b'Photo by Alain on UnsplashFOGHORN FOCUSSAFETY CULTURE: What Should it Mean to You?BY RICHARD F. McCANNT he term safety culture has been bantered around since longgadgets being utilized wont hold up if there isnt an individual safety before I came on the scene. But what is safety culture? Is it theculture ingrained in each and every employee. That expensive piece of speech given by the CEO or some lower management levelsafety gear bought during the last convention the management team supervisor touting to the press and company personnel about howattendedwontprovidethenecessarysafetynetifeachindividual few accidents have been recorded in the past year? Or is it spendingdoesnt have a highly-developed personal safety culture that they hold mountains of money on the latest and greatest safety product on thethemselves responsible for maintaining. market and the company splashing it all over their web site and in press releases? Or could it be how many safety meetings and safety checksSafety starts at the top, is a very true statement because if the top of are made in any given period? Or should it be how each individualthe organization isnt fully behind their words, the work force will see employee looks to their own safety as well as the safety of those aroundright through their faade. But it doesnt stop at the top either. Upper them? I believe that the latter is the answer. management has to be the catalyst to start and then foster the culture allthewaythroughtheworkforce. I have been in the professional marineOnce it appears to have been accepted, environmentforalmost50yearsandUpper management hasmanagement needs to nurture it and safety has always been a major concernconstantlybealerttoanywavering of mine. Safety has been taught to meto be the catalyst to startfrom that culture.and by me as Ive moved up the chainand then foster the culture ofcommand.MyexperiencespreadsI say that safety isnt expensive. Yes it across the entire marine field from beingall the way through theis, you say. When you add up safety a raw recruit in the U.S. Navy, eventuallyequipment,PPEandvarioussafety sailinginthesubmarineforcebeforeworkforce.gear, I can understand you doubting Iwashonorablydischarged,tosailingmystatement.ButImnottalking deep sea on merchant ships, from sailingabout the material needed in todays inland to starting my own boat tour business to round out my career.environment to meet OSHA and/or U.S. Coast Guard requirements. Im semi-retired and sail for my former employer as a fill-in when theyIm speaking entirely of the mindset each individual needs in order to are short of personnel, as well as on my boat tours in the summerbe safe. If that mindset isnt in each individual then all of the expensive months. Safety has always played an important role in my adult life.PPE and other safety items wont work because they wont be used, usedproperly,ormaintainedproperlysotheycanperformtheir So how do we obtain a safety culture that is the true essence of the termsafety function.in my opinion?This is, or should be, the goal of every organizationnot just in the maritime world and no matter the company size orHow does one go about instilling a safety mindset in each of their financial status. A company of 5,000 employees should have the sameemployees? We have to go up the ladder to the CEO and instill it in our goal as a company of five employees. That goal is the safest workingminds first. Dont take the short cut to get to the car and trip on the environment for everyone in the organization, even more so if thecurb during a downpour. Sure, youve done it a hundred times before, company has any involvement with the public.The fancy speechesbut take the time to put on the raincoat and use the proper sidewalks and fact spouting about low accident numbers and the newest safetyand crosswalks. Its the little things that seem so common that stick FOGHORN FOCUS: SAFETY 16 FOGHORN'