National Safety Survey: Selling Hearts and Minds on Safety

When she embarked on a career in the safety field, Kelli Heflin, Ph.D., realized she could help prevent the same types of fatal occupational injuries and illnesses that had affected her own family. In addition to losing her grandfather to an illness likely caused by workplace exposures in the chemical industry, Heflin also lost an uncle who suffered a fatal fall while working in construction. Now, as a regulatory compliance and safety manager at Scott’s Liquid Gold, Heflin sees her work as an opportunity.

“I realized I could make a difference,” she explains. “I had this happen to me and I don’t want any other families to have to go through that.”

Heflin was one of more than 1,100 safety professionals (and industrial hygienists, consultants, HR professionals, company presidents, CEOs and more) who responded to EHS Today’s annual National Safety Survey. The survey covered a variety of topics near and dear to the hearts of EHS professionals, including emerging regulatory issues; budget concerns; management’s role in safety; Dr. David Michaels’ performance as OSHA administrator; and more.

A common thread that surfaced in many responses was the acknowledgment that EHS professionals must sell safety to the work force.

“At the end of the day, we’re salesmen. I’m selling to someone reasons why they should go home with 10 fingers, 10 toes, two hands, two feet and a back that works,” says Fred Pearson, EHS manager for Hoerbiger. “I explain to them that at the end of the day, if a guy breaks his arm or hurts his back or something worse, I still get in my car, go home and see my wife and kids. He’s the one who can’t.”

The Heart of the Matter

When asked, “What is the most important thing you do to improve safety and health in your organization?” many EHS leaders opened their responses with active words: Engage. Communicate. Act. Educate. Evaluate. Encourage. One respondent said, “I am highly visible on the shop floor” while another wrote, “I live it and set the example.”

“I talk to the employees, engage them in the program and encourage them to participate in our world-class program,” one participant wrote. “The ones who benefit from the program are the ones who participate and go home safely every day or night.”

Of course, even if employees are sold on safety, heart and mind, that doesn’t meant EHS professionals can take it easy.

“As safety professionals, we have to focus on what we have been tasked with, which is keeping our work force safe, providing education to our work force to make that attainment that much easier on them and to get people involved through training and shaping what policies should be,” Heflin explained.

Or as one respondent put it, his job is “to make safety first in the hearts and minds of field supervision.”

I2P2: Band-Aid or Real Fix?

One of the potential new regulations that could impact how EHS professionals do their jobs and engage the work force is OSHA’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program (I2P2), an initiative that would require employers to “find and fix” hazards in the workplace. OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels has stressed that I2P2 is a special priority for him and for the agency at large. But at this time, few details are available about the proposal, which currently remains in the pre-rule stage.

A survey question asking how EHS professionals felt I2P2 would (or would not) affect workplace safety yielded mixed responses. One respondent called it “an administrative albatross,” another called it “a passing fad,” yet another referred to it as a mere Band-Aid and one EHS professional dubbed the proposal “a ridiculous redundancy.”

“Part of the problem is we haven’t seen it. We saw a list of questions, a generic outline, but that was all,” says Christopher M. Gates, ARM, a risk control specialist for the County of San Bernardino in California. He thinks I2P2 might be beneficial, however, if implemented as a performance standard.