The partnership between a client and a safety consulting firm can build the foundation for building, and maintaining, a strong culture of safety.
Much has been written on developing a culture of safety, but as a Supreme Court justice once opined when asked to describe pornography, “I know it when I see it.” This is the story of a long time Horton and Horton Safety Consultants manufacturing client well on their way to demonstrating the existence of a strong culture of safety.
When the client engaged Horton Safety Consultants in 2015, they experienced a total of 10 OSHA recordable injuries. Like most of our clients, this is a business with complex needs and limited resources. One major limitation was the fact they lacked the existence of a trained individual who could drive the success of their safety and risk management program.
Meredith Vesper was introduced and assigned to service this account when she joined Horton Safety Consultants; following other consultants who serviced this account. In the years following our initial engagement, this client has experienced a declining number of OSHA recordable events, including this year. The client recently celebrated 12 months with no OSHA recordable event. This is a “know it when you see it” indication of safety program success.
Building a culture of safety takes significant time, and employees can remain skeptical unless the company can demonstrably prove it is serious about improving the culture. With Horton Safety Consultants assistance and guidance, the company put its money where its mouth is, and now has the evidence necessary to establish it has built an industry-leading safety and risk management program.
Because accidents and injuries are waiting to happen because of just one misstep or lapse in concentration, an incident and injury was avoided recently at this account when Meredith cautioned a machine operator about a loose piece of metal banding caught on a large steel coil rotating near a large hydraulic line. The operator promptly stopped the process and removed the metal band to prevent severing the line and causing the dispersion of extremely hot hydraulic fluid on himself and others.
Success like this is hard earned by both the client and the safety consultant who services the account. Simply preparing written programs and delivering training isn’t enough to generate results. The consultant must work hard to earn the trust of all employees and the business owners, and managers must work hard to demonstrate their consistent commitment to safety.