Chapter 13Managing Safety Suggestions
When a supervisor gets a safety suggestion, it's a Moment of High Influence…for the employee who makes the suggestion. As for the leader, it's another opportunity to lead. It also means dealing with a problem, because a safety suggestion represents the combination of a problem and a solution. Not that the supervisor necessarily gets both parts.
The first consideration in dealing with any safety suggestion is that of priority or urgency: how quickly the suggestion must be dealt with. That determination should be based on the nature and severity of the problem. Next, you always want to say “thank you” (not “good idea”) to the person who has submitted the suggestion: that's how you recognize the Moment of High Influence.
Finally, as to what to do about the suggestion, there are always plenty of options, such as saying, “Let's do it,” counter‐proposing an alternative solution to the problem, looking at the problem yourself—otherwise known as Managing By Walking Around—delegating the problem to someone else, turning in a formal safety suggestion, and letting the employee champion the idea. If the solution finds its way into practice, be sure to bring it to the attention of the rest of the crew, giving proper credit to the person who made the suggestion. That's a great way to encourage others to turn in suggestions.
Preparation Questions
- How often do the members of your crew turn in safety suggestions?
- How is a safety suggestion normally handled ...