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Every sale involves three steps: preparation,
presentation, and commitment. Preparation is when
you evaluate the hazards and risks of the job and the
customer’s ability to do the job. You research and
observe the job or task determine the safety precautions
that apply to the job, and target your safety efforts to
address those precautions. Presentation is the use of
your job knowledge to convince the worker of the need
for safety. Commitment to a sale is when the customer
agrees to “buy” the product. In other words, the worker
decides to follow the safety precautions you have
explained.
Safety must be sold to everyone in the chain of
command, from the commanding officer down to the
deck-plate workers. Command support is critical and
may be your “hardest sell.” All sales efforts start with
the safety officer, manager, or supervisor.
SAFETY PROMOTION METHODS
Advertisers develop campaigns to promote
products. Safety officers and supervisors can also
develop an advertising campaign to promote their safety
program. Safety promotion methods include the
following:
Safety posters and stickers
Promotional stunts
Safety contests
Safety suggestions
Recognition and rewards
Recognition organizations
SAFETY POSTERS AND STICKERS
Colorful posters have been used to promote safety
for over a century. Posters area passive training method
used to remind workers of a hazard, precaution, or idea.
Posters must be current and have a message applicable
to the audience. Change them frequently so they don’t
become part of the bulkhead.
Posters use both pictures and words to convey a
safety message (fig. 2-1.) For workers with poor reading
skills, posters are more effective than lengthy written
text. Eye-catching, colorful pictures are as important to
the effectiveness of a poster as clever text.
Put posters in areas of high traffic, in places where
workers linger or stand in line, or at entrances and exits.
However, make sure you place them in appropriate
areas. For example, you would place a poster about the
use of safety belts near an exit to the parking lot rather
than in the mess area. Put posters aboard ship near the
mess line, in crew lounges, and near the quarterdeck.
You can put large safety banners at the head of the pier
or on the fence leading to the parking lot.
Posters are available, in limited quantities, from the
Naval Safety Center and various commercial sources.
The National Safety Council produces hundreds of
posters, which you can procure through open purchase.
Intermediate maintenance activities can make larger
canvas banners upon request.
PROMOTIONAL STUNTS
Commands can use promotional stunts effectively
to emphasize safety. Many naval bases, around
holidays, display a wrecked vehicle near the gate. They
post signs near the wreck reminding personnel to wear
safety belts and not to drink and drive. Dressed up
skeletons, dummies in precarious positions, and
dramatic photographs can be used to emphasize safety.
Promotional stunts should be safe but vivid and timely.
SAFETY CONTESTS
Most people are competitive and like contests,
especially if they can win a prize. Competition can be
between individuals, work centers, shops, divisions, or
commands. Common safety contests involve mishap
records, training accomplishments, or the reporting of
hazards. Prizes can range from a safety “S” flag to a
special liberty chit. You can stage a safety contest for
the best command safety slogan, safety essay, or safety
poster. You can track reported hazards and mishaps for
a specific period so that you can recognize the division
or shop with the fewest mishaps. You can create
competition out of zone inspections and other safety
inspections by recognizing those divisions or shops with
the best record of safety compliance.
Each year, about 5 million American workers take
part in safety contests sponsored by the National Safety
Council. The Safety Council presents hundreds of
awards in response to these contests. The success of the
contests has proven they are good safety motivators.
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