set. Your initial step would be to clarify your organization’s
safe driving
vision, along with short- and long-term goals that will
form the basis of your key performance indicators.
Gap Analysis
Once the goals and vision have been set, you need to complete
a full gap analysis of your company and its current
practices.
This analysis would review:
•• Current practices relative to your safe driving vision
and goals.
•• Provincial and Canadian compliancy laws and
regulations.
•• How much consistency exists across the company in
terms of shared safe driving beliefs, messages, strategies
and ideas.
Phase II: Building the Program
Once the gap analysis is complete, you can now start the
journey toward creating
an enduring safe driving culture through implementation
of a variety of programs, initiatives, activities and tools which
may include:
•• Development of an implementation team who act as
program champions.
•• Building employee ownership into the process.
•• Identification of individual program objectives.
•• Identification of program key performance indicators.
•• Development of short- and long-term initiatives.
•• Measurement and management tools.
•• Development of programs that are a mix of broad
brush applications and targeted approaches.
Phase III: Program Roll Out
The next step is the actual program roll out. The first and
most important objective of the roll out is to get senior
administration and most importantly, supervisor buy-in
and commitment. Without full and complete commitment
from these groups, your initiative will fail. Once their support
is obtained, you need to gain employee buy-in, which
can be achieved through energy building activities and programs
that generate employee enthusiasm. Some possible
employee activities (above and beyond regular training)
may include:
•• Weekly challenges
•• Safe driving related tailgate topics
•• Success celebrations
•• Wearing buttons or stickers
Phase IV: Keeping the Edge
Keeping the edge involves changing external, extrinsic energy
into internal, intrinsic energy that will form the foundation
for an enduring safe driving culture. To do this, each
person in the organization must personalize the process and
make a commitment to the overall goal. This requires you to:
•• Create ongoing authentic and fierce discussion.
•• Have each individual personalize the vision.
•• Look for vision moments – moments where people
made the right decisions for the right reason.
•• Bring new members into the culture through coaching.
•• Take personal action: Find it, Live it, Coach it.
The creation of a safe driving culture is a continual work
in progress where administrative commitment, resource
allocation and consistency of practice are essential elements
for success. In the end, a planned program of culture
building will save lives, reduce collision costs and minimize
revenue loss. n
Dr. Randy Flemmer is President of Fleet Safety International,
a Calgary-based organization that specializes in driver training.
He is also the creator of the SAFER™ System strategic
and behaviour-based driver training program. For more
information, visit the Fleet Safety International website at
www.fleetsafetyinternational.com.
stefanolunardi/123RF
S A F E T Y
Goals and policies
must reflect the
importance of safe
driving and senior
executives must lead
the way by example.
28 ALBERTA HEAVY 2 2019
/profile_stefanolunardi
/www.fleetsafetyinternational.com
