Can Safety Really Be Priority #1? w/ Terry L. Mathis of ProAct Safety

In this episode, Apolonia talks with Terry L. Mathis, who has had almost three decades of experience in safety, much of it aligned with behavior-based safety. Terry is the founder and CEO of ProAct Safety, an international safety, and performance excellence firm. Topics that Terry and Apolonia discuss in this episode: * A company can spend a boatload of money on safety conditions. Ultimately, though, the success (or failure) of a safety program depends on people. * OSHA rules and regulations are very minimal standards. If you're not doing that, that's like trying to be in the major leagues when you can't pitch and catch. * While behavior-based safety is crucial, it’s not the be-all-end-all. It’s not a magic potion that’ll solve all of your safety woes. You can’t ignore safety fundamentals (which aren’t included in behavior-based safety programs). * Never just look at what workers do. Also, strive to understand why they do what they do. * Terry has issues with leaders saying that they want to make safety a company’s number one priority. Once he said to the board of directors of an oil company: “Look me in the face and tell me you want to tell your stockholders that this company is the safest company that ever went broke.” Thanks so much to Terry for being a guest! Read more about Terry: https://proactsafety.com/solutions/keynote-speakers/terry-l-mathis. Apolonia Rockwell is the Founder and CEO of True Safety Services and True Safety University. Learn more about “The True Safety Podcast with Apolonia Rockwell”: https://www.truesafetyservices.com/podcast. Subscribe to Apolonia Rockwell’s YouTube channel (where we also post her podcasts): http://bit.ly/subscribe-Apolonia-Rockwell-YouTube. True Safety Services is Colorado’s #1 provider in safety training and safety management services. Learn more about True Safety Services: https://www.truesafetyservices.com. True Safety University is a world-class virtual training platform for individuals and companies: https://www.truesafetyuniversity.com. Connect with True Safety Services: * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/true-safety-services. * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/truesafetyservices. * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truesafetyservices. * Twitter: https://twitter.com/true_safety. This episode was produced by Story On Media & Marketing: https://www.successwithstories.com.