By Chris Mitchell, CSP (email)
Safety Advisor, Safety Management Group

Professional sports teams are groups of people who bring very different skills together to achieve victories. A pitcher and a third-basemen work just feet apart, but have separate responsibilities. A left tackle and a quarterback couldn’t be more different, but their actions must be perfectly synchronized. And point guards and centers have roles that evolve depending on the side of the court.

Even with all the right skills in place, teams usually need something else to help them succeed: coaching. It’s the coach’s job to stay focused on the big picture, coordinate every player’s role, and help each achieve maximum performance. When something goes wrong in a game, the coach calls a timeout, and works with the team to change strategies.

Shift your focus to a construction site, and you’ll have a similar situation. You’ll find all sorts of professional craftspeople with specialized skills, working under a common timetable to erect a structure under the guidance of supervisors. One type of coach on the "field" is a Safety Coach, who's charged with reducing hazards and ensuring that nobody gets hurt. A
manager/foreman/supervisor who performs his or her job like a coach, respecting the ”players” and providing the right expertise at the right time, will generally achieve a higher level of safety.

Visit this link Safety Coaching: A Game Plan for Motivation to read the complete article. To learn more about our professionl safety consulting services visit our web site Safety Management Group.

Labels: coaching, construction, consultant, safety