In this article, we will refine our discussion on developing the foundation for a successful safety process and "Vision" that is necessary to establish an effective safety culture. Within this process, Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) provides a methodology to determine the various risks, hazards, and needed controls at the micro-level. However, a larger Macro-level of thought must be considered and this requires having a Vision of what you want to achieve.
In a previous article, we discussed why you should define what your safety process should look like structurally using ANSI Z10 as an example. We posed two questions:
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Do you just want to be in compliance with regulatory requirements, or Do you want to build a true safety culture that will sustain itself and have a long term impact on an organization?Vision Few of us have truly established a real vision of what we want to accomplish, let alone develop a sense of purpose in establishing our Vision. Steven Covey said it best with one of his Seven Habits that we should "begin with the end in mind."
In Covey's various books, he strongly recommends having a point of reference that one can periodically check against and correct the course towards your ultimate destination. From our point of view, if you do not know where you are going, then how do you know when you have gotten to the right point. Think about it this way: We all, at some point in time, have written our goals down and successfully have achieved what we set out to accomplish. However, as time goes by, we may continue to have goals that are accomplished but do not develop a real sense of purpose or fulfillment.
Our experience as clearly voiced by Covey is that goals and objectives are a subset of Vision, as having a vision is more than goals and objectives and these should work in tandem. In an effort to continue to help define a vision, the importance of knowing where you want to be at a future point in time is very important. Therefore, a Vision is what you want to bring into reality or create; it is where you want to be at some defined time in the future. Once the vision provides the direction, a sense of purpose can begin to develop. If your vision is to have a self-sustaining process and an effective safety culture then you must establish a path to that destination by defining the goals needed and the objectives necessary. The resources required can then be identified, assessed, and a cross-functional team enlisted that can get the vision accomplished.
Not only must you have a shared vision (according to Peter Senge) of what you want to achieve, you must have an understanding of how that vision fits into the overall mission of the organization. Mission is defined as a specific task with which a person or a group is charged. It may be your fundamental purpose or reason for holding a specific job position. You should assure that the safety process is put into a context so that its elements can be implemented, deployed, and readily used within the organization's overall mission without being degraded. Reflection In a previous article, we discussed reflection and why you should define what your safety process should look like. We posed three questions about reflection as follows:
Do you have a clear and concise vision of what you want to achieve to guide you daily? Can your overall vision align with your organizational goals and objectives? Do you have a potential foundation on which you can build your safety process?An essential activity and this may sound trite is to review your vision daily. James has his vision posted to pop up on his Outlook calendar at a periodic time. Nathan has noted that when the daily ongoing demands of professional and personal life results in his not reviewing his vision, not only is direction lost but time is lost that has to be made up. Everyone will have to establish their own method, but it is important to keep the vision in view to allow a check and balance of the priorities established each day and the goals and objectives that must be met.
If your vision is to develop a self-sustaining Safety Culture, what are the requisite Safety systems that will support this vision? Are they customized systems based on effective assessment of the workplace? And critically, what are you doing to communicate to the rest of the organization as to what you are trying to accomplish? Just because you believe your process is the most important and the right thing, may not directly translate into buy-in to your vision by others. Do you understand the politics of the organization as well as the internal and external social networks necessary to gain the backing and support from all levels of the organization.
How do you know when your vision has turned into a reality? Simply put, it will become tangible. We had that experience in developing our concepts for enhancing the job hazard analysis process. Our vision was to develop a better process for the JHA and how it can be better implemented. We set goals and objectives that required us to cover a wide range of methods, readings, and discussions. One day, a published book arrived in the mail! We have, on occasion, diverted into other areas of interest, but we never lost sight of our vision of improving the workplace, one job, one step, one task at a time.
Adopting a process and implementing programs is not enough. One must have an overall since of purpose, an understanding of the workforce, understanding how to build a team that leads to a defining of realistic goals that in turn establishes a plan of action. One must have an understanding of "why" a process must be developed? What do you want your safety and health process to achieve? Can you explain that "why" clearly to the organization?
To build a sense of how important vision is to you personally and professionally, search on vision in the literature. Authors such as Covey, Senge, Napoleon Hill, Canfield, Dyer, and a host of others are out there. Pick and research on those that best appeal to you. Summary The US Department of Energy, in discussing human performance improvement, suggest that a check be made for these seven areas and work at correcting them, as they are considered at-risk practices:
Not setting a clear vision. Not involving affected personnel in the vision or plan. Failing to set expectations, establish urgency or share understanding of the need for change. Failing to consider the new values, attitudes and beliefs needed. Not taking the time to inform people about the coming change. Assuming that members of the organization know about the change and the value of changing. Being impatient and failing to stay-the-course when you have done your homework and know this is the proper approach.The bottom line is to define your overall Vision, write down realistic goals, objectives, and a plan to meet your vision.
Sources:
"Developing an Effective Safety Culture: A Leadership Approach" by James Roughton "Job Hazard Analysis" by James Roughton and Nathan Crutchfield.
Safety Culture - Vision As a Major Trait of Safety Leadership Traitt
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