When making New Year’s resolutions, we often don’t consider adding safety to the list, but we should. Learn three tips to help achieve your safety goals in 2017.
The presents have been unwrapped, the holiday cookies are eaten, and December is quickly coming to an end. With January one knocking at the door we now turn attention to reflecting on the past year and contemplation our New Year’s resolutions. Many positive and wonderful things have happened in 2016, but unfortunately we’ve also had devastating terrorist attacks, school shootings, and natural disasters.
Many of the past year’s tragedies could have been prevented or their impacts lessened with better planning. I would encourage all us that are responsible for the safety of others regardless of whether it’s in an education, retail, business, hospitality or government setting that we commit ourselves to making 2017 as safe as possible.
Developing safety goals is similar to making New Year’s resolutions.
Here are a few guidelines and suggestions to follow when developing or improving safety plans and infrastructures.
1. Goals need to be specific. What changes need to be made in 2017 to make the facility, campus or building a safer place to work, study or live? Are entry and exit doors secure? Is the guest check-in process streamlined but thorough? Are cameras positioned to monitoring access doors? What can be done to improve situational awareness and automate processes? Are lone workers able to call for assistance quickly in case of an emergency? Developing and answering detailed questions and providing detailed answers will enable you to identify weakness and strengths in your safety infrastructure.
2. Determine the steps necessary to achieve your goals. Once we understand the weaknesses in our current safety systems, we need to create thorough step by step plans to ensure our goals become reality. Create a written plan that states the goal in clear unambiguous language. Provide specific deadlines for when each part of the plan will be completed. Also include who is responsible for completing each component. Being thoughtful and specific about the process of realizing a goal makes accomplishing it much more likely.
3. Measure the progress. When changes are made, it is important to evaluate whether the end goal is being achieved. This requires developing objective measures to accurately assess whether we’ve achieved our goal. It’s not enough to tell ourselves stories or make assumptions about how well we’re doing. If the goal is to improve response times, a baseline measure should be taken and then measured frequently to ensure improvement is actually occurring.
With the realities we face in today’s society, safety resolutions are paramount. Having specific goals for 2017, creating a plan to achieve those goals and then measuring the progress are three essential steps in making lasting changes in the coming year. If you would like information about assessing your site’s safety preparedness or learning how Status Solutions can integrate and maximize your current safety systems, please feel to email us or contact us at 866-846-7272. Let us all resolve to make our residences, workplaces and communities safer in 2017. Have a wonderful New Year!
