Blueprint for developing a culture of safety--Part One: a report from the Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange.

Whenever an accident or injury occurs, the immediate reaction is to figure out what happened. A report is completed with all the details--date, location, circumstances, who was involved, any injuries. So you have all the necessary information to pinpoint the cause. But not really. Most accident reports give a snapshot of what happened in that moment and on that day, offering only a glimpse of the big picture. They don't identify all the actions, decisions and--let's be honest--mistakes that may have taken place long before the mishap, but certainly contributed to the creation of an unsafe situation. Unfortunately, that kind of organization-wide soul searching often takes place only after a very serious accident has caused critical injuries or loss of life.

Developing a Strategy for a Culture of Safety

Ask any employee at your cooperative if he or she supports effective safety practices and the answer will undoubtedly be "Yes." Because regardless of job duties, people believe having a safe work environment is important, for them and the communities they serve. The challenge is how to help your employees--whether they're billing clerks or linemen, newly hired or long-time veterans--bring the idea of safe work practices into everything they do, every single day. Developing a strategy to achieve a true Culture of Safety is no different than planning to reach any business objective. You need to evaluate your current programs and needs, set measurable goals, determine priorities, allocate resources and develop a timeline.

For the past several years, Federated has promoted the Culture of Safety to our members, publishing three papers on how to foster a safe working environment at electric cooperatives. And we're pleased so many of our members are using and adapting the information for their own organizations. This program combines the content of the first three publications with new information we've gathered from members, plus actionable strategies for promoting a Culture of Safety within your own cooperative.

You have a safety committee and a safety manual; you do safety training for your employees and safety education programs for members. But how do you begin to assess the effectiveness of these tools and what else should you be doing?

Start with the Rural Electric Safety Accreditation Program (RESAP) Program

RESAP isn't merely a process to go through every three years; it's a comprehensive source of information you can use to decide where you excel and areas that need improvement. If you've recently completed your RESAP accreditation, go over your observation form with a fine-toothed comb.

* In which areas did your cooperative score well? Evaluate the programs or policies in place for those areas to see if you can modify them to work in areas that need improvement.

* Try to pinpoint the reason for lower scores in other areas. Is it a personnel issue, training deficiency, poor communication, or a lack of policy documentation?

Use the RESAP observation form on an ongoing basis to conduct your own hands-on evaluation. It doesn't have to be as rigorous as the RESAP procedure. But be sure you can answer each of the questions based on what is actually taking place on a day-to-day basis--not what should be happening.

Conduct a Company-wide Safety Survey

The RESAP evaluation shows what is happening with regard to safety at your cooperative. Discovering your employees' attitudes toward safety may tell you why it's happening. The focus of the survey should be on how employees view safety in their own jobs, and their perceptions of the attitudes of their peers, supervisors and managers. You also should include contractors, if you make substantial use of their services.

Make sure you ask questions in a way that helps participants think beyond generalities. For example, "Do you feel your supervisor supports company safety policies?" is much less specific than "Do you feel empowered...