Kevin this was a brilliant article. You took me on a journey with drawing on your experiences and bringing comparisons to highlight the difference between compliance and commitment.
Your team while working in the Railway Operations system were lucky to have you as a leader and you're right in your quote at the beginning. If a leader doesn't lead by example it can become the culture which can be about ignoring rules, overall extremely dangerous when it comes to safety.
The SafetyFirst to "Safety Always" mindset is of high importance, especially when lives can be lost or terribly affected. It was sad to read about one of your colleagues when you were a union rep, I can only imagine how difficult this must've been for his family, friends and colleagues.
The supervisors silence really stood out whether this was due to not knowing how to answer or the heavy weight of being up there in front of people who were grieving or a mixture of both, that day and the tragic event must've changed something for them.
It highlights how much more weight a leader carries.
Thank you so much for reading this piece and taking that journey with me, C Simone.
It was a really tough loss for everyone involved, especially his young family. Thank you for acknowledging that.
I had worked for that supervisor earlier in my career. He was a great individual, and a serious, professional leader.
You can lose your life in a heartbeat in heavy industry if you are not focused, constantly aware of your surroundings, and most importantly, following safety rules.
I found fighting complacency was one of the toughest challenges. Essentially, over time your guard can come down around hazardous energy. You become comfortable working around it, and that’s when mistakes happen — when you step into the line of fire and get hurt. We used several tools and practices to help fight complacency.
And there is great value in raising children with a strong safety mindset in life: insisting on wearing a helmet while biking, using a ladder instead of standing on a chair, wearing safety glasses and work boots while cutting the lawn, or at least reading the safety section of a new tool or appliance manual. A safe home culture matters.
When you are raised with that approach, you grow up buying into safety rather than feeling like it’s something being imposed on you by others. Moving from compliance to commitment.
I can only imagine how devastating it was for his family, it's heartbreaking.
It's so good you were taught about safety from childhood, it clearly impacted you in your life and work which is so important.
My dad always wore protective gear when cycling anywhere especially across London and yet I've seen many cycling without helmets or florescent lights at night, being exposed to this from a young age made me very aware especially after I witnessed a classmate when I was in primary school get knocked into the air by a car, it's something I'll never forget. He survived and got immediate help but it really could've been worse.
Safety without question is to be part of the minds of everyone with regard to their lives and others.
A few years ago, I went for a bike ride with our friends down the street, the mother and four of her kids. She was riding ahead of me as we went down a small hill. She stood up on the pedals, missed one, and in an instant the bike went sideways. Her body and head slammed hard into the pavement.
She lost consciousness and came to about 30 seconds later. I called 911, the ambulance arrived, and she was taken to the hospital with a severe concussion. Merilyn stayed with the kids while everything unfolded. The doctor later told her that her bike helmet had saved her life.
And it’s the same issue here, so many people still don’t wear bike helmets. The way she went down, I’m still stunned at how quickly it happened. She had absolutely no time to react. I can still replay it in my mind like it happened yesterday.
It’s human nature to think we’ll have time to catch ourselves or react in an emergency, but often we don’t. That’s why personal protective equipment matters so much. In her case, that helmet truly saved the day.
Great read. The distinction between compliance and commitment is spot-on. It’s easy for people to follow rules on paper, but far harder to internalize why those rules matter. The idea that belief fuels behavior is key to building real, lasting safety cultures. The lawnmower anecdote was a great way to highlight how everyday choices reflect deeper values.
Thanks Teresa. I appreciate the pinpointed feedback, and I’m glad the main theme came through. Hopefully parents can see safety culture as a point of reflection as well.
Kevin this was a brilliant article. You took me on a journey with drawing on your experiences and bringing comparisons to highlight the difference between compliance and commitment.
Your team while working in the Railway Operations system were lucky to have you as a leader and you're right in your quote at the beginning. If a leader doesn't lead by example it can become the culture which can be about ignoring rules, overall extremely dangerous when it comes to safety.
The SafetyFirst to "Safety Always" mindset is of high importance, especially when lives can be lost or terribly affected. It was sad to read about one of your colleagues when you were a union rep, I can only imagine how difficult this must've been for his family, friends and colleagues.
The supervisors silence really stood out whether this was due to not knowing how to answer or the heavy weight of being up there in front of people who were grieving or a mixture of both, that day and the tragic event must've changed something for them.
It highlights how much more weight a leader carries.
Thank you so much for reading this piece and taking that journey with me, C Simone.
It was a really tough loss for everyone involved, especially his young family. Thank you for acknowledging that.
I had worked for that supervisor earlier in my career. He was a great individual, and a serious, professional leader.
You can lose your life in a heartbeat in heavy industry if you are not focused, constantly aware of your surroundings, and most importantly, following safety rules.
I found fighting complacency was one of the toughest challenges. Essentially, over time your guard can come down around hazardous energy. You become comfortable working around it, and that’s when mistakes happen — when you step into the line of fire and get hurt. We used several tools and practices to help fight complacency.
And there is great value in raising children with a strong safety mindset in life: insisting on wearing a helmet while biking, using a ladder instead of standing on a chair, wearing safety glasses and work boots while cutting the lawn, or at least reading the safety section of a new tool or appliance manual. A safe home culture matters.
When you are raised with that approach, you grow up buying into safety rather than feeling like it’s something being imposed on you by others. Moving from compliance to commitment.
I can only imagine how devastating it was for his family, it's heartbreaking.
It's so good you were taught about safety from childhood, it clearly impacted you in your life and work which is so important.
My dad always wore protective gear when cycling anywhere especially across London and yet I've seen many cycling without helmets or florescent lights at night, being exposed to this from a young age made me very aware especially after I witnessed a classmate when I was in primary school get knocked into the air by a car, it's something I'll never forget. He survived and got immediate help but it really could've been worse.
Safety without question is to be part of the minds of everyone with regard to their lives and others.
A few years ago, I went for a bike ride with our friends down the street, the mother and four of her kids. She was riding ahead of me as we went down a small hill. She stood up on the pedals, missed one, and in an instant the bike went sideways. Her body and head slammed hard into the pavement.
She lost consciousness and came to about 30 seconds later. I called 911, the ambulance arrived, and she was taken to the hospital with a severe concussion. Merilyn stayed with the kids while everything unfolded. The doctor later told her that her bike helmet had saved her life.
And it’s the same issue here, so many people still don’t wear bike helmets. The way she went down, I’m still stunned at how quickly it happened. She had absolutely no time to react. I can still replay it in my mind like it happened yesterday.
It’s human nature to think we’ll have time to catch ourselves or react in an emergency, but often we don’t. That’s why personal protective equipment matters so much. In her case, that helmet truly saved the day.
Great read. The distinction between compliance and commitment is spot-on. It’s easy for people to follow rules on paper, but far harder to internalize why those rules matter. The idea that belief fuels behavior is key to building real, lasting safety cultures. The lawnmower anecdote was a great way to highlight how everyday choices reflect deeper values.
Thanks Teresa. I appreciate the pinpointed feedback, and I’m glad the main theme came through. Hopefully parents can see safety culture as a point of reflection as well.