No middle ground for safety

Editor's Note, September 2004

By Bob Vavra
Editor

The message at the National Safety Council's 92nd Annual Congress & Expo is that so much is changing in safety—we are, slowly but steadily, getting safer in our workplace and off the job.

The message also is that we are not safe enough yet—more work must be done and more attention must be called to the matter of safety.

If we focus on the extremes in safety, we lose sight of the idea that in the vast majority of American business, workers value managers who value workers first. We have a nation diligent about workplace safety and concerned when safety is breached. For these leaders, there is no middle ground on safety. There is no room for compromise.

This month, Safety+Health features safety directors—and that includes those charged with bringing safety to their workplaces without the title of "safety director." The common thread in their stories is that while they understand issues such as lost workdays and OSHA recordables, they didn't wait for a Voluntary Protection Program banner or an OSHA citation to make their workplace safer.

This year's Congress attendees will hear of the success of the VPP. One alliance at a time, the message of safety is being brought home to America's workers. They will also hear, at a presentation I'll make on the Congress show floor on Monday and Tuesday at 3 p.m., that OSHA enforcement continues to find America's workers exposed to the same safety hazards year after year.

We cannot afford to think of safety as either voluntary compliance or huge fines against violators. Safety must be mandatory, but looking for a mandate from someone else outside your organization just isn't good enough.