Hello, another we are starting another Beyond Zero. Today we are going to talk about him, Zero! And I'll give you a foolproof trick to reach the goal of zero in your organization But before that we need to have for a conversation to ensure that we are all on the same page.
And the discussion needs to start with the definition of zero. Many organizations speak of achieving a goal of zero accidents but there are many who talk about zero harm. It would be something like no injuries at all.
And what is encompassed when twe talk about this goal of zero accidents Is it accidents with company employees? What about contractors who do work in the same place as your employees. What about days away from work?
How many days? What if it's just a few hours? Some companies define recordable or reportable accidents.
They maintain an extensive guide of several definitions about this accident. And the professionals often find themselves in extensive discussions about what was the treatment, if the cut was closed with surgical glue or with stitches. Because this can change your goal or not.
That discussion goes a long way, and so it is important that you are clear what it is your goal and where you want to go. It is clear, organizations do not want cause any harm to its employees and the intentions of a zero goal are very good. Organizations that seek Zero, seek it with the intention of not hurting their employees.
After all, what other goal you would have on accident? How many people do you want to hurt? But why do we need to have goal on accidents?
The big problem with a zero goal is that it seeks perfection. And perfection doesn't exist especially in the workplace where of trial and error are part of the day-to-day routine. Unfortunately, sometimes it carries bad consequences Knowing that perfection is impossible, how will people feel?
Maybe they will do like Antonio who, by a misfortune, on the last day of of his construction project, suffered a accident. His weeding band was caught by a pallet rack You know? The shelves where we store products, and his finger was amputated He was so embarrassed that he picked up his finger, hid it with his hand inside the pocket and tried to leave the company to ask for help externally This is my experience.
I don't expect and neither should you rely only on my word, but take a look at this study carried out in the UK with companies from the construction area. One group had four fatalities and more than 200 serious injuries, while the other had no Fatality and a little more than 100 serious injuries. Which of the two groups do you think had a goal of zero accidents?
As always, a link to the study down below. Take a look and then come back here to comment what you thought about it. What if your problem is not accidents, it could be exposure to chemical agents or stress.
How many colleagues do you know in recent years who were removed from the work due to psychological conditions. burnout or things like that. If your goal is zero accident, your resources will focus on accidents.
Then maybe you hit the target, but miss the point. Maybe in this point of the video you already understand that having a zero target is not a good idea, but what other target will I have then? 5?
10? Does that mean I plan to hurt people? Why not focus on capacity?
Why not focus on positive things? Things you want happen and not on things you don't want to happen? And if you're looking for a more extensive discussion about whether or not you should adopt a zero accident target, there is an episode of the Safety of Work podcast focused on this.
I strongly recommend it and I will also leave the link here in the description. And what to do if you already work in an organization where the zero accident target is something traditional and pursued for many years? Trying a revolution may not be a good idea.
After all, revolutions have unexpected results a good alternative is really clarify what your organization wants say with 0 or with zero accident After all, most organizations today Work with SMART goals and a zero target is not achievable and it's not realistic. Zero as a vision as something that we are always striving for can be something good like the boy who every night throws a stone towards the moon knowing that will never hit it, but day after day he comes a little closer You will need to keep in mind the maturity of your organization and the people you work with to start having the conversation about 0. A good suggestion may be to start decreasing the reinforcement of this Zero message and start to focus on what really matters for safety in your company.
Show leaders and people that small fluctuations in accident rates are normal and can be acceptable as long as the organization keeps learning from it And it's time to reveal mine trick to achieve zero accidents Ready? Stop talking about zero accidents and focus on building an environment where people have trust to share with theirs leaders what is really going on this is the best way to protect the people and create an really safe environment within your company. And for you who stayed until now, a bonus tip This is being really failproof and you can get to zero starting tomorrow perhaps executives are extremely happy and the tip simply close the doors organization.
Without work and without activity all hazards all risk are gone and certainly no one will get in an accident at work If you liked our chat take a look at this or this video I am sure you will like them too Don't forget to subscribe. Take care, a big hug and don't forget to have fun!
