Safety Knights

Yea - I try to split my time 50/50 between office and field. There are definitely administrative components to my job that require me to be in front of my computer, but getting out in the field to learn and communicate is essential

Love to see it Amanda!!! That's always been my philosophy, and what better way to personally interact with the workforce?

PS is that carbon black? haha

I love being on the floor with the associates and seeing and doing as they do. It helps build the relationships and trust for thing you will need to implement in the future.

Amen Sister!

You must go to the Gemba and the Muda!! I learned that 50 years ago and my experience has only enhanced that belief!

At the time I was mad at the world because I went to college and got my degree. My dream was to jump right in and negotiate these huge labor contracts, recruit and hire for BIG jobs, and be a Personnel VP in 5 years. Instead I found myself out on in the Shakeout Department of this huge automotive foundry as a young inexperienced supervisor. It was hot and very dangerous! I looked much dirtier than you in a very few short minutes just being the boss! I would spend 5 minutes after my shift trying to clear my nose and cough up the green sand (it was BLACK) in my lungs After 3.5 years finally made to Personnel (June of 1980) where one day later I was the Safety Manager too. 4 years later I was sent back out on the floor as a General (SR) Foreman to learn the next level of management with 8 supervisors under me. Did that for 4 more years, and was probably my favorite job in my entire career! Then I went back and fourth between Mfg and Personnel (and Safety) till my last 15 years I settled on being a HR/Safety Manager.
As it turned out, the time on the floor ruined me for office work! I hate to be bored and MFG in a MFG organizations is where the action is!!! If you are doing your job in MFG you should never ever be bored especially in heavy industry, auto, or foundry. In any case it was a blessing as I learned first hand how work got done and how employees think about it. Combined with my working my way through college operating a mechanical power press (how I kept all my fingers I will never know, but be eternally grateful) I knew about work. So all the above turned out to be a BLESSING! I really believe ALL EHS and HR Managers should be assigned as a supervisor to second or third shift for at least 6 months to fully understand what goes on!

I chose the job I currently have b/c I no longer wanted to get dirty. I think I've earned that right. I have paid my dues and spent many years in the trenches rubbing elbows with the employees. I do it from time to time but I don't have the time to be out in the field. Most times I am behind my desk working on special projects the Senior Leaders have tasked me with.

There's also the conversation of a Safety Manager Vs. a Safety Supervisor.

A Safety Manager is the person behind the desk writing (or re-writing) programs, policies, training plans, and content. They speak in "managerese" and they deal directly with the Senior leaders of the company.

The Safety Supervisor is the "boots on the ground" person. They are out in the field making sure employees are following those writing programs and getting feedback from the operators. This information is relayed back to the Safety Manager to update those policies. Safety Supervisors are working with the Supervisors to figure out the needs of our employees.

Maybe I'm in the minority but those are just my thoughts...

Absolutely dead on accurate. My first 15-20 years in the business I signed thousands of CSE permits and gas checked them as well. I put my hand on, physically touched every blind flange, disconnected pipe, and LOTO device. Nobody went into a CS until after I went in and moved from top to bottom or bottom to top. I also put on the gear and did inert entry. That’s a N2 rich atmosphere to keep the flammable contents in check. Whenever I signed a hot work permit I would stand right next to the welder until he struck the first arc. I did that to build trust and confidence with the craft.

Great Job Amanda! Building relationships with workers and having an understanding helps to be empathetic when you are applying real world guidance.

I like being able to be a realist when I am dealing with the people I oversee. I try not to use rules and regulations quotes from OSHA, as long as they don't try to smoke screen me with what they are doing. You doing your own recon well benefit you 3 fold in the end.

Right on!
While we aren't on site (we only do the regulatory safety stuff), we stress to our clients that they still need to do the hands on stuff because while regulations are THE starting point, it's not going to keep people safe alone. Great on you for showing them how it's done! 👏

Glad to see that respirator circle around your nose!

I agree. If you're generating or reviewing the JSA, you need to be in the field ensuring everything is captured. More often than not, PMs assume their people know what to do and leave those things out of the JSA. And they often push back with "That's common sense" when we bring it up to them. We need to make sure ALL safety issues are identified and removed/mitigated.

I try to be an 80/20 guy. Be in the field 80% and 20 inside. a safety guys job is to be in the field where the work is. I currently have 250 craftsmen on my site and there are 4 safety guy's in the field all day everyday. We just hit a milestone of 200K save hours on the site without a recordable injury. I have a group of leaders that make it easy to keep track of what's going on. They are leading from the front.

I guess it just depends on where you are in role/site. I don't engage my employees everyday. I don't get dirty. I've been there and done that years ago. I know most of the process to be able to evaluate a risk (in manufacturing).

I think its really important when you are new in the field and on the job. As you gain experience, you can pull back from the day to day.

I have found less is more. Depending on the experience of the employees, subtlety can move mountains more than in your face.

Kudos for getting after it!