Sign boards that have words such as caution, risks ahead and dangers in big, bold fonts are a common sight to see in places like construction sites, production units, chemical industries and processing labs. These workplaces are prone to various risks and dangers, some of which can be anticipated and averted and some of which are simply unprecedented and sudden. However the magnitude of the damages these dangers pose on both employees and employers are impossible to ignore and hence necessary steps have to be taken by both the employees and the employers to make sure that their workplace is safe and everyone’s safety and health are assured. And safety culture is the most effective and proven, workplace safety concept to have come so far, that’s so widely regarded and unanimously accepted worldwide. To put in simple words, it is defined as the way how things are done around in an organization. A safety culture is customized to suit the requirements and need of each organization and is built on the best features of compliance, leadership qualities, human interaction, frequent assessments and timely monetary investments.

The administrative departments of these organizations are taking effective steps to promote a safety culture in their organization and are either outsourcing the safety culture training to safety and leadership solution providers or hiring in-house safety professional teams which include safety supervisors and officers of various grades and designations. Regular safety culture training sessions are held to promote an ever-growing safety climate and here is a list of things to compulsorily include in these safety culture training modules.

1. Introduction

The first thing to do in safety culture training is to introduce the employees to their work surroundings and the equipments and machines they are dealing with. Introductory classes must be conducted to make them understand the ways their work system works and what dangers they can push themselves to in case of negligence and ignorance. This way an urge to safety is initiated in every employee, gradually bringing changes in their work behaviors which promote a safety culture.

2. Compliance

Though it is true that a set of rules and regulations cannot bring a change in the safety behaviors of employees, it doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be a work discipline in an organization. Compliance gives a structure to the functioning of an organization and draws a line between the things that are allowed and the things that are outright banned.

3. Leadership

Leadership can be stated as one of the main features of safety culture training that helps it separate itself from compliance. The workforce has to be divided into many groups and leaders must be assigned to each group who wholeheartedly accept safety and also encourage the rest to do the same. This way the objectives of compliance are met by inspiration and motivation and not by force.

4. Assessments

Without constant surveying of the safety management systems employed in the workplace, recognition of the risks involved and rectification of the recognized risks, there is no way a safety culture can see progression and development. In addition, the safety behaviors adopted by the employees have to consistently evaluate and reformed for good. Thus, assessments and evaluations become a major part of safety culture training for measurable results.

5. Monetary Investments

Though safety culture training sessions promise a safer workplace and good safety behaviors, without the financial support from the administration to conduct these training sessions and improve the safety of the systems and machines used daily, compliance, leadership and assessments are of no value. Thus, it is ideal to set apart a part of an organization’s budget or expenditures for work safety to avoid future losses from work hazards.

Safety Built-In is an industrial safety leadership solution provider offering safety culture training programs and safety behaviors coaching to organizations for achieving safety excellence and hazard reduction in their workplaces. For more on safety culture, visit Wikipedia.org.