Let’s Get People to Want To Be Safe by Safety Speaker John Drebinger

Regulations rules and enforcement can only go so far in improving safety. The problem is that many people are working in situations where no one is watching. As safety people we need to motivate people to want to work safely. The key to that motivation is to give each and every person a good enough reason why they would actually WANT to work and play safely.

To motivate effectively think of all the answers to the question, “why would I want to work safely?”  When someone has a good enough reason they will do the right thing.

I remember back in junior high school one of my teachers pointed out that our legal system was built around people voluntarily obeying the laws we have developed. He pointed out that it would be impractical to have a police force big enough to catch every one running a stop sign. We stop at the stop sign because it is the right thing to do even if we see no one coming.

Here’s to a workplace full of people who want to do their job the safest way possible and to the safety team members who give them the best reasons why.