Learn how shifting focus can create a winning safety culture
In sports, rules are put in place to ensure the integrity of the game and to protect the players; however, sometimes players like to push the limits of the game and feel that unless enough physical contact takes place to result in an injury, it doesn’t really count.
The short version of this concept is “NO HARM, NO FOUL”. Too often, that same mindset is applied in the workplace, both by management and by employees.
This mindset develops in part because a serious injury or fatality doesn’t happen every time an unsafe work practice takes place. These unsafe “FOULs” can often go unchecked, which provides tacit approval and reinforces them being continued. In addition, most safety measures are geared to lagging, or post-accident, indicators which can build the belief that unless a claim or recordable injury occurs it doesn’t really count. It’s often at the expense of human suffering that we are reminded that safety is no game, and then subsequently reminded of the cost and impact that accidents have within and outside of the workplace.
To change this “No HARM, No FOUL” culture, management and employees must shift their way of thinking. They must agree it isn’t okay to wait for someone to get hurt before addressing the FOULs that could have prevented it. To successfully have a No HARM workplace, you must develop a No FOUL mindset or culture. One way to help employees and supervisors make this shift is to turn No HARM, No FOUL into a safety acronym that helps them identify and control the common risks/FOULs that increase the potential for work-related accidents. Adopting the No HARM, No FOUL system allows management and employees to work together to take the needed steps to ensure FOULs are controlled before HARM happens.
While No HARM, No FOUL is not all-inclusive of every possible workplace hazard, it does help target those that are responsible for the majority of work-related injuries and illnesses.
- Overexertion
- Falls
- Repetitive motion
- Unguarded machinery and electrical
- Struck-by/Caught-between
- Motor vehicle accidents
Refocusing the No HARM, No FOUL phrase not only offers an acronym to remember key exposures, it serves as a conceptual reminder that a No HARM workplace begins with a No FOUL mindset.
If you would like assistance in evaluating your workplace or implementing the No HARM, No FOUL concept with your supervisors and employees, reach out to Nationwide’s Loss Control Services at MyLossControlServices.com.
Related Resources
- A “No Harm, No Foul” sample scorecard can help you rate Harms and Fouls in your workplace.
- Our “No HARM, No FOUL” poster is also available to post in your workplace