I have to chuckle when companies and experts tell me there is no such thing as a culture of safety. That there is only one culture (if even that). I call bullshit on that belief. One way to learn this is the hard way, such as what Boeing is going through. And on an investor call yesterday, CEO Kelly Ortberg told investors:
"he plans to prioritize a culture shift to reboot the company's image"
The statement came after Boeing announced layoffs and other efforts to downsize this month as its credit rating approaches junk status. Boeing's stock fell 3% in midday trading.
Boeing’s growth came back in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. But then it shifted focus to stock price, and EBITA became the dominant metric, overshadowing safety and quality.
Safety and quality were no longer viewed as the backbone of the company but as mere obstacles to achieving its financial goals.
As the old proverb says…
Trust arrives on foot but leaves on horseback.
In other words, building a culture of TRUST and CREDIBILITY in safety (and quality) takes time, but it can be torn down rather quickly. Unfortunately, for many people, this comes at a grave cost via lost jobs, injuries, and even deaths.
So, when we battle this collapsed culture by living it daily, we will fully appreciate what “culture” really is and how it impacts everything that happens in a facility and every decision being made.
If Boeing survives this fall, it will be a LEARNING opportunity for this next generation of leadership in how a business MUST BALANCE production, costs, quality, and EHS. I can promise any executive who cares to listen that:
- Customers outside the business will never be pleased when your #1 customer (employees) is not pleased.
- Customers outside the business will struggle to trust the company when employees struggle to trust the company.
- A business will have little credibility with customers if it has little credibility with the people making that customer’s product.
I spent most of my career working for organizations where management wanted a turnaround in safety performance. It was hard work, but SO REWARDING and exciting to see and hear the changes happening right before our eyes and ears. Customers and companies came to see what we were doing to turn things around. We went from losing customers to winning customer supplier awards for delivery, quality, etc., ALL WHILE reducing injury rates by 50-75%, achieving OSHA VPP STAR designation, and achieving ISO certifications in EHS and Quality. We were proud of our accomplishments and wanted to share the roadmap with everyone who wanted to listen.
There was NO silver bullet!!! Just some good old-fashioned SMS/Safety Process leading the way in building TRUST and CREDIBILITY in Safety and Quality. Once the workforce and contractors BELIEVED this was the REAL DEAL, not another flavor of the month or more virtue signaling, things started to turn around. But we gave them a Safety Process/SMS to PARTICIPATE in and OWN as their own. The words spoken by management about SAFETY and QUALITY were MATCHED by OUR DAILY ACTIONS. Before too long, people began to consider the possibility that we were serious about what we were SAYING. But it takes time, and yes, we will take three steps forward and 1 step back, as mistakes will be made along this journey. We LEARN from these mistakes so that we do not repeat them, and as safety pros, we LEARN from these mistakes so as not to make them later in our careers as we help another business build a culture of safety (and yes, this does exist).
