Episode 217: A Proactive Approach

In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety, Dr. Mark French challenges a common approach to measuring safety performance: relying on OSHA recordable injuries and other lagging indicators as primary measures of success. Using the simple example of water on the floor, Mark explains how the same hazard can produce dramatically different outcomes. One person may walk through the water without incident, another may nearly fall, another may suffer a minor injury, and another could experience a serious or even fatal injury. The hazard is the same, but the outcome depends on numerous variables. This raises an important question: Why do organizations judge safety performance primarily by outcomes that occur after someone has already been hurt? The episode expands this idea into a broader leadership discussion about proactive versus reactive management. Organizations would never intentionally wait until their bank account is empty to determine whether their business strategy is working. Instead, leaders monitor the activities and processes that influence future results. Safety should be managed the same way. Rather than asking only how many injuries occurred, leaders should examine proactive measures: How many hazards were identified and corrected? How often are leaders engaging employees in the field? Are high-risk conditions being identified before they produce an injury? Ultimately, safety provides leaders with an opportunity to develop a proactive mindset that extends beyond injury prevention. Understanding safety requires leaders to understand their people, processes, quality, production, and operations. The goal is simple: focus on the things that can make a difference while they can still make a difference.