Simple Secrets to Success

16 Tips to Keep Your Management System Flying High

ISO 14001 Forum

           16 Tips to KeepYour Management System Flying High

                                           ByJerald Wright, Jr.

A turtle was walking though the forest when an airplane flew above the tree tops.He looked up in astonishment because it was the first time he had ever noticedsuch a sight. Becoming fascinated with the thought of flying, the turtledeveloped a plan and started practicing for the day he would fly.

After weeks of preparation, the day came and he struggled to the top of theWorld's Edge, the highest cliff in the forest that would surely provide anopportunity to really fly. He checked the wind, took a deep breath and beganthe run for the edge ready for take off. He leaped out and began to soar. Tothe right he flew and then he leaned to the left and began to turn. He waved athis friends below and thought how great flying was.

Then it happened. He hit the tree branches, the rocks, and then the groundwith a loud thud. He felt his body rattle inside his cracked shell.He just laidthere wondering what happened and what went wrong.

What is often neglected is the focus on culture and the beliefs of people inthe organization that can impact loss.

Now if you are thinking this is everyone, you are correct.We are not talkingabout the culture that is documented or discussed in the manager�s meeting. We are talkingabout the true culture of the organization and how the company actuallyoperates, how decisions are made, how people act and what we reward. How totell the difference and understanding how to create the needed culture is thedifference between flying and crashing to the ground.

Sadly this describes the fate of some quality, environment,and safetysystems. People think everything is fine andthat systems are in place forcontrol of all forms of loss.

Leaders celebrate success, and then it happens. It does not matter what"it" is. It just happens. A serious injury, a significantenvironmental event, or the loss of a key customer due to a quality problem allsadly provide an indisputable signal that something went wrong and we�re not flying. We were onlyfalling and failed to see really what was happening. It was only a matter oftime. All the processes and procedures did were to give us confidence as weheaded for the eventual "thud."

This generally begins as we look at others doing well, read a few books,attend a class or two and create a mass of procedures. Some may have evencompleted assessments to supply additional support to the notion that theycould fly.

The company policy statement contains all the right buzz words that clearlyset the stage for soaring high. Promotions have taken place that emphasized theimportance of flying and our ability to make it happen. But somehow losscontinues with the most troublesome issue being that no one is sure what to do.Some even start to say that some loss is okay and is just part of doingbusiness.

For those who think there is nothing you can do about culture and that yoursite is different than the other facilities, here are 16 tips to keep yourmanagement system flying high:

1. Create a structure where the "Why" is clearly understood by allteam members in terms of how it will benefit not only the company, butalso the individual. 

2. Ensure your implementation plan allows time for the correct culture to bedeveloped and internalized.

3. Recognize that you are creating change that requires effort and properplanning.

4. Engage people in small group discussion to convey the message, obtaininput, and check for complete understanding.

5. Think about your conversations and meetings and ensure you areconsistently reinforcing the goals by pinpointing the message and listening forresponses.

6. Review the behaviors and comments of all team members to determine if themessage is internalized.

7. Establish goals that add value to the organization and bottom lineresults.

8. Ensure the appearance and order of the entire facility reflects theculture you are creating including the grounds, offices and spaces that no oneclaims.

9. Reinforce your expectations regarding what is an acceptable level of riskand provide tools that allow everyone to do risk assessments to ensure control.

10.Modify your system and implementation plan based on knowledge gained fromobservations and conversations with everyone.

11. Network with people and companies that have been successful in achievingimplementation and identify best practices.

12. Ensure the process and systems are effective without needless complexity

13. Consider what signals leaders send about how they feel about thepolicies and directions through what they say, do, don't do and don't say.

14. Focus on the implementation process not just on creating the proceduresand processes.

15 Monitor the activities and results to ensue the goals and vision arebeing achieved.

16. Utilize assessments and certifications as a valuable tool to reinforceand improve the system not as a club to make things happen.

Success involves not only the creation of the procedures, policies, andprocesses, but more importantly the proper execution and implementation of theplan. A plan must consider how to create and maintain the needed culture.

Procedures, processes, and policies are the building blocks of an effectiveloss control system.Culture is the mortar that binds the processes together toform a strong system.

Without all elements the system is weak and cannot provide lasting results.When they all come together, it creates a strong complete system that iseffective and gives us the bottom- line results we are seeking.When this occurswe can fly.

Jerald Wright, Jr. is a senior principal trainer/assessorwithDet Norske Veritas Certification Inc. in Atlanta. He has more than 40 years ofindustrial experience and has seen loss control systems both succeed and faildue to their design and  implementation.He has designed safety systemsthat have been successful in controlling loss to people, property, process andthe environment. Det Norske Veritas Certification Inc., 3805 Crestwood Parkway,Suite 200, Duluth, GA 30096; telephone: 770-279-0001; fax: 770-279-7177; e-mail jwright@safetysys.net �

 Published in Environmental Systems Update

Environmental Systems Update is published monthly by QSU PublishingCompany, 3975 University Drive, Suite 230, Fairfax, VA, 22030. The annualsubscription rate is $375.  Volume discounts are available. ISSN:1091-2681The Journal for ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, RC14001� and Environmental ProfessionalsVolume 11, Number 6 2006   




Simple Secrets to Success

By Jerald Wright


Two men aloft in a hot air balloon were lost and were trying to find theirlocation. They floated over a golf course and shouted to a foursome on thegreen. "Where are we? We have lost our bearings and need someassistance." The answer quickly came from the ground." You are in ahot air balloon." The two in the basket just looked at each other and thenone said, "They must be safety professionals. The information was totallycorrect and totally useless."

