Driving back to Chicago following our presentations at the Iowa-Illinois Safety Council Conference, I found myself thinking about the history we've had with your organization and how fascinating it has been watching the industry evolve over that time.

I thought I would take a few minutes to write down some of my observations by way of congratulating all of you on work well done. Perhaps join in with you to celebrate the non-event; the-thing-that-did-not-happen, the-miss-by-a-mile.

The acknowledgement you received at the conference is essential in the complex equation of continuous safety improvement. We all want to be justly compensated for the work we do; we like to live indoors and eat. But the perception I have of a most of you in this field is that it is not about the compensation alone, it is a real passion that you have for keeping your employees safe, free of injury. That passion must be rewarded with something more than just pay, it deserves acknowledgement, knowing that what you do has a strong impact throughout your organization and follows your employees home beyond the property gates at the end of the day. Covey talks about how important it is for an exceptional leader to "sharpen the saw." I believe that acknowledgement is an important whet-stone for that task. So, I say, get out your saws.

It was nearly 20 years ago that we first began presenting at the conference and at that time, getting OSHA reportables down into the single digits was but a gleam in the eye of most safety managers. The early '90's presented such a different landscape than what is currently in place; safety was just beginning to bloom into the robust value-add it has become to most organizations.

There was, at that time, an adversarial relationship between most organizations and OSHA. Yes, VPP Star programs were gaining traction but many companies wondered if they were indeed taking a Trojan horse into their possession. To form a strategic partnership with an organization that has the ability to fine, fine, fine, struck many as counter-intuitive. A few brave organizations stepped forward to test the relationship and the results speak for themselves. This action took real courage by a few safety mangers willing to step out on a limb. Now, we see VPP flags being flown from virtually every safety minded outfit...I encourage you to remember what a big step that was.

I believe that there was, at that time, skepticism from upper management at how safety would impact production. Sure, the savings from reductions of Work Comp Claims was nice, but many wondered if they were not opening a Pandora's Box. Giving safety teams the autonomy to stop a line to address a safety concern had to keep many of them up late at night, and I'm sure many had to bite their tongues when this newfound autonomy was actually exercised on the floor. But soon, they began to see the results in the bottom-line and became believers. Safety wasn't just a way to cut costs, it was now a "core value;" not only was it good for business, it was the right thing to do. All of you who have worked diligently in this industry have played a key role in embedding safety into the modern work environment.

I believe that there was, at that time, a mistrust of labor towards safety teams. That mistrust was in part the inevitable result of the ageless conflict between labor/management; admittedly, some continues today. Also, we cannot say that the mistrust was completely baseless; I've read OSHA violations by organizations that would leave you shaking your head. That tug of war between production and safety has caused much causality over the years and labor has a long memory. It has been amazing to watch safety teams chip away at this residual mistrust to the point that labor has become a strong champion continuous safety improvement.

I used the analogy of breaking a glass in the kitchen to amplify the current efforts around safety today. The point of the analogy is that no matter how diligent we are at cleaning up the glass, there are always a few hidden shards laying about waiting for the opportunity to slice into the sole of the unwary bare foot.

This means that the new landscape of continuous safety improvement is less around guidelines and procedures, and more in psychological operations. Keeping workers vigilant to danger is now the great frontier and that can only be won in the context of the mind. Sure, there will always be opportunities to improve the way something is done in order to prevent an injury - or a new piece of equipment, but winning the psychological struggle that will keep the employee ever engaged in a safety mind-set will require creativity, vigilance and innovation.

We at SST Communications applaud all of your hard work, insight and innovation. We hope to continue forward with you, shoulder to shoulder, in this journey to zero-reportables; to continuously seek out more effective means of communicating the safety mission at all times, in all circumstances. Congratulations to you all for being the best in class at what you do.


Jeffrey Mangrum
SST Communications, Inc.
2178 N. Maplewood
Chicago, IL 60647
312-656-5882

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