Safety Roadmap: Leadership shows the way

There is an old saying that goes something like this: “If you don’t know where you are going – all roads will take you there.”

The perils of the uninformed and unaware are always due to lack of planning. This historic fact has always been a roadblock to growth.

Fortunately, NPGA and PERC leadership took a long, courageous look at industry safety challenges and they have come up with a plan: the Propane Safety and Training Roadmap published by the Propane Education & Research Council.

The Roadmap serves as a guidance document and will be used to prioritize future safety and training initiatives for the propane industry and to guide PERC’s financial investments in safety and training initiatives. The document outlines an integrated strategy for achieving safety within the industry, and it is designed to be used to guide safety and training efforts over the next 10 years.

In fact, this publication was designed for establishing goals and measurement tools for vendors, grant allocation committees and industry leaders. But this stuff is too good to keep under wraps.

In terms of understanding of the needs for safety and training within the propane industry, common sense would dictate that this Roadmap belongs in the hands of every propane marketer and supplier in the country.

This Roadmap has it all:

• Vision and Goals for Safety and Training
• Safety Training and the Propane Industry
• Challenges and Key Issues
• Safety and Training Priorities
• Implementation Strategy

I recommend reading the executive summary first. It includes:

• Propane: Exceptional and Safe
• Safety Vision
• Safety Goals Support the Vision
• Effective Strategy for Achieving Safety Goals.
• Investment Priorities
• Implementation of the Roadmap.

Turn to page 5 if you like to visualize charts and graphs to get that “big picture” perspective. This one says it all with regard to goals, strategies and priority activities.

Next I recommend turning to page 41 Appendix B-Results of the Propane Safety and Training Needs. Note the list of priorities identified starting with:

• Top Priorities
• Medium Priorities
• Other important needs.

A review of these needs will prepare you mentally for chapter two, on vision and goals for safety and training. Core values, vision, training, industry coordination, standards, goals and objectives are clearly stated as the roadmap begins to take shape.

Chapter 3 offers an honest and objective view of safety training in the propane industry today, including:

• Safety Regulations and Requirements
• Industry Approach to Safety
• Industry Leadership
• Existing Training Efforts.

Like finding yourself on a large shopping mall directory where X marks YOU ARE HERE, this chapter develops your awareness and acknowledgment of present industry positioning. Every great quest has challenges and key issues.

• Employee Training
• External Training and Education
• Management and Industry Leadership
• Enabling Activities

In my opinion, the challenge of commitment required by management and industry leadership is by far and away the biggest issue. It’s a huge key.

The most important thing a corporation can do to improve their safety culture is to care about their employees. This demonstration must come from the top.

A successful leader will inspect what they expect because they care.

You show me an environment where the worker is highly valued and I’ll show you a culture where safety is a high priority. With self worth comes understanding and the ability to internalize corporate values. When safety is a corporate value, it paves the way for the establishment of management control systems that cause implementation to occur.

Leadership is the single biggest key to getting on and staying on the Propane Safety and Training Roadmap.

Lastly, if you want to see a picture of what leadership looks like – turn to page 39 Appendix A for a list of the generous safety leaders who contributed to bring you this Roadmap to safe growth.

Congratulations to PERC and its many generous safety contributors in putting together one of the most comprehensive safety planning publications ever designed for the propane industry.

But this roadmap can only be effective if it is distributed and utilized as a tool by industry members across the board. With this map you can plot your course to ensure safe growth.

You can obtain a copy of the Propane Safety and Training Roadmap by contacting www.propanecouncil.org; click on Safety & Training to download the PDF file, or you may call PERC at 202-452-8975.

When it comes to safety – knowing where you are going is the right road to be on.Weather