Too often people forget who the real customers are and become infatuated withhearing themselves talk often in code. Systems are created that are so complexthe ultimate customer cannot understand them or adhere to them for more than afew months. There are debates over the proper approach to safety and thecreation of various investigation models that eventually fills the leader withconfusion to the point they create their own system or do nothing.

The ultimate customer is the person doing the task and the person most at riskfor injury. They are often found when the train jumps the track even thoughthey have little control of the train or the tracks. Having systems in placethat are so complex or misplaced that the worker cannot understand theimportance of them does nothing to control the risk and often increases it. Itis like the safety beliefs and systems are not firmly rooted in solid values,foundations, or principles.

Leaders struggling to do the right thing become lost in a quagmire of conceptswithout the understanding, direction, or training to identify the course neededto control risk and loss. Just like the croquet game in "Alice inWonderland" as soon as the rules or principles are understood they changewhich often sends the leaders reeling to meet the new concepts, regulations orstandards. They question if they will ever succeed and become world class. Andright when they feel they are in control, loss occurs which again makes themquestion their direction.

What is needed are environmental safety and healthprocesses firmly rooted inproven concepts and principlescomplete with clear concrete examples that givepositiveresults instead of just giving advice. Systems based on ISO14001 andANSI Z10 must lead to compliance modelswhile addressing the real needs andvalues of the organization.

What adds to the value of such systems is their ability to be transferred topeople at all levels in an organization. With the reduction of resource rolesand levels, the need for common systems and frameworks are paramount forlong-term success of the business, the systems and the control of risk.Incorporating the requirements of ISO 14001 and ANSI Z10 into our dailyoperation instead of creating separate systems requiring extra effort is thetrue sign of success.

Too often systems take on a life of their own with the majority of the effortplaced on maintaining the system rather than its intended purpose ofcontrolling risk. Systems are created on top of systems to attempt to address100 percent of problems instead of the 20 percent of the opportunities that cangive 80 percent of the results. People confuse complexity with effectiveness.Some clear indicators of ineffective systems are:

� The flowchart of the system resembles a roadmap of Boston.

� It has been modified numerous times in attemptsto improve it.

� You must assign additional people to drive itand make sure that it works.

� Time is regularly spent in safety meetingsdiscussing how to fix the system.

� You continually try to sell the systems tousers.

� The results become lost in the system.

Have you noticed that simple systems require less training time, can easily betransferred, are more robust, and are more effective? The secrets to long-termsuccess are basic management principles including identifying the needs,developing standards and systems, monitoring the results for continualimprovement, then taking action to improve or recognize the results.

Systems can just fade away due to neglect of the users and owners especiallywhen leaders spend most of the time trying to get people to use the system. Asksome basic questions about your safety systems:

� What need does it address and will it impactloss?

� Does it support our other values, objectives,systems and processes?

� Will the results be measurable, obvious, andperceived as positive?

� Is it worth the effort and can the objectivesbe achieved with a simpler approach?

� Is there a process to periodically review thesystems and celebrate the results or change it as needed?

Whether regulatory or management systems these same principles apply. Spendingtime reducing the complexity of systems and identifying the 20 percent of thekey activities that will give us the 80 percent of the results, allows us to beeffective and eliminate loss while achieving compliance with standards such asISO 14001 and ANSI Z10.

At the heart of this effort is ensuring that all leaders in the organizationhave the information, knowledge, and skill required to consistently andconfidently lead the safety effort. These allow the leader to form thefoundation and beliefs required to create effective safety systems and meet theneeds of the ultimate customer.

The role of the safety professional is to make that happen.

Jerald Wright, Jr is a senior principal trainer/assessor with DetNorske Veritas Certification Inc. in Atlanta. He has more than 40 years ofindustrial experience and has seen loss control systems both succeed and faildue to their design and implementation.

He has designed safety systems that have been successful in controlling lossto people, property, process and the environment. Det Norske VeritasCertification Inc., 3805 Crestwood Parkway, Suite 200, Duluth, GA 30096; telephone:770-279-0001; fax: 770-279-7177; e-mail jwright @safetysys.net 

 Published in Environmental Systems Update

Environmental Systems Update is published monthly by QSU PublishingCompany, 3975 University Drive, Suite 230, Fairfax, VA, 22030. The annual subscriptionrate is $375.  Volume discounts are available. ISSN: 1091-2681TheJournal for ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, RC14001 and Environmental ProfessionalsVolume 11, Number 1 2006