CEO Health & Safety Leadership Charter

Success Stories

September 2006
Safety Policy Made Personal

by Ted Vandevis, President & CEO, Electrical & Utilities Safety Association
Electrical & Utilities Safety Association

Electrical & Utilities Safety Association (E&USA), like many other firms has had a safety policy in place for some years. It was based on a number of templates circulating the industry and it consisted pretty much of motherhood and apple pie. It was reviewed and presented to the Board of Directors annually for approval.

Then Al Beattie, E&USA's Director of Prevention Services indicated that through his years of health and safety consulting, he discovered that the health and safety policy is really a CEO's promise to staff of her/his commitment to vigorously protecting their health and safety.

As a result, my policy was rewritten into first person. It now includes statements like "I promise to do what it takes to protect the health and safety of E&USA employees." It also includes a photograph of myself, adding further emphasis that it is a promise I have made to staff. I last month presented it to the Board of Directors for their acceptance and not approval. It is my promise and that responsibility cannot and should not be transferred.

For me, it makes the policy come alive. Naturally, I have always been extremely dedicated to the health and safety of the staff. Now it makes it a lot more real.