Leadership For Safety Safety Culture By S ULAGANATHAN

Leadership For Safety & Safety Culture By S. ULAGANATHAN HSE Advisor President , Safety Engineers Association CHENNAI - 600092

Objectives • Explore and share ideas about some basic concepts of Leadership and how they can be applied in OH&S • Discuss Human Behaviors being the cause of several accidents and how can it be addressed. • Share thoughts on developing a positive safety culture leading to a Total Safety Management. out some

Leadership – What is it? o Is it POWER? o Is it STATUS? o Is it AUTHORITY? o Is it MANAGEMENT?

Leadership is: o Not Power - • Power derives from status, money, ability to harm, access to media or control others actions. • A Thug who sticks a gun in your back has “power” but not leadership.

Leadership is not: Leadership is: o Not a Status • Status or position may enhance the opportunity for leadership • Some in a high status or position haven’t got a clue how to lead. o Not Authority – • A person may have subordinates, but not followers • People will only follow if a person has the charisma and wisdom and not just authority.

Leadership is: Not Management – • Management is an organizational skill • Managers preside over processes, functions and program but not people. Good Managers need not prove to be Good Leaders.

Leadership o Leadership can be viewed as a dynamic process which involves a number of combined factors and phenomena. o Ability to influence a group / team towards achieving the set goals. o Outcome of effective leadership are behaviors and achievements of the followers that are in line with the visions and strategies that are envisaged by the organisation.

Traits of a Good Leader • ‘ Be Fair, Firm & Consistent • ‘Walk the talk’ • Demonstrate your commitment with visible actions • Follow-through with actions • Never turn a blind eye • Fix Responsibility and Accountability of Followers

Visible Leadership VISIBLE LEADERSHIP Enhances SAFETY FOLLOWERS & THEIR COMMITMENT LEVELS Primary Key for achieving Safety Culture

Qualities of Good Leader o Trust o Determination – Initiative & Perseverance o Humility – Modesty, with focus on the group o Honesty & Integrity o Competence & Initiative o Sense of responsibility o Forward Thinking o Psychologically and emotionally stable

Your Job as a Safety Leader is to… • Explain the HSE process to employees • Provide effective feedback • INTERVENE: NEVER walk past an unsafe act or condition. To do so is to approve or condone the activity or condition • Seek to understand WHY the situation or behaviour was that way And so correct the problemem, not treat the symptom

At-Risk Behaviour o If you see someone taking a risk, you are authorised to: o Stop the job o Talk to them o Explain the risk o Explain the safe way o If you ignore, they continue to take the risk, o Don’t give up. Adopt suitable counseling method to correct them.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words • Lead by example • Employees will subconsciously follow your actions CAUTION: They always pick up the bad habits first! • Show them the right way • Nominate individuals and teams for awards and certificates

Behavior Based Safety Human behavior causes most accidents due to: o – Seeking Comfort o – Saving Time o – Convenience o – Lack of understanding o -- Lack of training o – Complacency o – Wrong Safety focus o – Misconceptions on safety

At Risk Behaviors – Root Cause of Accidents / Incidents Fatality Serious Injury Minor Injury Near Miss At-Risk Work Practices Correcting the Behaviors will effectively bring down the At Risk Work Practices

Understanding Peoples Behaviour Thro ABC Model Activator o All the Events that precede behaviour and prompt it. E. g. Training, personal beliefs, behaviours of peers, past experience, social, educational, environmental influences o Have impact on behaviour Behaviour • Behaviour determines performance • Need not be the same all the time • Erratic behaviours and outbreaks are possible in some cases Consequences • Events that follow behaviour • May end up in adverse consequences • May be severe / serious at times

Understanding People - By Principles of ABC o Majority of all incidents are caused by people behaving in unsafe ways o Understanding employee behaviour is fundamental to the success of creating a safe workplace o Premise of model is that all Behaviours (B) are function of its environment, past and present. o Factors such as Activators (A) trigger on Behaviours (B) and sustain it for long times. Consequences (C) are the result of actions at varying Behaviours.

ABC Model - Example o Someone is speeding to the workplace o Why is he speeding? – Thrill, Late for work, emergency, attitude, nice road to speed (Activators) o Ended up as – crash, caught by Police, someone else ran off the road (Consequence) o Behaviour - Work out through ABC! o Activators – Think of other hidden reasons o As a Leader – Ask questions & Confirm o Work out Behavioural corrections

Behavior Based Safety • IS A BOTTOM-UP APPROACH • FOCUS ON EMPLOYEE BEHAVIORS • ADDRESSES ROOT CAUSES • INTERNAL ENFORCEMENT • CONCEPT INTRODUCTION BE SIMULTANIOUS TO ALL LEVELS • ACTS ON PEER PRESSURES • POSITIVE RESULTS AFTER SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION.

SAFETY CULTURE o Safety Culture of an organisation is subset of overall Company Culture. o The safety culture of an organisation often reflects the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and values of different cross sections. It is the product of individual and group values that determine the commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, an organisation’s health and safety management. o Organisations with a positive safety culture are characterized by communications found on mutual trust, by shared perceptions of the importance of safety and by confidence in the efficacy of preventive measures. ”

Safety Culture

Bringing Up A Safety Culture o Management’s Vision & Commitment to be explicit o Successful Behavioral corrections on individuals o Choose Committed Safety Leader(s) o Emphasis Safety as Integral Part of Business o Bench mark Safety performance and monitor progress o Educate employees that safety is common for all his peers o Believing Safety is everybody’s responsibility o Working Safely is a condition of employment o Recognise & Appreciate Good Deeds of any team member o Treat Contract personnel in par with own employees. o Responsibility for safety should be accountable

KEY ASPECTS OF SAFETY CULTURE o Management’s Commitment o Visible Management o Felt Leadership for Safety o Open Interaction between all Levels o Employee Participation o H&S Goals and Benchmark Targets

Symptoms of deteriorating Safety Culture o Varying perceptions among managers and staff o Increasing Accidents / Incidents o Management priorities shifting away from safety o Visible lapses in compliance to H&S Policy & MS. o Questioning the Safety Goals & set Targets o Lack of employee participation in safety

Management Support to Optimize SAFETY CULTURE n Demonstrate Management’s support to safety culture n Empower Employees n Be on the vigil to control At Risk Behaviors n Manage conflicts and promote Team Building n Have a Time scale fixed for addressing safety issues n Optimize Safety Management Systems that are easily understood n Emphasis the safety advantages in all training programmes n Motivation & Incentives should be complimenting each other

To Conclude: o Felt Leadership for Safety is vital for developing a Positive Safety Culture. o At Risk Behaviors remain the major cause of accidents / incidents o Behavior based Safety under an able Leadership would enhance H&S Management o Positive Safety Culture can only be developed with the sustained efforts of effective Safety Leadership with unstinted commitment and support from the Senior Management.

Thank You

S. ULAGANATHAN Mobile: 09444 920 393 Tel: 044 - 2820 4142 Email ID: safetyulaganathan@gmail. com SAFETY ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION Tel: 044 -2377 4060 Mob: 09965 204 060 URL: “www. seaindia. org” Email ID: info @ seaindia. org seaindiachennai@gmail. com