Every successful safety program is built on a foundation of essential elements. One such element is "Safety Leadership." Safety Leadership can be defined as "the influence of a person's words or actions on the safety decisions made by others."
It's important to note that safety leadership comes from everyone, including the newest employee, the experienced worker, the front line supervisor, and the plant manager. Safety leaders speak up and do not condone unsafe acts, nor do they take shortcuts to make a job easier or faster.
Effective safety leadership must also include discipline and consistent rules enforcement from managers and supervisors. It's also important to understand that Safety Leaders don't have to be vocal. The quiet leadership exhibited by workers who always follow the safety rules also has a powerful effect.
In this program, we will see how good safety leadership helps everyone make better safety decisions, while also illustrating how poor safety leadership can quickly undermine the entire safety process. Human nature tempts us to make a job easier or faster by making unsafe choices. The consistent presence of positive safety leadership helps all workers make wise safety decisions.