
Safety Budget
Does anyone have experience with creating a safety budget? My current employer has never established one. I’m taking the proactive approach to create our safety budget, but I don’t know where to start. Your feedback would be helpful!
Comments (14)

I have a Powerpoint on budget safety from a recent webinar with Abby Ferri. Email me and I can send it to you! Brandy@TriangleSafetyLLC.com
I’ve had to do a few budgets before. Think of what you might need to get…. Confined space equipment, fall protection systems. Maybe you want to roll out new hard hats. Then add on your consumables some fluff and you have a budget.
Mind you, I’m probably doing it wrong and would defer to Abby and Brandy for the “right way”.

Wait, safety gets a budget?

I was once told I didn't have a budget for safety, that ever department was my budget. He didn't lie either, when I needed something, he pulled from the other budgets and got me what I needed.
I have never had to set a budget up. That would be interesting to do.

As a Plant Manager for a large automotive plant I presented a budget with things like Injuries, Scrap, Rework, and Overtime. I had never been a PM before and was supposed to be just doing it on an "interim" basis. Although I had manufacturing experience on the front lines (Supervisor), and at the next step (General Foreman), I had never been in a senior manufacturing level. My previous job was as the Personnel Manager. The Plant Controller (Accountant) and myself just used the previous budget as a template. We were presenting to the Senior Divisional Management Staff at the Corporate Offices. My plant was a machining, forming, and assembly plant.
The VP of Manufacturing I had known back in my foundry days. He was an old school rough and tough foundryman. Our codename for him was "Bulldog," he looked like one too! He like me was new to the Division. As I presented he suddenly turned very red, as I knew him well, I knew this was NOT good! Suddenly he ripped the budget to shreds in front of me and yelled, "Fitz, what the hell are you and Larry (the Controller) doing? Accidents, Rework, Scrap, and Overtime are not supposed to happen! They are MISTAKES! Are you telling me you are going to plan to make mistakes? If you are that is NOT acceptable! They are always RED! Now take this thing you call a budget back and redo it! While you are at it, the bottom line is not good enough do much better! Be back here tomorrow at 8:00 AM sharp to present it! Move!"
I knew then that is why I saw my boss and other grown men in my foundry days came out of meetings with Bulldog in tears! It took me three years to learn from this and other bad experiences that being an Automotive Plant Manager was the worst job in the world for me!
To answer your question it really depends on your organizational expectations! Whatever you do make sure you understand those from your supervisor!