Thank you Rick for the link - it seems to be the same all over the world doesn't it?

I would also like to thank those of you who gave me advice on my gripe. I have put together a thorough report for my boss and will be emailing it to him today

Hi Safety Girl

How did the report to your boss go? I have just read the thread and it is a very topical one.

workplace Safety is supposed to firstly protect the individual, and then as a flow-on effect of putting the necessary mechanisms in place, close up the exposures in the organisation. Sadly, much top brass see it the other way around, although there are a few that have their hearts and minds in the right place, so we can't put them all in the same basket.

I have just spent weeks with a client bringing him up a few levels in understanding, and it has been like pulling teeth...

I believe we need to stop preaching safety as a priority and start preaching it as a core value. Priorities change core values don't.

It's very easy to point the finger at each other, but when it is all said and done we all have a responsibility to create a safe working environment.

In saying this I certainly know the frustration, however, if you want to change safety you may need to change the way you view safety.

"Safety should not be a Priority it should be a Core Value"

I couldn't agree more!

However ... you will find that Safety Advisors talking about safety as a Core Value is about as much use as a chocolate teapot! What we have to do is to get the Bosses to talk about safety as a Core Value. That is an issue in itself.

Perhaps we should start a new thread on that subject.

Rick,
I like the chocolate teapot analogy, I think this topic is something that needs to be discussed further. So how do we start a new thread? I am not quite sure how to go about it.

Anyway, I am currently working with an organisation that preaches "Safety First is our priority". My goal is at every opportunity, I am in the ear of both management and crew that safety is a Core Value not a priority. Safety starts with us not at the gate as is often preached, but Safety as a way of life.

Peter/ Rick,
I have an issue with Safety being our top priority. Safety is not an item that can be completed and then moved on from. I think everyone can agree on that.

I have a similiar problem with the concept of Safety being a Core Value. Values tend to be used as show things. Corporate values tend to be things that people talk about in terms of an ideal or a visionary statement.

I believe safety needs to be a much more subtle and pervasive thing, rather than a glowing ideal to aim towards. When I talk about safety with people I tend to talk about the safety habit or safe behaviour. It isn't flashy or grand, it is everyday.

I strongly agree, the key to all of this is that safety cannot come from the Safety person or safety team. It needs to be from the managers and not in a grudging, "if we have to" kind of way but with true belief and passion benind it.