I recently saw an interview conducted by Diane Sawyer (ABC News) and United States Army General David Patraeus and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
During the interview, Sawyer asked these leaders if we were winning the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It seemed like such a simple question: Are we winning? Neither Patraeus nor Gates gave a simple or direct answer.
Instead, they responded by saying, “We were making progress” and “We are having a great deal of success.” Secretary Gates went so far as to say that we have not won a war since WWII due to how complicated these conflicts have become.
Considering that the current conflict in Afghanistan is costing the US $10 billion a month and over 1,200 U.S. lives lost (some sources put the total as high as 1,634), perhaps waffling on winning falls a little flat. But if asked the same question about public safety — “Are we winning?” — would we fare any better?
I recall numerous discussions where I was asked if we were winning the war on safety. We have spent significant amounts of money and have suffered ongoing losses. So, are we winning?
As the former director for safety of the largest U.S. ambulance service, we could see annual loss savings measured in millions of dollars. We saw the count go down as well. Is this winning? Perhaps yes. But while we saw improvements we still had losses.
I recently saw an on-line advertisement for an EVOC course. I have taught hundreds of driving classes, and my first response in seeing this ad was to wonder what a participant or a service hopes or expects to get as the result of offering a driving class. Again, this seems like a simple question — how many answers are there?
Organizations may offer and require EVOC or similar courses because they are required, to pass inspection. They may select EVOC because it has been a standard in the industry for over 30 years. An instructor may teach EVOC because it is fun, because it is ego-stroking, because they get overtime.
Honestly, how often is a driving class offered with the only motivation being to decrease at-risk behavior and to reduce collisions? Once upon a time the motive may have been pure and, in some cases, I know that it still is.
But I often I see these classes offered and conducted with no real care as to the outcome other than a check in a box. I often can’t find a person with a passion, whose true desire is the prevention of loss. I ask the same question about initial and on-going OSHA training. What are we trying to accomplish other than avoiding a citation?
Often, medical skills are taught with a more appropriate mindset — the transfer of knowledge and a true skill acquisition. We are not merely interested in a check in a box. It’s just a different mindset.
So when we ask if we are winning the war on safety, we need to start with knowing what it is we are trying to achieve. This is the same as to the idea to “Begin With The End In Mind” from the book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.”
If what we want out of a safety program is compliance and to avoid citations and fines, then we may well be succeeding and we may actually be winning. If our desire is a decrease in losses and improved safe behaviors, but our approach is one of compliance, then we are likely failing.
Is the goal or expectation a complete elimination of collisions, patient events and employee injuries? The only sure way to achieve this zero-loss goal is to close the doors.
Instead, look at where you are today and were you want to be six months or a year in the future. What will it cost in time and dollars? Are your goals reasonable?
It’s not about how much money or time you spend on “safety,” it’s how those things are spent and what they are spent on. It’s not that you have safety instructors — it’s that you have safety leaders who practice safety.
Years ago I responded to a tragic EMS collision in which the driver of the emergency vehicle died in the crash. After the fact, we learned that both he and his partner were EVOC instructors. We learned that neither wore their seatbelts and neither stopped at red lights. We also learned that this is what they taught to their students.
Before asking whether we are winning, we should ask whether we have defined victory. Do we know what we want from our safety programs, what the expected outcome is? Are our programs, instructors, communications and daily practices aligned with this definition?
Perhaps we are making realistic progress measured against our communicated goals and expectations.
