The goal of a Safety Champion is to create a safety culture that is positive, proactive, and collaborative. Safety incidents can be the result of a bad actor or poor individual judgment, but more often than not, they are caused by systemic issues in your work environment. Take a step back and evaluate the little things—what safety routines and procedures are in place? Is your organization’s training program effective at teaching good habits? Are you using data to measure progress toward your goals? 

Once you've evaluated your policies and processes, it's important to do some soul-searching. Review the times you’ve had serious safety incidents in the past—what could you have done to prevent them? Did your team members have the right training? Did they fully understand the risks involved with their job? Did they fully understand the procedures and implement them successfully?

The reality is that most safety incidents are a result of systemic problems: somebody didn't get trained the right way, or something in your process isn't working right. Fixing your safety culture will involve implementing new policies and procedures, updating training programs, and using data to measure and track progress. Most importantly, it will require a fundamental change in the relationships in your workplace, and the mindset of your team members.

It is crucial to foster a culture of safety where all employees feel comfortable speaking up about any concerns they may have, and where the importance of safety is emphasized at all levels of the organization. This is a long-term mission that will have spillover effects throughout your organization: a company that succeeds at fostering a positive safety culture will learn the secret recipe for unifying their team around a common goal. By working with Voxel to re-evaluate and improve your company's safety culture, you can eliminate the root causes of safety incidents and send your workers home safely each day.