The role and weight of effective safety leadership has never been more significant. Persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs), or employers, carry both moral and legal obligations to ensure that the highest standards of health and safety are maintained across business operations.

Creating a culture for safety leadership goes beyond meeting the minimum legislative standard, embracing accountability, and driving positive changes that protect the people under your direction. Safety leaders are key to setting the standards and guiding principles behind organisational culture and expectations around how work is conducted.

As best practice and legislation continues to evolve, it is imperative to look forward and consider how current systems and processes can scale to meet the future demands of heightened regulations. Digital solutions offer an unparalleled opportunity to enhance and enrich safety leadership. They are able to support organisations in remaining agile, managing compliance effectively, and make informed decisions that prioritise the safety of their workforce.

What does safety leadership look like in leading organisations? 

Fundamental to the role of a safety manager is to plan and implement initiatives and controls that make the work their business conducts safe. By integrating the principals of safety risk management into business operations, organisations can foster safety leadership by building a culture where safety is a core value. Effective safety leaders initiate conversations around safety, educating employees about risks and taking proactive steps to reduce incidents. As advocates of compliance, they set the tone for how safety is perceived and prioritised within the organisation, ensuring that the safety of workers is managed proactively. 

In advocating for safe business practices and WHS compliance, safety leaders work to:

• Ensure the promotion of safety above all other considerations 

• Promote a sense of shared responsibility among employees 

• Foster a culture for continuous improvement and awareness

• Create plans to address findings of compliance reporting and data 

• Demonstrate a genuine commitment to employee safety and wellbeing 

A strong team of safety leaders can make a positive impact on the safety climate of organisations. This, according to WorkSafe QLD, can result in long term, improved safety behaviours from workers and colleagues.

As a key area of focus for Safe Work Australia’s National WHS Strategy, fostering safety leadership within organisations contributes to a wider investment in Australia’s approach to workplace safety. Leveraging a collaborative approach, safety leaders spark conversations around the future of compliance both internally and externally, setting the bar for safety outcomes at an industry level. 

What are the components of Safety Leadership?

The components of safety leadership are the same, regardless of industry or the size of a business:

• Policy - Having policies that establish the business’ commitment to standards of safety, expectations of conduct, and positive safety outcomes.

• Accountability - Organisations may have employees who are in dedicated health and safety roles such as Head of HSE, Safety Officer, or a HSE Coordinator. These individuals play their part in setting the standards around safety and taking responsibility for ensuring that these are complied with.

• Resourcing – Business leaders that champion safety understand that it is an investment and allocate resources effectively to provide a safe environment and foster a safety culture. There are soft costs and hard costs, including salaries of safety officers, consultancy costs, employee time spent conducting risk assessments, personal protective equipment, tools, measuring instruments for safety, and signage.

• Understanding & Controlling Risk - An essential component of leadership in safety is a solid understanding of risk and setting the tone around how risk is managed within the business. Employers have a duty to eliminate risks to health and safety, so far as reasonably practicable.

• Investigating Incidents - In the event that an incident does occur, it is important to identify the root cause, determine what is needed to prevent a recurrence and then communicate the outcomes to the rest of the organisation.

• Measuring & Benchmarking Performance - “What gets measured gets done.” Without measurement, it is not possible to understand the true value of an implemented control. A safety leader should strive to measure and understand benchmarks of performance and check regularly to observe change, trends, and improvements.

• Feeding learnings back into the Safety Management System – Through audits, assessments, and reflecting on past performance and occurrences, learnings can be fed back into a safety management system and converted into adjustments, new initiatives, training, and adaptations to ensure the system is effective and fit for purpose.

The role of digital solutions in fostering safety leadership 

Reliance on outdated systems, paper-based record keeping or manual processes can have consequences beyond organisational efficiency. Administrative error can pose several risks to organisations and their workers, including workplace injury, non-compliance, and reputational damage.

The initial costs of implementing EHS software are almost always outweighed by the long-term benefits and cost savings. Organisations who employ the use of digital solutions to assist in the management of their contractors are afforded greater visibility, efficiency and long-term cost reductions, while safeguarding against financial penalties for non-compliance. 

For safety leaders, digital solutions enhance not only safety processes, but increase visibility across their supply chain, revealing essential information about the risks and vulnerabilities associated with their work. 

The current safety landscape demands a proactive approach from safety leaders to navigate emerging risks and legislation.

How Cm3’s compliance solutions support future safety leaders

Cm3 is a leading Australian contractor safety and compliance management solutions provider. With solutions covering ranging from managed compliance assessments, to site access and worker inductions.

By setting standards for engagement and collecting and tracking credentials, Cm3 facilitates successful partnerships between businesses based on a shared focus on safety and compliance. 

Cm3’s ecosystem of compliance solutions provides the tools and resources necessary to support safety leader, equipping them with the ability to manage the safety of their contractors more effectively and proactively. The in-house team of qualified assessors review submitted compliance evidence from contractors and provide guidance for improvement to meet their client’s requirements and obligations. Leveraging Cm3’s reporting capabilities, safety leaders can make better informed, data driven decisions and targeted interventions to meet their obligations to provide a safe workplace.

By taking a partnership approach with clients, Cm3’s solutions support the development of a safety-first mindset within organisations. By providing a clear framework for managing contractor safety and compliance, businesses can adopt the values and practices necessary for the maintenance of a safe work environment.