Training and Grooming Front-Line Supervisors

Success in the development of safety culture can only occur if there is a concerted group effort. This concerted group effort is the team effort that is one of the major themes that has been promoted throughout this book. Failure or setbacks in culture development can occur for many reasons. Any time there is a team effort, the weakness in one team member can hold back the movement of the entire team. If we consider the team like a chain, the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. 

The development of a safety culture can fail for many reasons. Often cited and certainly important is the involvement that top management has in the culture. Ultimately, it is top management s job to lead, guide, and be responsible for running the company. The buck stops here attitude that Harry Truman made popular while he was president helps us all to realize that the top management executive is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the company. 

Changes in safety culture can take a tremendous amount of time and effort. Although the ultimate responsibility lies at the top, culture 

This bowling ball analogy really hits home. Try to envision all of a company s core values rolled up into a ball. Sure, some people may believe that some departments are more important than others, but just like the Hawthorne Effect, every team member is important. You cannot have a team without every team member. 

From a safety viewpoint, common goals and teaming are important concepts. As mentioned previously, the failure of safety culture development can happen for a variety of reasons. Usually these reasons for failure come with no quick-fix or easy answers. Just as in accident investigation, the reasons for failure are usually complicated and multifaceted. 

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Supervisors need training and grooming to be effective at their jobs. This difficult position requires tremendous people skills along with a variety of technical expertise. This technical expertise includes a large amount of information that is pertinent to safety culture development. Later in this book you will find an entire chapter dedicated to training the front-line supervisor so that safety culture development is promoted. 

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