Talking Safety summarises in a short user-friendly read the key element of safety leadership - the management and supervisor 'walk and talk'. Safety standards are set by a combination of three things: first, the basic systems: risk assessments, procedures, training, inductions and maintenance; second, the amount of objective learning about the inevitable weaknesses in these systems achieved from a ’Just Culture’ perspective; and third, the quality of ’transformational’ safety leadership which means coaching not telling, praising not criticising, leading by example and maximising front-line ownership and involvement. A good ’walk and talk’ is the only methodology that covers all of these issues and really should be embedded as ’part of the way we do things around here’. It is the centrepiece of any world class safety culture. Although covering all the key safety research findings by academics including Sidney Dekker, Andrew Hopkins and James Reason as well as latest influencing skills techniques from recent advances such as ’nudge’ theory it is written in an accessible style using everyday examples and case studies. You can use any of the five simple steps it outlines to make a difference day to day. Employ its advice fully and it will help you embed safety thinking, transform your safety culture and make safety part of ’the way we do things around here’.
Do you want to make a difference? There are many ways someone in a leadership role can have a positive impact on the lives of their employees. Perhaps there is no leadership responsibility more profound than creating a sustainable, injury-free workplace. Every person who goes to work expects to return home in the same condition. When someone is hurt, the adverse effects of their injury ripple through the employee's family and friends. Achieving an injury-free environment is one of the most difficult problems many leaders face. Indeed, during 35 years in manufacturing I never discovered a singular solution to this challenge. However, over these years I observed quite a few leadership actions that significantly contributed to less risk-taking, greater hazard awareness and genuine collaborative efforts among employees and supervisors. Leaders who understood, embraced, and implemented these strategies saw a dramatic reduction in incidents and injuries at their facilities. In my experience, organizations with the best safety performances do not have a secret. They simply do a lot of small things collectively and strategically well. That's really what this book is about. It is a collection of leadership concepts, thoughts, words, and actions that (when strategically implemented) can move your organization toward a better safety future. There are no 'silver bullets' here. On the other hand, you don't have to do all of these things to be successful in your safety journey. The first section of the book takes a look at some fundamental concepts everyone who is striving to achieve safety excellence should understand. It includes a discussion on compliance versus commitment, how to develop a safety strategy, why people make mistakes and take risks, and an overview of a Just Culture. The core of the book reviews some key research findings in social psychology, sociology and neuroscience. I share personal experiences of highly effective leadership. And I recount other situations that exemplify the wrong approach. In each case, I discuss how you can leverage these concepts in a practical way to improve your safety leadership skills. Topics include: how our thoughts can drive our behaviors when it comes to safety, how the words we use can be influential on personal decision-making, how social influence and leadership actions can drive safety performance, and how to facilitate the right personal safety conversation. At the end of each chapter, there is a segment called the SAFETY LEADER'S TOOLBOX. This toolbox contains over 70 practical tools and tips for being a more effective safety leader! Readers are encouraged to consult the SAFETY LEADER'S TOOLBOX for small changes in what you think, say, and do to shape your safety culture. I invite you to put on your safety shoes and walk with me. Together we will consider how you can lead your organization to exceptional safety performance. Spoiler alert! One essential leadership skill is knowing why, how, and what to talk about when it comes to safety. Where do you begin? Start with a "Why" of caring. If you start with caring as your personal motive, you won't have to do everything perfectly. Your employees will want to do the right things for the right reasons. You can read this book in chapter order. You can also go to a specific chapter to learn more about a particular topic. Either way, you are encouraged to consult the SAFETY LEADER'S TOOLBOX throughout this book for small changes in what you think, say, or do to shape your safety culture. Choose a set of tools from the TOOLBOX that will enable you to move toward your safety vision. Start making a difference in the lives of others!
The book considers what makes an excellent face-to-face health and safety contact in the workplace, and why these contacts are a fundamental building block of any strong, caring, and empowering workplace culture. It stresses the vital importance of inquiry, empathy, and analysis in understanding what employees need to mitigate risk factors around safety and mental health. This revised and updated edition includes empowering methodologies that directly address mental health and well-being issues and the challenges organisations face in a post COVID19 era. The reader will gain an understanding of the day-to-day mechanisms of why "culture is king" and how everyone contributes every-day to this truism. This book covers how interactions regarding leadership and teamwork directly lead to the amount of human error and fallibility an organisation can expect to need to manage, and how taking proactive, analytical, and empowering approaches to safety and health is key to identifying and mitigating risks. Talking Health, Safety and Wellbeing explains why it is so important to talk about health and safety issues proactively. Written in an accessible and engaging manner, this book is an ideal read for any frontline supervisor, HR manager, mental health first aider, safety rep, or company director.
