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I agree wholeheartedly. I work in construction and my company has a top-down safety culture which is the only way it really works. Management (including myself)

I agree wholeheartedly. I work in construction and my company has a top-down safety culture which is the only way it really works. Management (including myself) repeatedly tells field workers that their safety is more important than making a bit more money, we have safety training once a month, PPE is readily available, our safety dept visits job sites and helps prepare site safety plans, fall protection equipment is enforced and so on. We also have a ‘stop work’ policy where anyone, even a lowly apprentice, can stop the work in progress if they don’t feel safe. Those of us who sell work are also told not to be afraid to decline work isn’t safe (working on live electrical equipment that could be shut down to work safely, for example). We have a ‘no live work’ policy, but will do live work in certain circumstances where there is no other option (mostly hospitals), and the head of safety and the COO are both involved in pre-task planning and execution to ensure the safest possible methods. We also have some certified rope access techs, those guys take their safety very seriously, to the point where they’re probably safer working off a rope than on a ladder. My workers tell me they feel safer working here when the company explicitly says ‘your life is more important than our profit’ and provides the PPE, tools, and know-how needed to work safely. FWIW, the bigger than construction firm, the more they care about safety. Big contracts can require a TRIR (recordable injury rate) below a certain amount. The big general contractors push new PPE into use, the most recent thing is hard hats with a chin strap to reduce TBI from ladder/lift falls. The strap does a better job of keeping the hard hat protecting the head by keeping it attached. You see the real cowboy shit on residential job sites, commercial contractors live and die by their reputation, and unsafe job sites are a quick way to lose your reputation.

adolph 2y ago
> Those of us who sell work are also told not to be afraid to decline work that isn’t safe Truely an absent Andon cannot be pulled. Likewise the first safety is psychological safety. [0] 0. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54851 https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54851
eitland 2y ago
> Management (including myself) repeatedly tells field workers that their safety is more important than making a bit more money You made me remember the spring of 2000, the first time when I worked for a company that actually thought that way. (edit: worked for some good companies before that as well, but what I mean is before that, security was always either up to the individual.) I got scolded for working without proper gear, and after a couple of issues (tiny rebar splinter in the eye, later a speck of concrete in the eye, both happening despite wearing mandatory eye protection) I suddenly realized I had my manager hanging over me to try to figure out if there was something that could be improved in the work flow. I loved working there, they paid very well, and here is the thing that looked crazy at the time but is obvious now: they had one of the best bottom lines in the city.
DavidPeiffer 2y ago
I used to work for Alcoa, a very large aluminum manufacturer. Their policies were right in line with everything you described, and it was a really good working environment. Every single first aid event was investigated so we could figure out how to do better in the future. The Swiss Cheese model was used to explain why "I've done it 1,000 times this way and never had an issue" isn't acceptable, and you must work according to the prescribed method. It all started with their new CEO in the 80's who didn't want to talk about profits at Investor Day, and instead circled back to safety and the employees who weren't able to go home the same way they went to work. https://davidburkus.com/2020/04/how-paul-oneill-fought-for-safety-at-alcoa/ https://davidburkus.com/2020/04/how-paul-oneill-fought-for-s... Even now safety gets mentioned in their earnings calls. https://investors.alcoa.com/financials/quarterly-earnings/default.aspx https://investors.alcoa.com/financials/quarterly-earnings/de...

adolph 2y ago

> Those of us who sell work are also told not to be afraid to decline work that isn’t safe Truely an absent Andon cannot be pulled. Likewise the first safety is psychological safety. [0] 0. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54851 https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54851

eitland 2y ago

> Management (including myself) repeatedly tells field workers that their safety is more important than making a bit more money You made me remember the spring of 2000, the first time when I worked for a company that actually thought that way. (edit: worked for some good companies before that as well, but what I mean is before that, security was always either up to the individual.) I got scolded for working without proper gear, and after a couple of issues (tiny rebar splinter in the eye, later a speck of concrete in the eye, both happening despite wearing mandatory eye protection) I suddenly realized I had my manager hanging over me to try to figure out if there was something that could be improved in the work flow. I loved working there, they paid very well, and here is the thing that looked crazy at the time but is obvious now: they had one of the best bottom lines in the city.

DavidPeiffer 2y ago

I used to work for Alcoa, a very large aluminum manufacturer. Their policies were right in line with everything you described, and it was a really good working environment. Every single first aid event was investigated so we could figure out how to do better in the future. The Swiss Cheese model was used to explain why "I've done it 1,000 times this way and never had an issue" isn't acceptable, and you must work according to the prescribed method. It all started with their new CEO in the 80's who didn't want to talk about profits at Investor Day, and instead circled back to safety and the employees who weren't able to go home the same way they went to work. https://davidburkus.com/2020/04/how-paul-oneill-fought-for-safety-at-alcoa/ https://davidburkus.com/2020/04/how-paul-oneill-fought-for-s... Even now safety gets mentioned in their earnings calls. https://investors.alcoa.com/financials/quarterly-earnings/default.aspx https://investors.alcoa.com/financials/quarterly-earnings/de...