Safety Culture is like an iceberg. Don’t worry – this isn’t the start of some confusing poem you’re going to need to meticulously dissect just to get an idea of what it means. It’s actually a pretty straightforward simile. If we think of an iceberg, as much as 90% of its total mass lies beneath the surface. That means that what we see is merely a fraction of its actual enormity.

It’s the same with a Safety Culture – what we see is only a partial representation of the whole. The tip of the iceberg, with regard to Safety Culture – and usually the first indicator of its quality – is your organization’s behaviour. However, as the saying goes – that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Behaviour, while important to examine, can only be considered a result of your Safety Culture. The true core of your Safety Culture is your beliefs, attitudes and practices (which will motivate your behaviour). When attempting to improve your Safety Culture (which you should always be doing), it should be done by reviewing and revising the shared beliefs, attitudes and practices among your workforce. Dictating or discouraging forms of behaviour will only take you so far and will not accomplish lasting and fundamental improvement. When attempting to create a cultural shift, we must consider what lies beneath and influences behaviour.

Our core beliefs act as the foundation for everything that follows. In a strong Safety Culture, the core beliefs are – everyone wants to go to work, do their job well, and get home safe.

Sometimes we hear people say (even in the safety world) “we work safe so we can enjoy life outside of work.” While this is partially true, this is a dangerous statement. If the message your organization is relaying to its workforce is similar to the above, you won’t accomplish the maximum output a strong Safety Culture can provide. A punch-in, punch-out mentally will not result in high-fidelity dedication and diligence from your workforce. We can’t be working for the weekend. The entire workforce must be fully involved in their efforts at the workplace. Bottom-line – every member of the team has to want to go to work. In order to accomplish this, Employers must always be aware of workplace morale. People will only be happy in their work if they feel they’re provided with a fair work/life balance, they’re a valuable contributor to a common goal, and their health and safety is respected.

Following from this, in a strong Safety Culture, people not only want to go to work – they also want to do their job well. A switched-on and caring workforce will apply the following attitudes and practices when executing their job:

Attitudes:

1) Be proactive – Always be on the lookout for hazards that could harm you or someone else, and take the proper steps to ensure injuries won’t happen.

2) Personal accountability – We must all take responsibility for our own safety. If we don’t, we will have to live with the consequences – or worse. The impacts of a lost eye, crushed limb, or fatality will be felt far beyond the workplace.

3) Protect others – Workplace safety is about more than just you. We are dependant on our team, and one another for accomplishing our work in a safe and productive manner. We need to look out for each other, to protect each other, to get our jobs done safely.

Practices:

1) Make the right choices – Make the right choices, under the right circumstances, for the right reasons.

2) Work safe – Complete every task the right way, every time – regardless – even when no one is watching. Do things safely so that they don’t come back to haunt you later.

3) Stay informed – Stay informed by knowing the laws and best practices for your workplace. Ignorance is no excuse. You can’t ask for a do-over once a tragedy has happened.

Last, but certainly not least, the final core belief in a strong and sustainable Safety Culture is that everyone makes it home safely at the end of each and every workday. The care we have for our colleagues cannot be checked at the office door if we wish to achieve exemplary performance in health and safety. Our strong Safety Culture must extend out into our personal lives – with our friends and our families.

By embodying these positive beliefs, attitudes and practices, our behaviour will make it apparent to potential clients, our co-workers, and everyone we encounter in our day-to-day lives that we are devoted to a high standard of health and safety.

Always remember – everyone wants to go to work, do their job well, and get home safe. This is the belief that a strong Safety Culture is founded upon.