CULTIVATE AND SUSTAIN A SAFETY CULTURE FOR BUILDING NATION

I was attending a lecture, the lecturer suddenly pointed to me and asked me “How much do you spend on your safety?”. After giving  a deep thought I answered. “Rs 980”. “ Why Rs 980?” he was determined not to leave me. I replied plainly “That’s how much my two wheeler helmet costs!”. To me that’s all what safety is.

Awareness on safety has to go far beyond the current levels within our country. It was with this in mind that the topic of the National safety day has been chosen as ‘CULTIVATE AND SUSTAIN A SAFETY CULTURE FOR BUILDING NATION’. The need for health and safety should come from within every citizen. We are among the privileged who are allowed to understand and feel what safety is and how safety is important in our day today life. Live the safety rules – within and out of your workplace. By being systematic and safety conscious, please set a living example for the people to follow. That’s what you can do for the betterment of our nation.

According to a study by the UN, India loses 3% of its GDP in road accidents. What if we include losses from work related and other domestic accidents to it? Compare it with the 2.7% of GDP spent on education in the financial year 2018. Workplace injuries have always been in a reducing trend and we continue to achieve millions of safe man hours (Touchwood). But how many injuries does somebody who lives up to an age of 60  (Half a million man hours approx..!!! ) meet with in this duration? How much of pain, suffering and monetary loss does he suffer as a result of such injuries?

If a country has to move forward, this money drain will have to be stopped and channeled to more useful and rewarding projects.

Figure 1 – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is an important tool that describes the order of importance of the elements in the triangle. Until your physiological needs are met, you will not be able to think about safety and so on.

The new India is not the same that the Britishers had left in 1947. We have grown. Most of the money spent on developmental activities was spent on Poverty eradication and it was the need of the day back then. But now it is high time we started laying down strong foundation blocks for the next element – safety.  But now if we have to climb the ladder as by maintaining what we earned in the 72 years after independence, work has to be focused towards creating a safety culture. It should be driven by each one of us. A day will come when each one is aware of the risks taken in day to day life and will have access to ways and means to bring it under control (including getting the potholes on the roads filled as soon as they are  spotted)

When everybody is educated on safety and made aware of the need of safety and also educated to be safety conscious in each small step one takes, it will be a giant leap forward. Never set a bad example for others. There are people watching you and learning from you - especially your kids. There are people who are ready to blindly follow you. If you jump the traffic signal on the way to drop your child at school, how can you expect the kid to understand the importance of rules? Your life should be your safety message.