By S. S. Suarez
Like in any other profession, the skills and experience of a safety officer are important but inner qualities like genuine concern for people, humility and resilience are equally important as well. Here’s the continuation of the 10 characteristics of a safety officer from last week.
6) Resilience. How do you respond to adversity? Are you a fair-weather safety officer who thrives only when everything is good and running smoothly? Or are you somebody who exhibits courage and patience when faced with problems? As safety officers, we counter different people from various backgrounds. And sometimes their diverse demographic profile could be too much for a safety officer to handle. There will always be cynical people who will pull you down. Talk about “crab mentality” at work. But don’t let problems and criticism crush you. With great resolve and single-minded purpose, we can overcome these challenges. A classic example of how man’s resilience triumph over adversity is the movie Glory Road. Refusing to give up in the face of overwhelming odds, the real-life story of the Texas Western Basketball College Team depicted how an all-black starting line-up won the 1966 NCAA championship. Faced with racial discrimination, the team never quit. “If you quit now, you’ll be quitting for the rest of your life” was one of the famous quotes in the movie. Such tenacity of spirit is essential for a safety officer. The safety officer must exhibit lots of patience with people who are stubborn and who don’t follow safety rules. Don’t be discouraged. When we constantly remind the workers about importance of safety, we are not only changing their behavior. We are teaching them a habit. And when repeated actions become a habit, these people will develop a positive attitude towards safety.
7) Ability to listen. Nowadays, listening has been a lost art already. But such ability is said to have not lost to PLDT Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan. In an article of a major newspaper, MVP is said to exhibit lots of patience in listening with people for their ideas, suggestions and comments. He doesn’t dominate discussions and meetings. He listens first to what other people will say and recommend before he makes a crucial decision. The ability to listen is one of the secrets of successful people. One of our tasks as safety officer is to audit. The etymology of the word “audit” is from the Latin word “audire” which means to hear, to listen. Auditing is about listening and checking the adequacy of systems. It is not about fault-finding. Listening is an effective way to get feedback from workers. One problem I had in the past was the poor level of PPE compliance of our workers, especially on the use of hard hats. So I decided to talk and listen to a group of workers to know the real reasons for the poor level of PPE compliance. One worker complained about the nylon-made suspension headband that caused discomfort and itchiness on their foreheads. True enough, their complaints were valid. The level of PPE compliance improved when we replaced the suspension system with better cushioned headband. Most people say that relationships fail because of lack of communication between the parties concerned. I’d rather say that relationships fail because people do not care to listen.
8) Positive outlook. The safety officer should maintain a positive outlook. One’s attitude determines his/her success or failure in life. He must be able to see the goodness in people and their capacity to improve their lives. There is an old saying that first impressions last. I’d rather say that first impressions last but everybody deserves a second chance. It is always hard to be objective when we have biases against individuals because of our first impression. We must be able to overcome these pre-conditioned biases to allow non-compliant and erring individuals to improve. Safety inspections, audits and incident investigation are not about finding the faults and putting the blame on individuals. It is a demonstration of concern and finding ways to improve the system. With positive outlook, we eliminate the “blame culture” in organizations. To encourage safe behavior and eliminate unsafe acts, let’s use positive words. Positive words can be powerful. When writing memos on safety, I try to use positive words. I avoid words “don’t”, “not”, “no” and “cannot”. Such words are magnets for negative emotions and reactions from people. With negative words, they tend to see difficulties, problems and threats. Instead we want them to cheer up and see the brighter side of things. Rather than problems, they see opportunities. Rather than defeat, they see success. Rather than wasted energy, they gain lessons from the experience. Maintaining the perspective that the glass is half full rather than half empty is important for having a positive attitude.
9) Grace under pressure. I admire athletes who don’t choke during crunchtime. The newly-formed Smart Gilas II basketball team showed a lot of character and grace under pressure in bagging the 2012 edition of the William Jones Cop in Chinese-Taipei against a taller and quicker USA Team. Down by as much as 14 points, they regained their focus and stuck to their game plan to register one of the most exciting come-from-behind wins in the history of the Jones Cup. When faced with problems, the safety officer must not crack under pressure. He doesn’t get distracted. True leaders face adversity with calmness, focus and a sense of humor. Many articles have been written about the Filipino sense of humor. If we are able to survive disasters and calamities, it is due to our adaptability and ability to smile and laugh amid adversity. “It’s more fun in the Philippines” is our country’s campaign slogan to entice more tourists to the country. Let’s take the example of the Department of Tourism campaign. In promoting safety in our organizations, don’t miss out the fun things. Safety can be both serious and fun. How? We can come up with games, poster-making contests, slogan-making contests, first-aid competitions, among others. These kinds of safety gimmicks will keep the interests alive among the workers. They will give workers something to talk about with much gusto. When talking about safety, they will remember the fun memories instead of the difficulties and hardships.
10) Firm but fair. How do you strike a balance between being firm and fair? The first step is to institutionalize fair policies and procedure. In making the policies, we must consult the people first, especially those on the shopfloor or the assembly line. If we consult the people, we are being fair. We allow them to speak their minds on matters affecting their safety. Never underestimate them. People will embrace change if they are involved in making the change. They are the frontliners who face and duck the bullets. Most of the times, they know what is best for them. They know the solutions to their problems. Most government initiatives fail because the government imposes the solutions on the people. They miss out the first step, which is to listen first to the people’s problems. The people don’t have a sense of ownership of projects and initiatives because they are not involved in making them. After all the consultation and developing the policies, we can finally draw a firm line on safety rules. Being firm implies having standards. If we have a table of offenses for safety violations, we must also have a standard reward/incentive system. Penalties should be balanced with rewards. Reward safe behaviors, penalize the unsafe acts. Be firm with the policies, but be fair enough to apply them to everyone, friends or no friends alike.
Inspection vs. Audit
By S. S. Suarez
What’s the difference between inspection and audit? Are they the same banana? Or are we talking about apples and oranges?
Some safety officers I know seem to have mistaken one for the other. Others think that inspection is part of audit or vice versa. I know some safety officers who claim to be conducting safety audits but what they are actually doing is a safety inspection. So what is the real score?
We should not be confused between the two. There are similarities as well as differences between these two essential activities of a safety officer.
