- Bob Zaist, president, energy and construction, URS Corp.
- Beth Rosenberg, CSB board member
- Lester Gray, senior vice president of operations, Perdue Farms
- Stephanie Buchanan, vice president of United Airlines, Houston Hub
- Virginia Valentine, president of Nevada Resort Association
The panel touched on a range of topics. Here are some key thoughts from the discussion.
Safety as an organizational value.
"Safety is a core value in our organization, and as a result, the organization embraces it as something that is part of our everyday business life." -Bob Zaist
“It’s important that it becomes a part of your DNA as a company. If it’s something you have to think about, it's not something that will just happen. Get it ingrained in your company." -Stephanie Buchanan
"Safety is so basic to us. . .I don't think Las Vegas would exist if people didn't think they could come here and not have a safe experience." -Virginia Valentine
Value of safety to your customers
"Good safety means good business, quite frankly." -Bob Zaist
On safety culture
"Employees need to feel like they will be supported. A big part of the culture is the tone we set. You have to create opportunities for communication." -Virginia Valentine
"Find the positives in safety. Make something fun out of something that is very serious."
-Stephanie Buchanan
Challenges of maintaining safety as a value
"We have a lot of very senior employees who have been doing the same jobs for a long time." Complacency starts to set in. The challenge is keeping folks engaged who believe they know everything."
-Stephanie Buchanan
"Our challenge is keeping things fresh for our employees." -Bob Zaist
Skills for safety professionals
"One of my favorite cliches is 'Bad news doesn't improve with age.' You want to be able to express yourself in a tactful way. Be a good communicator, be diplomatic, be able to think through the consequences." - Virginia Valentine
"No one likes confrontation, but everyone should assess their ability to have those conversations. You're going to be dealing with senior leaders who are more bottom-line focused. If you don't feel like that's your skill set, take some classes or educate yourself on how to have crucial conversations."
-Stephanie Buchanan
"We ask our safety professional to do three things: 1) Be a technical resource . . 2) Be safety cheerleaders and communicate effectively . . . 3) Be the safety conscience. -Lester Gray
How safety professionals can advance their careers
"You need to be proactive with your careers. You need to be thinking ahead of where you’d like to be taking your career. What are the experiences you haven’t had that would help you attain your goals?” Take advantage of opportunities." -Bob Zaist
"If I encourage you guys to do anything, it’s to own your careers. It’s easy to let yourself and senior managers to pigeonhole you. It's important for you to express interest." -Lester Gray
"Be an empathetic engineer. Empathize with the people you're dealing with." -Beth Rosenberg
How do you demonstrate the value of safety?
"I try to end every conversation with, 'Have a safety day.' I want to be sure that safety is front and center.You have to show that your expectations are not different than your employees's.”
-Stephanie Buchanan
-Stephanie Buchanan
"As a senior leader, you have to be consistent, particularly in safety." -Bob Zaist
"You have to be consistent
and you can’t be a hypocrite.” -Beth Rosenberg