Running a global safety program can be an out-of-this-world challenge. Just ask Kelley Norris. She would know, as she’s spent the last 17 years working with SafeStart’s international clients to improve safety systems and achieve long-lasting injury reductions.

So Kelley is well aware of the many challenges of global safety implementations:

Challenges to rolling out a program on a global scale include language, internal and external cultural differences, varying degrees of safety management maturity at the site level, and inconsistent levels of commitments to employee safety throughout the company. If the program you’re implementing deals with human factors or awareness training then how you deal with these issues can play an especially prominent role in the success of your rollout. A good vendor can help with these issues but ultimately it’s up to the company purchasing the initiative to solve them.

Kelley’s quote comes from her recent contribution to OH&S Magazine titled “Four Best Practices for Global Safety Implementations”. The article reviews a number of important issues for global safety programs, including:

• the danger of unachievable goals
• the key role of readiness criteria tools
• the composition of stewardship teams
• what eating an elephant has to do with international safety initiates

The article is a must-read for anyone tasked with managing corporate safety across national borders, and there are some useful tips for any safety folks who have to coordinate safety at different sites in the same country too.

You can read the full article online from OH&S Magazine.