Every person who reads this Tailgate Topic might have a slightly different idea of what drives a strong safety culture. But there is one thing every reader can likely agree upon: that all of a company’s employees have value and make valuable contributions to the organization, helping to create and maintain its safety culture.
Valuable contributions come in an infinite number of forms. In the utility industry, they go well beyond employees simply getting the work done accurately and on time. One example of a valuable contribution is a new written work procedure that helps to keep crews safer, is easily understood by employees and isn’t overly cumbersome to adopt. This contribution also is tangible; it can be disseminated via email, printed, used in training sessions and brought to work sites for easy reference.
Other contributions are less concrete. For instance, a caring attitude is highly valuable. If employees do not have a caring attitude that’s authentic, safety and good health can falter or even cease to exist in some cases.
