K. Scott Griffith: Improving Safety Comes from Focusing on the Things You Do Every Day

As former chief safety officer for American Airlines, K. Scott Griffith, was responsible for the safety of millions of passengers in one of the world’s most regulated, high-consequence industries. A keynote speaker at SWANA’s WASTECON® conference, Griffith shared insights on how he led exponential change related to safety and risk for the airline industry and showed attendees how these strategies are applicable to the waste and resource management sector.

Griffith spoke about the importance of securing buy-in around your safety initiatives, and said incentivization is an important strategy to getting there. “The key is to look at the risky things you do every day and incentivize managers to keep people safe,” he said. “The drive to the airport is what you should be worried about…The things you do over and over.”

Griffith explained that incentivizing safety must go hand-in-hand with incentivizing efforts linked to the organization’s operational goals. “Safety and operational incentives have to be aligned, and so often they are misaligned,” he said. “Align safety incentives with humans doing the right thing but recognize that people will prioritize what they are paid for.”

The culture that supports the safety program is also critical. There must be a culture attached to it that supports team members’ efforts to speak up and call it like they see it. “Make sure your safety programs supply psychological as well as physical safety,” he told the audience. “People have to feel comfortable stepping forward and coaching each other.”

The manager’s mindset is also crucial to improving safety performance. “Acknowledge that what keeps you up at night is what you don’t see every day,” Griffith said. “You don’t know what you don’t see, but your workers see it day in and day out. No one has all the answers. You must collaborate with your really smart people who all want the same things and get their commitment to safety in writing.”

He also spoke to the audience about safety regulation. “You can use regulators, but they should not be outcome-based and lead to punishment,” he emphasized. “You want to move away from rules-based or compliance regulations to risk-based thinking. Move beyond compliance and create teams that are focused on risk — not rules.”

A safety culture is energized when it comes top-down from leadership, and while Griffith acknowledged that “charismatic leaders” can get people excited about safety, it’s not enough. “We are all temporary in our jobs, so the safety program will outlast the charismatic leader,” he said. “A sustainable safety program takes collaboration.”

Establishing a well-designed safety program is critical, but organizations cannot just create a set of safety rules and think they’ve got it covered. “Safety programs are not enough,” said Griffith. “You must see and understand the risks every day. You need a safety program that is sustainable because if you aren’t safe, you won’t stay in business.”