Safety Leadership: Time to evolve: What the modern safety program needs to address

Editor’s Note: Achieving and sustaining an injury-free workplace demands strong leadership. In this monthly column, experts from global consulting firm DEKRA Insight share their point of view on what leaders need to know to guide their organizations to safety excellence.

The workplace is undergoing a revolution. From robots and artificial intelligence to a workforce more tech savvy than ever, industry has gone from mechanical production to a digital world of cutting-edge cyber physical systems.

This revolution is happening in safety, too. Advancements allow us to collect and analyze data in ways unimaginable 40 years ago. Smartphone apps share real-time data across organizations and engage a broader profile of the workforce in capturing, reviewing and, most importantly, acting on exposures.

Unfortunately, many organizations still are using safety programs from the past century. It’s time to evolve. New science and technology demand it. Here are four ways to get there:

1. Good technology needs good science. Having good safety technology alone isn’t enough. You need solid methodology behind everything you do. Unfortunately, scant data exists on what methods are most effective in today’s digital landscape.

2. The definition of exposure is expanding. Today, we contend with an increasingly complex set of risks to employees and enterprises. Leaders must create safety systems that address all the exposures that put people at risk, including those that lead to serious and fatal injuries and brain-centric hazards. This means changing the way you do observations and how you capture data. You want to create a more complete picture of exposures and the measures needed to fix them.

3. Optimize resources. Leaders continually need to find ways to create greater performance with fewer resources. This “more with less” pressure means safety leaders need to more accurately pinpoint where they should be spending their dollars.

4. Increase engagement at all levels. It’s time to upgrade the employee engagement experience. Technology and distance can make the workplace seem less human. Leaders need ways to keep their people engaged if they are to ensure safe, reliable operations.

For more information please visit: SAFETY AND HEALTH MAGAZINE: SAFETY LEADERSHIP: TIME TO EVOLVE: WHAT THE MODERN SAFETY PROGRAM NEEDS TO ADDRESS