Creating a Positive Safety Culture Through Visible Leadership

About the Program

Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

A key component to Chesterfield County’s safety improvement strategy is to demonstrate our leadership’s personal commitment to safety through visible, active and meaningful actions that engage employees in continuous safety improvement. Each monthly County Department Directors’ staff meeting includes a “Safety Share” topic that is personally delivered to the leadership team by a Deputy County Administrator. The purpose of these shares is to increase hazard awareness, promote cooperation and encourage desired safe behavior. The topics are selected based upon a review of the root causes of recent workplace injuries, seasonally related risks, hazards identified through inspections or hazards generally recognized to pose significant risk to life safety. The messages are personalized; effort is made to humanize the topics in a way that makes it apparent that we care about the safety of our employees and co-workers. Department directors have cascaded this format down into their departmental meetings to visibly demonstrate their commitment to safety and to share the learning with their personnel. This program has contributed to a 33% decrease in the number of lost work days due to occupational injuries, a 16% decrease in the number of lost work day cases and an approximate 16% reduction in total workers compensation payments avoiding over $1.2 million in cost.