And Then There’s The Story Of Anil Mathur!

Anil Mathur is the CEO of Alaska Tanker Company.  During the ASSE PDC in Las Vegas,  Mr. Mathur participated in the Executive Summit where he shared his story about changing the safety culture of his company.

Shortly after he became CEO, a serious injury incident occurred on a tanker while at sea.  Anil was concerned when he heard of the incident.   Taking safety very seriously, he contacted the captain of the ship and summoned him to Portland to discuss the situation.  The captain at first refused, stating that he couldn’t leave his ship while in transit.   He argued that his absence would result in delays, creating significant negative financial impact.  Anil insisted that the captain dock and travel immediately to Portland.

It seems that the culture at Alaskan Tanker was dictated by time and volume, and the rules were controlled by the tanker ship captains.  When the word got out that the captain was leaving his ship, everything at Alaskan Tanker came to a momentary halt.  A shift had just occurred, and everyone noticed it.  However, there was more was to come.

The captain arrived to see Mr. Mathur and was kept waiting for several hours.  This particular captain was one of the most senior and experienced in the fleet.  He was honored for his work and ability to meet schedules, so you can imagine how he fumed as he waited and waited in the reception area.  After all, this was only about an injury;  an injury to a ship-hand working a job that he knew was hazardous when he took it!  Injuries happen all the time with this type of work.

When Mr. Mathur finally brought the captain into his office he could see the agitation.  The captain began to protest the need for this face-to-face meeting and the indignity of being made to0 wait.   Anil abruptly interrupted, “You had a serious injury on your ship and you are responsible.  The safety of our fleet and our employees is very important to me.  Tell me about it.”  Then after hearing a few details he asked, ”What was the person’s name?  Is he married?  How many children do they have? How long has he worked for us?”  The captain had no answers.  He didn’t know anything about this person, “after-all he was only a ship-hand.”

A major cultural shift occurred that day.  From then on “Safe Ships and Safe People” became as important as meeting the schedules.  The captain was penalized due to the delay and not only lost the shipping schedule bonus, but a percentage of pay due to the number of days he was late into port.  Further, Mr. Mathur instructed this captain to contact him directly with the details whenever there is an incident or injury of any kind.  The most important details that he will want to know are “The root cause and what will be done to prevent this type of incident from happening again.”  He also instructed the captain to report near-miss incidents, regardless of potential.  Finished with this captain, he instructed him, “to contact all the other captains and let them know of this new reporting requirement.”

All the other captains were put on notice that day.  Now, whenever Anil Mathur visits a port, is aboard a tanker, or meets with a captain, he wants to know what is done to assure safety. 

Beyond this, a broad safety process has been put in place, including comprehensive training at all levels with a focus on individual accountability, and a broad near-miss reporting system.  The safety performance, as well as the profitability of Alaskan Tanker Company speaks to the results of  his concern for safety throughout the organization.

This story from Anil Mathur shows us the True North of leadership, not just safety leadership.  Congratulations.

For many years now ASSE hosts the Executive Summit during the annual Professional Development Conference.  This moderated session is well attended, and includes a panel of 3 to 5 business CEO’s, owners, presidents and other senior executives.  The moderator asks a series of open-ended questions, encouraging follow up and discussion between the panelists.  The purpose is to help the SH&E professionals in the audience better understand how executives think about safety and how SH&E can be more effective. 

Sitting in the audience listening to the answers, I’ve wondered how much of their answers were pre-scripted by their safety manager or legal department.  None of the executives want to say anything that makes them or their companies seem anything but 100% for safety.  There have been some really good pieces of wisdom shared though, so attending and listening certainly hasn’t been a waste of time.  I’m reminded of one executive in particular.  Her comments really stopped the audience and made them think.

During the PDC in New Orleans, Maureen Steinwall, owner of a small injection molding company in Minnesota, hushed the crowd.  In her answer to the closing question, “Do you have any last thoughts to share today?”, Ms. Steinwall provided a real eye-opener.  She said that, “Business owners and executives love to build and grow organizations.  They have dreams, visions and strategies that are exciting and bold.  Then here comes the safety manager or insurance loss control consultant to throw cold water on their excitement.”

