Pandemic casts whole new light on safety industry

By Brice Wallace

Imagine working in an industry that was often overlooked, ignored or sometimes even ridiculed. And then, in a moment’s notice, the work in that industry became deadly serious — the most important element for businesses and individuals worldwide.

That’s what happened last year to the safety community when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and spread, pushing safety considerations to the forefront of every person’s mind.

“We’ve all been adapting … and the world is hardly recognizable from early 2020,” Lorraine M. Martin, president and CEO of the National Safety Council, said during the opening keynote of the two-day Utah Safety Conference & Expo, presented by the Utah Safety Council.

“This really has been sort of a once-in-a-generation global pandemic and it has become, as we all know, unfortunately, the nation’s leading cause of death and forced seismic changes in workplaces everywhere. … Everything had to be reevaluated and adjusted to make sure that we could keep people safe.”

All of that occurred while business leaders and safety professionals had to continue to deal with the traditional safety risks “that never paused for many of our safety-sensitive and high-risk environments,” she said.

Despite the challenges of the past year, Martin said she is optimistic about the future, in part because of the fact that the world emerged from the 1918 flu pandemic that caused 50 million deaths worldwide, on top of lives lost during World War I. And her optimism is also due to opportunity provided by COVID, she said.

“If there’s a silver lining to all of this challenge that we’ve all been through, it’s this: There is a spotlight on safety,” Martin said. “The world’s attention really focused not just on safety overall for humans and making sure we could keep them safe and alive, but workplace safety in particular.

“And we must seize that moment, I would challenge you, to ensure that we achieve our shared goals, that we really make sure that we hold on to that spotlight that has been given to us because of this amazingly challenging, tragic pandemic that we’ve had, and make sure that we can bring that to our workplaces and to our lives on the other side of this.”

The National Safety Council’s part in helping includes a guide called SAFER, which stands for Safe Actions for Employee Returns, which offers help for companies in the process of resuming traditional work operations now and into the future. It’s among the resources available at nsc.org/safer.

One important element in the guide is communication from business leaders to their employees. Martin cited a recent study that indicated that most workers trust employers and safety leaders when it comes to information about COVID-19, including vaccinations.

“That means that your employees are looking for your voice,” which can guide them in making good decisions for themselves and their families, she said. “Your voice matters. Your voice is more trusted at this point, as business leaders and safety leaders, than the media, than NGOs, than the government itself.”

Martin admitted that the study results were “a little bit startling to hear” but also very welcome. “And this data really just says we have a role to play and it’s important that we do do that,” she said.

The study results follow on what she heard many times last year: Many workers found their workplace to be the safest place to be during the pandemic. “It means that our workers depend on us and we need to continue to lead all the way through this and specifically through all the traditional safety practices we lead on today.”

Martin detailed the steps that companies should undertake as they consider their workplaces for the future, including assessing vulnerabilities and implementing protocols and procedures to address them. Lots of resources from government and health agencies exist to help companies communicate, encourage and support employees during the process. “We all don’t have to become immunologists and understand all of the ins and outs,” she reassured.

Some companies during the pandemic experienced increased performance on standard safety hazards because of the increased safety focus prompted by the pandemic, she said.

“If you are one of those organizations that has seen an enhanced safety record, ask yourself, ‘Why can’t I do this all the time?’ and if you’ve had some challenges during this period, to double-down on ensuring that your traditional safety hazards are something that your teams is talking about and working each and every day to keep your employees safe,” Martin said.

The workplace of the future will be different because of COVID and Martin stressed that the safety community take advantage of the “unprecedented clarity” on worker safety that has resulted from the pandemic.

“There’s a lot of actions that were already in motion in industry because we’re always evolving, but the pandemic, I think, really did shine a light, not only on safety but on how to get our work done and what kinds of things are going to be really helpful for us going forward in the future,” she said.

“I’m optimistic that this next century will really be a game-changer for us in workplace safety, not only in being safe, but feeling safe.”