Buster Keasler, safety and health manager for LyondellBasell
In his role as a safety and health manager with LyondellBasell, Buster Keasler has accumulated a list of recommendations for conducting successful on-site safety walkabouts.
First, he said, it is essential for the safety professional to determine a sincere motivation for that walkabout.
"Are you really trying to make things safer, or are you out there just checking a box?" Keasler asked delegates in a presentation at the Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Seminar held recently in Galveston, Texas.
"You've got to make people feel comfortable so they know you're there to improve things," he said. "You're not the safety police."
Keasler stressed the importance of establishing an easy flow of communication with site workers in order to build trust.
"Introduce yourself. Be friendly. Put the person you're observing at ease. You've got to make them relax, because as you build relationships, it builds credibility on your part," he said.
The more workers trust managers, the more likely they are to volunteer information to those managers about issues that should be examined during the safety walkabout, he said.
"That is the pinnacle of success," Keasler said. "That's what you want them to do, because they're not afraid that you're going to get them in trouble or hear you say, 'Yeah, that's a violation so you're going to be in HR for the next hour or two.'"
Keasler simultaneously encouraged safety managers to balance conversational observations with reason.
"If it's immediately dangerous to life or health, you have to step in and make those changes," he said.
Keasler also suggested that safety managers conduct walkabouts on their own, rather than being part of an inspection contingency.
"If you walk out there with a big group, every worker is going to shut down, because they know at least one of you 10 is going to find something wrong," he said.
Instead, Keasler encouraged safety managers to recruit the assistance of an operator from that site.
"Take them with you," he said. "They'll show you a lot. Ask them questions and get them involved."
Rewards and feedback
Giving operators small tokens that recognize and reward good performance can be powerful tools, Keasler noted.
"Sometimes sites provide little trinkets like just a simple 'Be safe' hardhat sticker for when you go out on observations. The guys just love them," Keasler said. "That just opens the door for more conversation and makes people feel more relaxed."
Another "do" is to always give feedback.
"If you don't give feedback, that guy doesn't know if he hit it out of the park or if he ought to get his lunch pail and start heading out," Keasler said. "Don't observe somebody and then just walk off, even if they did a great job and you didn't observe anything wrong. Share that with them. But don't tell them, 'Hey, everything was fine' and then tell their supervisor that there was a mess out there and get them called down on it."
Finally, Keasler shared a "cardinal rule" for conducting a successful walkabout.
"If someone asks you to look into something ⦠go back and give them an answer," he said. "Even if you can't do anything about it, come back and tell them that. If you don't get back to them, you're going to lose your credibility, and you only get a chance to lose your credibility one time.
"Your job comes with a certain amount of credibility just because of your title, but after that, you've got to earn it. And that comes through relationships, being honest and being upfront with people."
