For far too long, safety and production have been considered by many as two extremes on the same continuum—two incompatible objectives locked in a tug of war for the organisation’s resources. So, it’s not surprising that safety training is commonly perceived as a significant outlay that has little utility above the prevention of costs associated with workplace injuries. Thinking about safety as a cost threatens to derail any attempt to achieve the pinnacle of safety performance—safety citizenship. Safety should instead be considered an asset. Safety is something that, if done well, protects the organisation and its employees from adverse events (both financial and personal) and even carries over into productivity and performance.
Many safety initiatives, while deemed cost-effective, are ultimately less effective over the long-term because they do not deal with the core issue—the attitudes and behaviour of people. Interventions tend to focus on environment and practices-related issues, such as upgrading equipment, introducing new safety systems or automating risky tasks. Although these initiatives can be clearly linked to financial returns (such as increased volume or speed of work), the underlying element of risk—the person—is not considered and so remains within the system. Organisations seeking to make tangible gains in safety performance must look towards psychology-based safety training that is designed and delivered with this critical human element in mind.
In this white paper, we build the financial business case for psychology-based safety training programs and identify the best interventions in terms of carry-over effects to injury and cost reduction, as well as increased productivity.
Overview
- The Direct and Indirect Costs of Mismanaged Safety
- Safety as a Cost vs Safety as an Investment
- Safety Citizenship Training Programs
- Safety Leadership Training Programs
- Safety Coaching Programs
