“VLO&GC doesn’t care about safety. The policies don’t matter.”
That’s what a contractor foreman flatly stated during a full Hydrogen Sulphide training class I was instructing. He said it in front of twenty people—a room full of his peers and clients.
He didn’t realize that one of the people in the room was the lead engineer who wrote those very policies, practices, and procedures.
The engineer calmly pointed out that the contractor had agreed to abide by those documents. Then, he confirmed the foreman’s superintendent and walked out during the break to make a phone call.
The entire class watched as the foreman visibly “shrank” in his seat.
The Fundamental Disconnect
This exchange gets to the core of the problem I see daily in industry.
I sit in meetings where corporate Vice Presidents ask, “Why don’t the workers want to work safely?” They price safety into the cost of the project, develop safety programs, print posters, and provide awards. They truly invest, and still they wonder, “Why are there still incidents?”
On the flip side, I talk to workers on the ground who say, “They don’t care about our safety. They only care about production.”
It is a vicious, paralyzing cycle. The programs and the money only go so far. Posters and pricing do not solve a lack of trust and visible commitment. What is missing is the act of hearing it in person—and reacting to it.
The Power of Visible Leadership
Half an hour after the engineer’s initial call, the foreman received a call of his own. He looked at the number, muttered, “I have to take this,” and excused himself.
When he returned ten minutes later, he had a shiny new attitude. The entire room witnessed the shift. The immediate, public consequence of his comment sent a clear message: Someone in leadership was paying attention. Someone cared enough to act.
A few years later, the engineer took another course with me. I asked him how the project went.
“It went great,” he said. “I was surprised how well it went.”
The reason it went well was because of what happened that day. He showed leadership. He made the call. He showed that the policy wasn’t just paper; it was a commitment. What happened was not private—it was public, visible, and immediate.
That single act of leadership changed the trajectory of the entire project.
The Lesson: Safety is Demonstrated, Not Declared
The engineer understood what all effective leaders must: You must know the room. You must understand the perception workers have of your policies.
The price of safety, the posters, and the programs are just the entry fee. Real safety culture is built when a leader takes a public, definitive action that proves the company means what it says.
If you want your workers to care, show them you do.
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