A Practical Guide to the Safety Profession

This book is short, sweet, and high-impact for those who need a quick introduction to the life of an occupational health and safety manager. The author's decades of experience provide a clear, compelling, and conversational look at what motivates and engages this group of people, and how they interact with each other and workers on the front lines. -Quality Management Journal, 2020 One of the most poignant, realistic and helpful books I have read about the challenges faced by safety practitioners. Through irresistible storytelling, the author shares his field experiences with unparalleled authenticity that displays both the compassion all great safety leaders need, along with cutting humor and a hint of rebellion that falls out of the all too prevalent nonsense associated with the safety profession. Jason Maldonado also provides thoughtful and practical solutions to common challenges faced by safety leaders and practitioners. - Clive Lloyd, Director of GYST Consulting & Developer of the acclaimed Care Factor Program, Australia When it comes to safety, this is the book that needed to be written. A provocative and fresh approach to providing safety tools for businesses to truly take better care of their people. If followed, the principles laid out within its pages will redefine what safety means to the future of your company. A must read for any professional wanting to ensure a safe workplace. - D. W. King, USAF Retired Mr. Maldonado's book is a must-read for any safety professional or production manager. It is an artful collection of opinions, musings and real-world experience, often told with humorous prose. Jason is an excellent storyteller and his book provides insightful examples of how safety programs succeed and fail, and his Toolbox Tips offer a great collection of, well, tools that can be used in any workplace. Even though he is a relative youngster, he has experience and wisdom well beyond his years. It will definitely be the most engaging safety tome you will ever read. - Michael Rogers, Colleague, Utilities Executive The title says it all. Mr. Maldonado has captured, through his many personal experiences, that the implementation of a good safety program need not be complicated. The use of statistics of past events does not lead to a safety program that will protect people. Leading metrics are significantly more important than lagging indicators. Compliance with regulations is just the start of a robust safety program. Mr. Maldonado refers to many instances where the need to go beyond regulations is required in order to keep people safe from injury. He emphasizes the need to focus on what matters and not waste effort on the trivial. You need a culture that focuses on identifying root causes of incidents and addresses those findings. For example, you can fix a broken tool, but why was that tool allowed to remain in service. His final words, Identify, Correct, Engage the people ring true. Should Jason write another book, I look forward to reading it. - Robert Rosen, CCPS Instructor