As workplace accidents continue to pose serious risks to employee well-being and organisational productivity, the importance of building a strong safety culture has never been more critical. In this interview with SULIYAT TELLA, a retired Director of Public Safety and Wellbeing at the Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Adeyinka Adebiyi, shares critical insights into the importance of cultivating a strong safety culture in workplaces. Adebiyi, who is now a safety consultant and author of Essentials of Safety and Health, says “companies need to demonstrate a commitment to safety at an equal level of priority given to production, services, and profit making.”
Why do workplaces jettison safety management?
Safety, as it were, stands on three legs, if you want, on a tripod. These include safety training, education and skills development, safety engineering, and enforcement. However, one of the significant barriers to achieving good safety and health standards is a lack of awareness and inadequate safety training. Oftentimes, organisations do not train workers on hazard identification and best practices; workers do not fully understand the potential hazards in their respective work environment or the proper safety procedures to follow. No Standards Operating Procedure (SOP) on site.
So, companies need to demonstrate a commitment to safety at an equal level of priority given to production, services, and profit making. Other barriers include a lack of employee engagement, poor organisational culture, a lack of enforcement, and so on.
How can the government ensure safety compliance in workplaces?
Government at all levels should establish and enforce regulations, conduct regular inspections, mandate safety training programmes, and promote a culture of safety through collaboration.
These regulations should be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect advancements in safety knowledge and emerging risks. Also, mechanisms must be implemented to ensure that employers are held accountable for non-compliance with penalties for violations. There must be a robust inspection programme for regular, unannounced inspections to verify compliance with safety regulations. Periodic audits can help identify potential hazards and areas for improvement in safety management systems, among others.
Your book, Essentials of Safety and Health, published in 2021, is widely referenced within the safety circle. What inspired you to write it?
Being my first textbook, I considered our environment and general safety, health, and well-being, which concern everyone. The book elaborates more on public safety, where issues of home, travel, ceremonies, fire prevention, electrical safety, the need for first aid, and many more are discussed.
In recent times, I have not come across a safety and health textbook with particular reference to safety challenges enumerated either by a local or international author. So, there is a dearth of such text, hence, I was motivated to write one.
Meanwhile, I plan to write another one specifically for workplace or occupational safety in collaboration with the Director-General and the Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola. This book will look at safety concerns in workplaces, safety management systems, safety risk assessment, safety audit, safety in the building and construction sector, and related fields.
With the frequency of fire incidents in Nigeria, are there enough safety professionals in the country?
The answer is a capital no. While Nigeria has a growing focus on occupational safety and health, it is generally understood that there is a significant shortage of qualified and certified safety professionals, particularly in comparison to the demands of the various industries.
Nigeria has a rapidly developing economy, particularly in the oil and gas, construction, manufacturing, logistics, companies, schools, malls, events, and other public spaces. This requires a robust safety infrastructure to accommodate skilled safety professionals. This is an area where the Chartered Institute of Safety Professionals (ISPON) plays a crucial role in promoting safety standards and training.
How can workplaces reduce occupational accidents?
This is numerous. However, leadership commitment to safety is the number one key factor in ensuring total safety in an organisation. The management team is expected to take safety as a value. Health, safety, and environment (HSE) must feature prominently in every organisation’s organogram, spearheaded by the leadership.
An annual budget, employee training, provisions of essential safety needs, provision of safety management systems documentations, including safety policy and policy statement, must be dedicated to safety. Others include self-auditing of processes, including safety risk assessment of the workplace.
On a final note, safety personnel must be up and doing. Armchair safety personnel are not needed. They must be seen on the ground, conducting inspections, writing daily, weekly, or quarterly reports, training and sensitising employees on safety tips and the use of a safety toolbox.
