Everyone has a Safety Management and/or Environmental Sustainability Program. Right? After all there are many very good to excellent programs out there for you to use!
Is yours working for you? Do all your people understand the program? Has everyone bought into the program? What Human Factors did you consider before training and implementation? How have you measured the cost versus results from your program? Are these results positive both financially and ergonomically? How was the program implemented? Top down? Collaborative discussion? By a committee? Who is the Champion of the program? Who is the sponsor of the program? Is the Board supporting the program? Actively? Are all the executives on-board? Does the municipality support the program? Do they understand the purpose of such programs at an airport?
If the answer to any of these questions is not an unequivocal YES, then you are not achieving the optimum results and you need to ask yourself WHY!
Asking WHY is always where you start. The first question is: Why do we need a Safety Management or Environmental Management program?
The answers should contain the following:
- To improve the safety for our employees, customers and tools of the trade!
- To keep the environment liveable for today and tomorrow, through clean air, drinkable water and better sustainable land use!
- To help reduce Health care costs!
- To improving the bottom line!
If your reason does not contain these essentials, then unless the regulator is pushing the issue there is not a good reason to spend the money. And even if the Regulator is insisting on compliance if the program can’t deliver the above 4 essentials then you are set up to fail.
If you already have a Program, then the WHY needs to be: Our program is not achieving optimum results – Why isn’t it:
- Improving the safety of our employees, customers and tools of the trade!
- Keeping the environment liveable for today and tomorrow, through clean air, drinkable water and better sustainable land use!
- Reducing Health care costs!
- Improving the bottom line!
The alternative WHY is: Why do we need this program and what happens if it doesn’t exist? Some of the answers are:
- We cannot achieve improved safety without a program.
- We cannot improve our working and living environment without a program.
- We will miss an opportunity to improve the financial bottom line.
- We run the risk of fines or jail if we do not comply with the Regulators.
- We will not be good Corporate citizens within the community we serve.
The solution to the above challenges lies in fully integrating your program(s) within you Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). The program(s) MUST get buy in from all the stakeholders (employees, managers, executives, board members and where applicable the Municipal politicians. Finally, the travelling public also needs to be informed of the what the programs need to achieve and their role in making this a reality.
In the world of Change, Environment and Safety management we can help. AVCON.WW was founded to provide advice, services and programs designed with you specific to your needs. We will find the solution together that best resolves your challenges and makes your world better. We will help integrate the programs into your operating culture and get buy in from all the stakeholders. We will remain involved for up to three years at minimal cost to ensure the program(s) EVOLVE to achieve the optimum results. Contact us to learn more.