She continued, “They’re told they can’t build their expansion the way they want because it will violate fire codes or insurance requirements.  OSHA won’t like it either and you’re likely to be fined!  All the executive hears is NO.  The result is loss of excitement, a blurring of the vision, another set of barriers to growing the company, and negatuive feeling toward the messenger with the bad news.  I think safety professionals would be more effective if they would take the time to learn the vision and strategies of their leaders and think of how they can help.  Use your knowledge of safety engineering and regulations to help achieve the executive’s dream, not block it.  Also, try to get in the game as early as you can so you help create the vision and the solution!”  Wow.

I could really feel her emotion as she made her point, and I could relate.  When we come with issues can we reframe them so we are helpful, not just seen as negative?  Have we taken the time to understand the business goals and strategies, so we can better communicate necessary actions?  I fear that all too often safety professionals are so removed that they don’t even know that they are “throwing water” on their executives dreams.

Think about your work and the managers and executives who drive the business.  How can you be more of a leader, creating solutions to grow the business?  Are you on the bus?

It’s true.  No one wants injuries or loss producing incidents to happen.  Not corporate executives, managers, contractors, hourly workers, their families and friends; none of them.  Whatsmore, it is rare that they take personal risks or put others at significant risk of injury on purpose, without precautions they feel are adequate.   At least that’s my experience.

However, when something goes wrong it’s common to hear, “I didn’t think a thing like that could happen.”, “Can you believer she did that?”, “How could he be so stupid”, or “I told her 100 times to look out for that.”

I was talking with a risk manager about “how stupid his people are!”  An employee slipped on a piece of apple that was on the floor and broke her wrist.  The risk manager was incredulous that this employee didn’t see the piece of apple and avoid it.  “How stupid!”

How many times have we talked with supervisors and managers about injury incidents and they react the same way?  There’s a natural tendency to be defensive and deflect blame to others.  Often times, blaming the injured person for their “carelessness.”  As SH&E professionals it’s our job to combat this thinking.

Back to the employee who slipped on the apple.  What happened that resulted in the piece of apple being on the floor in the first place?  When it was dropped why didn’t the person who dropped it pick it up?  Was it noticed by anyone else? Should they have cleaned it up?  Is this a walkway where people regularly carry food?  Should it be?  If so, have you discussed the potential for spills, the need to clean them up right away, the potential for slipping regardless, etc.?

Okay.  This isn’t about apple on the floor, or the “5 Whys” of root cause analysis.  It’s about accountability.  We’re all accountable, so let’s stop pointing fingers and consider our own responsibility. 

In most cases, managers set the rules and establish how things are to be done.   Then it’s up to everybody else to follow the rules and work within the norms of the operation.  However, here’s where reality comes into play.  The way things get done often are different than how management says they should be.   Ah, that culture thing!

Even with rules and norms, the culture of the organization drives safety.  In particular, safety rules seldom cover every situation or hazard, so it is important that everyone becomesaware and empowered to report situations like a spill on the floor.  More important is that they are empowered to take action to make sure no one slips and falls.  This responsibility should be shared by all.  Does the culture make this acceptable and is it encouraged?  More important, is the culture one that values learning from mistakes and shares that learning?

I’ve got an idea.  Let’s all drop our defenses and work together.  There’s no “I” in “Safety”!  It’s a “TEAM” game. I’ll bet that in the area where the employee slipped on the apple others have slipped before.  Maybe no one was injured, but it probably happened before and didn’t get noticed.  We need to share information, let others know, work together to prevent spills and clean them up when noticed, all without pointing a finger at someone else and playing the “Blame Game.”

The risk manager was upset because of the cost of the injury claim.  It was easy to lash out at the “stupid” employee.  I’ll bet the employee was upset having to go to the emergency room, enduring the pain of the broken bone, and being subjected to the inconvenience related to the subsequent recovery.   She may have even asked herself, “How could I have been so stupid!”

Step One:  Quit trying to find fault and place blame.  Admit the problem, find causes and cures, and involve everyone in the solution with sound education and empowerment.

Step Two:  Create and  foster a culture of  shared responsibility, open communication and learning, and personal accountability.

Become “Team Safety” in the game of protecting each other.