365QOD-Day401

"That is just unimportant"- overheard

Recently I had to attend safety training sessions.  I sent a group of the vendors that work for me to the class and also attended the class myself.  The training was wonderful.

A couple of weeks later we had an injury.  I investigated the accident and reviwed the training with the group.  Two weeks later we had another accident.  Both were hand related.  I investigated and discussed the issue with the employees. Both were momentary lapses.

Having taken part in safety training since 1989 I am always trying to remind myself to keep my mind on task, hands on task, keep my balance, and keep out  of line of fire.  Simple? No! Costly? Yes!

In the Fast Company magazine article that was written about The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, he told the story of Alcoa:
"The sluggish aluminum company hired Paul O'Neill as CEO in 1987, hoping he'd boost revenue.  To the chagrin of investors, he chose to focus his energies on decreasing employee accidents, the result of unsafe work habits.  O'Neill streamlined the company's production process to force cautiosness, and by the time retired in 2000, Alcoa's net income had increased fivefold."

So I provided training, emphasised safety, and talked about taking their time.  It boils down to keeping focus and that is individual.

Today's question is:
"How do you keep your team focus on task?"