations may need to clearly present their value proposition which should stress fair treatment, ethical behavior, cooperative problem solv- ing, etc. in order to build effective, harmonious, interdependent and trusting relationships. Trust could play a key role in the man- agement of safe operations as well as fostering the safe behavior of involved individuals.
Principle Focused Leadership. Leadership is a key element in creating and sustaining a value-based organizational culture. Prin- ciple-focused leadership involves:
■ Creating a positive and satisfying work environment ■ Ethical behavior
■ Inspiring a shared vision
■ Innovative thinking
■ Encouraging followers to engage
■ Challenging the process
■ Fostering learning and growth
It also means creating an open, safe, trusting and empathic
24 Occupational Health & Safety | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021
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