Informed by the principles and practices of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), this book presents skills training guidelines specifically designed for adults with cognitive challenges. Clinicians learn how to teach core emotion regulation and adaptive coping skills in a framework that promotes motivation and mastery for all learners, and that helps clients apply what they have learned in daily life. The book features ideas for scaffolding learning, a sample 12-week group curriculum that can also be used in individual skills training, and numerous practical tools, including 150 reproducible handouts and worksheets. The large-size format facilitates photocopying. Purchasers also get access to a webpage where they can download and print the reproducible materials.
Safety and Health for the Stage: Collaboration with the Production Process is a practical guide to integrating safety and health into the production process for live entertainment in the context of compliance with applicable codes, standards, and recommended practices. This book explores the need for safety and health to become an integral aspect of theatre production and live entertainment, focusing on specific steps to take and policies to employ to bring a safety and health program into full collaboration in the production process. Readers will learn how to comply with legal codes and standards as they initiate and implement an effective safety and health program in their theatre production organization or academic theatre department. The book includes references and links to other industry-specific safety and health resources, as well as a Glossary of Safety and Health Terms to navigate the safety and health jargon in the context of theatre and live entertainment. Safety and Health for the Stage: Collaboration with the Production Process provides links to electronic versions of sample safety and health programs, industry-specific policies and recommended practices, and forms and templates related to many of the topics covered in the book. Written for practitioners who are engaged in all aspects of theatre production and live entertainment, as well as educators who train and influence the next generations of these practitioners, this book is an essential resource for creating a positive culture of safety in live entertainment.
Internal auditing is an essential tool for managing compliance and for initiating and driving continual improvement in any organization’s systematic HSEQ performance. Health and Safety, Environment and Quality Audits includes the latest health and safety, environmental and quality management system standards—ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018. It delivers a powerful and proven approach to risk- based auditing of business-critical risk areas using ISO, or your organization’s own management systems. It connects the ‘PDCA’ approach to implementing management systems with auditing by focusing on the organization’s context and the needs and expectations of its interested parties. The novel approach leads HSEQ professionals and senior and line managers alike to concentrate on the most significant risks (Big Rocks and Black Swans) to their objectives. It provides a step-by-step route through The Audit AdventureTM to provide a high-level, future-focused audit opinion. The whole approach is aligned to the international standard guidance for auditing management systems, ISO 19011:2018. With thousands of copies now sold, this unique guide to HSEQ and operations integrity auditing has become the standard work in the field over four editions, while securing bestseller status in Australasia, Europe, North America, and South Africa. It is essential reading for senior managers and auditors alike. It remains the ‘go-to’ title for those who aspire to drive a prosperous and thriving organization based on world-class HSEQ management and performance. Dr Stephen Asbury is the author of seven books on safety, risk management, and decision-making for Taylor & Francis. He is Chartered Fellow of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (CFIOSH), an Emeritus Professional of the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), and a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (FIEMA). He has almost 40 years’ experience fromassignments in over sixty countries on six continents.
Society at large tends to misunderstand what safety is all about. It is not just the absence of harm. When nothing bad happens over a period of time, how do you know you are safe? In reality, safety is what you and your people do moment by moment, day by day to protect assets from harm and to control the hazards inherent in your operations. This is the purpose of risk-based thinking, the key element of the six building blocks of Human and Organizational Performance (H&OP). Generally, H&OP provides a risk-based approach to managing human performance in operations. But, specifically, risk-based thinking enables foresight and flexibility—even when surprised—to do what is necessary to protect assets from harm but also achieve mission success despite ongoing stresses or shocks to the operation. Although you cannot prepare for every adverse scenario, you can be ready for almost anything. When risk-based thinking is integrated into the DNA of an organization’s way of doing business, people will be ready for most unexpected situations. Eventually, safety becomes a core value, not a priority to be negotiated with others depending on circumstances. This book provides a coherent perspective on what executives and line managers within operational environments need to focus on to efficiently and effectively control, learn, and adapt.
