What are the biggest problems you are faced with in your company?

- Lack of management commitment
- Lack of enforcement of rules and regulation
- Lack of buy-in from employees
- Lack of budget

Most of the problems encountered in a company boil down to lack of management commitment. If management is not totally committed to safety, the grassroots appproach will only take you so far. A lack of budget may indicate that in this economy your company may be short on cash and is focussed on keeping the company afloat, but if there is no safety budget it may also be because management has not deemed safety important enough to plan ahead for any possible safety expenses that may arise (new equipment, cost for training, etc). Although the cost for safety is substantially lower than the cost for a lost time accident or a fatality (which could actually put a smaller company out of business), cost still has to be planned into the project. If management thinks they can do without any safety budget, it only shows that they do not understand the cost of working unsafe.

Lack of enforcement of rules and regulations: Have you ever worked in a company where there seem to be several standards for different employees, that the employee who has been with the company for 25+ years can get away with more than the employee who just started? Maybe you have realized that certain sections of the Safety & Health program collect dust because not even verbal warnings are issued? Workers will realize very quickly that there are different standards and that enforcement is only lip service.

If employees don't buy into safety, it is mostly because they see that management does not buy into safety either or that management does not walk the talk. Can we change that? Hopefully by being knowledgeable, persistant and passionate about your job.

Meike Patten, MPSafety Training