Jürgen Tietz

In this series, I share with you my thoughts on Why Safety Is An Issue For Most Companies and the Things We Must Address If We Want To Improve Our Safety Performance.

Leveraging the whY factor to move the elephant.

Some of the most often asked questions I come across in safety are:

Why don’t people follow the rules?
Why don’t people engage with us?
Why don’t people use the system / PPE / safety equipment / … ?
Why don’t people use their common sense?

People know what to do. If they have been around for over six months, are competent and trained, they know what to do (this includes, when, where and who). They also know how to do it. The rules, procedures and standards exist.

The answer to the above questions lies in the whY factor. Once people understand and accept why something has to be done, the what and the how follow. The whY factor is what moves the elephant.

It’s not hard to do the right thing –
it’s hard to know what the right thing is.
Once you know, once you know what’s right –
it’s hard not to do it.[1]

Often, the O-generation does not understand the (wh)Y-generation = insisting on ‘knowing why’.[2]  But part of to know what the right thing is, is understanding why it’s the right thing. The whY factor is the emotional component of doing things. When one gives people einspruchsrecht, i.e. the right to partake in decisions which affect them, one inevitably provides the why.

We have to give people the purpose
in return for engagement and creativity,
even though we might argue that safety is common sense.

[1]   From the movie “The Confession“

[2]   “O” = older and “Y” = younger / millenials

RELATED READING

“Safety as a Value”

“The Best Audits”

“Safety Fever”