Maintaining safety in the workplace is one area in which many companies struggle. Maintaining safety in a dealership environment in which employees are exposed to a variety of hazards daily is an entirely different struggle. So how can you get employees to use safe practices in the workplace? Zach Pucillo, certified safety professional and engineer IV for KPA, a dealer services and Internet marketing provider, says you have to create a safety culture.

“You can develop the greatest program, but if you don’t get employees to buy into your program you still fail,” says Pucillo. “Safety is only typically a focus when there is a concern.”

How can window film dealers adopt a safety culture in the workplace?

“You need to have buy-in from whoever is the executive decision-maker at your company,” says Pucillo, who adds that upper-level management must lead by example.

Another effective strategy includes asking employees for feedback and engaging them in discussions about what they consider daily safety concerns.

“Employees see what’s going on every day. They know the unsafe acts they’re committing,” Pucillo says. “They’re going to be able to give you better suggestions for how you can improve safety.”

Taking a proactive stance, instead of looking at safety after the fact, is another area in which company leaders should emphasize.

“You want to start focusing on leading indicators—identifying hazards before they happen,” he says.

Along with taking a proactive stance on safety and involving upper-level leadership, Pucillo says looking at OSHA as a helpful standard to adopt within your company culture, as opposed to an intrusion, can help foster the understanding that the company cares about employee safety.

“If you’re telling employees you have to do this because OSHA says, you’re sending the message that you’re being forced to yield to someone else’s standard,” he says. “That’s sending the message that we’re only doing this because the government is telling us to, not because we care about your individual safety.

“Employees need to be taught that regulations are made for a reason,” Pucillo adds. “Safety is a core value to everyone, no matter who you are.”