Effecting Real Change In Safety Begins With Trust – with John Green

John Green, who has worked closely with the likes of Sidney Dekker on bringing the Safety Differently approach into prominence, and is currently working with SNC-Lavalin as their Global Vice President in HSE. John joins Colin today to discuss the importance of empathy when making change, why we must listen to previously unheard voices while doing so, and why trust may be the component that can make all the difference. KEY TAKEAWAYS Most organisations, particularly those in construction, are rather more traditional in their views on health and safety. But this has led to a dissatisfaction in the sector, as the direction seems to be missing. We need to employ empathy when hoping to effect change when it comes to safety. Many companies have spent years developing and nurturing their own forms of safety. To disregard these careful measures only creates hostility from the get go. We first must ensure that the vision and values we seek to grow are present in our organisations. If we couple this purpose with trust in our workforce, then we engender natural interest in safety. It’s so easy to become complacent, but we must actively seek to challenge the status quo. Safety should not be a box-ticking exercise. We must seek out the complacent and challenge it to be better. BEST MOMENTS ‘Many think that safety is stale’ ‘You need to be empathetic and careful about how you go about changing organisations’ ’If you’ve got trust in your organisation you can deal with these things as the potential grows’ ‘Embrace the red - challenge the green' VALUABLE RESOURCES The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/the-interesting-health-safety-podcast/id1467771449   ABOUT THE HOST Colin Nottage ‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’ This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions. He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation. Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses. Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive. He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).