Why safety is number one | Modern Safety

Sarah-Jane O?Brien

In our regular safety video reviews, we ask our readers to share their favourite safety videos with us, and quite often we get some really great suggestions. One of the suggestions we received last week was submitted by Sarah-Jane O?Brien, a video titled ?Why safety is number one.? Within the first few seconds of watching, we were interested in her story. It was different from what we had seen before ? simple and straightforward and at the same time very real and meaningful.

After watching her video, we were curious to find out what it is that Sarah-Jane does every day to improve workplace safety, what the story is behind her safety journey, and what motivated her to make a career in safety.

Before we hear from Sarah-Jane, have a look at the short video below:

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In her video Sarah-Jane says that one of the reasons why she works in safety is that she has four friends that were injured at work. Permanently. And all in their early 20s. Sarah-Jane was willing to share their stories with us.

?About the four friends that were permanently injured featured on my video,? she says?

1. ?A friend who was 20 at the time as an apprentice builder fell off a roof and became a paraplegic ? he was never told he had to wear a harness.
2. ?A friend who was 19 was working on a ferry, and the rope got caught around his leg, as the ferry went, he was amputated from below the knee ? he never thought this would ever happen.
3. ?A friend who was 22 got early onset of arthritis of the back due to lifting air conditioners ? he never knew what damage he was doing and now speaks to as many people as possible about the dangers of incorrect lifting.
4. ?A friend who was 23 was fixing a machine, his foot got caught in the machine as it wasn?t locked out, and nearly lost his foot. ?He now has no feeling in his foot ? he didn?t know about locking out of machinery.

Modern Safety: Can you tell us briefly about your safety experiences in the past?

I?ve been a safety professional for the past 10 years in Australia. I started originally in human resources in a manufacturing plant, and nobody was doing anything with safety, so I took it on. ?At the same time I was reading a safety book called ?Lessons from Longford? by Andrew Hopkins and fell in love with safety; it just made sense to me.

Since then, I?ve been managing safety for different organisations and learning as much as I possibly can as I go and, two master degrees later, I?m where I am today.

Modern Safety: Riskology Consulting is your brainchild. Can you tell us about your vision for Riskology, and what is it that you do?

Riskology is a safety consultancy based in Australia. I work with businesses to ensure they comply with the legislation and are aiming towards continuous improvement to reduce and eliminate incidents.

My vision for Riskology is to ensure that good health and safety management is attainable for all businesses, no matter how small. ?Incidents don?t discriminate based on the size or success of ?a business, nor how experienced the staff in managing health and safety. The small size of a business, should not stop them from getting the same quality of advice that larger organisations can afford.

I also believe that safety doesn?t have to be the nerdy cousin in the corner. I love the idea that safety can be sexy, marketed and relatable, thus capturing the hearts and minds of workers.

Modern Safety: What are some of the common problems you see?

Sometimes smaller businesses are the ones most at risk of incidents, often being family run and/or operating out of a backyard. These are the business that can?t afford professional assistance but are often the most at risk.

On the other hand, many larger businesses have become so complicated with so much red tape, that health and safety management is put in the too hard basket, as it?s become just too cumbersome to tackle.

Modern Safety: You have a broad range of experiences working in many industries. How was your role different working in a food industry versus automotive industry?

Generally, each industry has its different motivations. The car industry puts customer service and sales first, whereas the food industry puts food quality first. The challenge is in getting these businesses to realise that safety should also be a major priority.

I also find uncanny the similarities in safety management in apparently disparate businesses. ?Managers tend to follow directions from a Safety Manager, but they often have neither the knowledge nor the confidence to take safety by the horns and run with it. I believe if you give managers information on where they are on their safety journey, where they need to be and how to get there, they start to understand the benefits of good safety and get on board. If the managers start running safety themselves, the battle is half won.

Modern Safety: After working for large corporations what was it that motivated you to start your own company?

It was actually for love. I moved from the big smoke to the country where senior roles in safety are few, so I moved into consulting earlier than I had originally planned. This opened my eyes to the need for assistance in safety management in small businesses. I could see a way to help these companies and with this belief, I went out on my own and haven?t looked back.

Modern Safety: What are the challenges of running your own company versus managing safety for a larger organization?

Managing safety for larger organisations, I have found that I get to understand intimately how a business runs, the level of knowledge they have, the culture challenges and where on the safety journey they are. ?I can draw out that path for them and see them grow and develop on their safety journey.

Coming in as a consultant, however, it is essential to hit the ground running, achieve deliverables, then walk away. You don?t necessarily see strategies through to finish and you don?t see the statistics and culture improve, but you do walk away with the assurance that the company now has the knowledge and strategies to address safety competently and efficiently.

Modern Safety: How can you describe your contribution to improving workplace safety today?

My contribution to improving workplace safety today is in addressing safety in all companies, regardless of size and profit. Safety in small companies is just as important as in the big companies. There are lots of exciting things happening on the horizon for Riskology where we will continue to move into that space of small business assistance and mentoring.

We want to thank Sarah-Jane for sharing her video with us, that inspired this post, and wish her good luck and remarkable safety successes in her future!

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Tags: Inspection Software, workplace safety

Source: http://blog.fieldid.com/2012/09/why-safety-is-number-one/

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