In today’s modern world where creativity, ingenuity and pursuit of the “new” and “different” rule our psyche, do we hastily devalue classics? Are the Proven, Tried and True too often passed over for the unique “new thing” that nobody has thought of yet?
Recently, I enjoyed an uninterrupted father-and-son weekend with my eleven-year-old . What could be more classic than a father and son spending time together? When we decided to have a snack, I thought of an old recipe my dad used to prepare for me – chili and cheese over Frito chips. My son loved it! On that same weekend, I introduced my son to the board game Battleship. To top off our weekend, we listened to the entire album London Calling by the Clash – a proven classic for this unashamed Gen Xer. My son liked what he heard and even asked me to replay some of the songs several times. It was “cool” for me to introduce some of my favorite classic foods, entertainment and music to my son. In fact, my old favorites became my son’s delightful new discoveries that worked for him!
My son liked my classics but it is apparent that he is a modern kid driven to explore the “new” like social media and advanced computer games, to name a few. Like my son, the safety world also relentlessly pursues the new, innovative and out-of-the-box methods to keep people safe. Today’s new methods for safety like BBS too quickly become yesterday’s fad only to be replaced by the next “new” thing. When it comes to workplace safety, there are some classic methods and techniques that continue to successfully cultivate safety in the workplace today. Are you ready for some retro safety methods?
Toolbox safety meetings are a classic – old reliable – forum for communicating and setting a tone for safety still used today by some organizations I visit. These short meetings held typically at the beginning of a shift are probably named so because originators gathered around a toolbox to discuss previous shift’s safety reports, shared tips for safe behavior and even incorporated stretching and warm-up exercises into their before-work pow wows. I have had the privilege of participating in many of these useful meetings over the years and love to see them still organized today. Occasionally I have even observed participants of these short meetings trade responsibility between team members conduct the meeting. Toolbox safety meetings, when performed well, create team unity and heighten awareness of everyone’s responsibility to keep one another safe.
Another tried-and-true method for promoting workplace safety that seems to always go a long way rewarding the extraordinary is mentioning high achievers in a newsletter. Sound simple? It is. This sort of acknowledgment amounts to a thoughtful gesture of thanks and appreciation spoken to in front of peers acknowledging the achievement of a few. I’ll wager most will agree the phrase “thank you” is always nice to hear. But seeing your name mentioned in a written communication directed to those with whom you work explaining the good job you did creating safety takes the message of “thanks” to a new level. The power of this sort of written recognition implants an appreciative memory most don’t forget and encourages future safe behavior from the recipient. Additionally, the message also wets the appetite of those eavesdropping on the communication for the same sort of recognition. Newsletter recognition is easy to create and goes a long way toward rewarding and encouraging workplace safety.
Have you heard of MBWA? My old boss Walt taught me many acronyms in my time working at Kimberly Clark but one acronym I observed him practice with persistent regularity is MBWA (Managing by Walking Around). If you’ve heard me talk about Walt before, you know that this great plant manager lived safety! Daily, Walt would venture into the manufacturing area and engage employees, train them and, in so doing, encourage safe workplace behavior. Walt’s management style personified effective safety leadership in its highest form and MBWA was his tool for encouraging safety on a grassroots level. Seeing Walt MBWA inspired me and his example has stuck with me and countless others with whom he interacted at Kimberly Clark. This beloved manager pulled off many effective boilerplate management tactics, including MBWA, that I’ll venture to say many managers that knew him attempt to emulate today. When your manger engages you in the workplace with a message of safety, that powerful message sinks in permanently. MBWA performed with safety in mind works every time!
I’m looking forward to future weekends with my son where I can teach him some of the other classics I have hidden up my sleeve. It’s my hope he’ll learn to balance appreciation of the classics that have established the boilerplate for future generations and, at the same time, never dull his appetite for discovering the “new.” As for workplace safety, I’m grateful for my mentors that revealed proven classics like promoting safety through toolbox meetings, newsletter recognition and Walt’s application of MBWA. Generations are safer because of these reliable safety-creating tactics that continue to eliminate workplace danger today. Let us learn and apply what worked from the past and not forget to use these classic, reliable tools going into the future.
Till next time live safety!
