Safe & Sound Week was launched in 2017 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to promote workplace safety and health programs.

Throughout its history, the campaign has always focused on three primary pillars:

• Management Leadership: Commitment from top executives to prioritize safety.
• Worker Participation: Involving employees in identifying and reporting daily hazards.
• Find and Fix Hazards: Proactively shifting workplace culture away from reactive planning.

This year’s campaign shifts its central theme toward safety and health recognition, challenging employers to evaluate if their current programs work in practice rather than just on paper.

Safe & Sound Week is a good time to review a recent safety culture survey of over 500 U.S. workers conducted by Tradesafe, a safety equipment manufacturer based in Las Vegas. The survey shows there is a great deal of work to be done to improve safety culture and results in the workplace. Among its findings:

• More than one-third (36%) of all workers surveyed said production deadlines pressured them to bypass safety.
• More than half (52%) of all respondents said safety rules felt more like suggestions than enforceable policies.
• One in four blue-collar workers (25%) observed a near-miss incident in the past year and didn’t report it.
• Almost one-third (32%) worried that speaking up about a safety issue could hurt their job security, promotion opportunities or reputation.
• Slightly more than half (56%) agreed that reporting a safety issue would lead to real action.
• Seeing unpunished rules violations was reported by 44% of non-union workers and 36% of union workers.

The results of this Tradesafe study make a strong case for Tri-State/Service Group’s multi-level safety approach in support of our core belief that all injuries are preventable.

We never lose sight of wellness and injury prevention, working each day to improve safety through our “Working. Safe.” and “Goal Zero” programs. Both emphasize ongoing education and 360-degree communication and feedback to help us achieve our important safety goal: zero incidents, zero injuries.