Steve Mahoney paves 'Road to Zero' with more than good intentions

Steve Mahoney, chairman of the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB) of Ontario, challenged the audience: "What is an acceptable number of fatalities [on the job]? Is your number 50 or 25 or 10 deaths per year?" I don't think most of us in that audience had given it much thought, and sometimes it takes courageous leaders to make us stop and wonder what, exactly, is acceptable?

I was the co-owner of a light manufacturing company that was very traditional. We set annual goals. We didn't monitor "near-misses" as accidents. We didn't hang a Safety Week banner in our plant. We didn't start each day with a safety review. We hadn't had any fatalities - and only a few recorded injuries. Our buddy system worked. Profits were tremendous and safety was just a minor concern.

I made assumptions - wrong assumptions

I was a business owner who got caught off guard... I assumed that everybody ran relatively safe businesses. I assumed that there were just a few workplace fatalities and that they were isolated in industries such as mining,construction and logging.

My assumptions were based on media coverage, or I should say, lack of coverage. I had never had a serious discussion with a President or CEO regarding health and safety. I was not part of the "safety culture." I was in the dark. 

The loss of my son David in a workplace accident was a huge wake-up call for me. All my assumptions about safety were wrong. I am now a strong supporter for the strategy of the Road to Zero.

Obstacles preventing you from traveling the Road to Zero? Could they be...

Money?

Most  companies have not recognized that there is a direct line between investing in safety, production and delivery - and leading to profits.

As Ralph Robinson ,President of Weston puts, it, "We have discovered that our most productive plants are also our safest plants. Many companies are just recognizing the value of the investment capital in H&S. The returns are measurable. 

Media?

Magazine and newspaper editors, broacasters, and bloggers write prolifically write about environmental issues today. Safety issues have taken a back seat and consequently parents and students are not aware the statistics and recognition of the companies with excellent records.

Parental Involvement?

Many parents still see the safety culture as something that is tied to the blue-collar sector. What they do not recognize is that most of their children will not have the opportunity to work for a unionized company or a large corporation while they are of high school age. They will be looking for jobs at a smaller company that may not spend much time or effort on health and safety!  

To change the business culture for ALL sizes of companies, we need to awaken the public to the very real threat, and high costs, to losing lives in the workplace.

Let's follow the challenge of leaders like WSIB's Steve Mahoney (shown here speaking at the 2007 Our Youth at Work simulcast presentation): The Road to Zero is attainable and will impact all of our lives and businesses.