--- title: Kevin Burns Blog | safety (3) description: safety | Tools and strategies to build supervisor leadership, clarify the safety message, and get employee buy-in. (3) --- Kevin Burns Blog | safety (3) [![KevBurns Learning: We teach industrial supervisors how to be really great leaders.](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Kev-Burns-Learning-white.png?width=240&height=118&name=Kev-Burns-Learning-white.png "KevBurns Learning: We teach industrial supervisors how to be really great leaders.")](https://www.kevburns.com/) - [About](https://www.kevburns.com/about-kevin-burns) - [Supervisor Training](https://www.kevburns.com/supervisors) - [Try First 6 Days Free](https://www.kevburns.com/6days) - [52 Benefits of Safety](https://www.kevburns.com/52-benefits) - [Hope Calculator](https://www.kevburns.com/calculator) - [Issues](https://www.kevburns.com/safety-issues) - [Safety](https://www.kevburns.com/safety-issues) - [Operational](https://www.kevburns.com/operational-issues) - [Growth](https://www.kevburns.com/growth-issues) - [Resources](https://www.kevburns.com/books) - [Books](https://www.kevburns.com/books) - [Newsletter](https://www.kevburns.com/newsletter) - [Downloads](https://www.kevburns.com/downloads) - [Case Study NBU](https://www.kevburns.com/nbu-case-study) - [Case Study WCC](https://www.kevburns.com/wcc-case-study-2026) - [ROI Videos](https://www.kevburns.com/videos) - [Speaking](https://www.kevburns.com/speaking) - [Media/Podcast](https://www.kevburns.com/media) - [Blog](https://www.kevburns.com/blog) - [Contact](https://www.kevburns.com/contact-us) - [About](https://www.kevburns.com/about-kevin-burns) - [Supervisor Training](https://www.kevburns.com/supervisors) - [Try First 6 Days Free](https://www.kevburns.com/6days) - [52 Benefits of Safety](https://www.kevburns.com/52-benefits) - [Hope Calculator](https://www.kevburns.com/calculator) - [Issues](https://www.kevburns.com/safety-issues) - [Safety](https://www.kevburns.com/safety-issues) - [Operational](https://www.kevburns.com/operational-issues) - [Growth](https://www.kevburns.com/growth-issues) - [Resources](https://www.kevburns.com/books) - [Books](https://www.kevburns.com/books) - [Newsletter](https://www.kevburns.com/newsletter) - [Downloads](https://www.kevburns.com/downloads) - [Case Study NBU](https://www.kevburns.com/nbu-case-study) - [Case Study WCC](https://www.kevburns.com/wcc-case-study-2026) - [ROI Videos](https://www.kevburns.com/videos) - [Speaking](https://www.kevburns.com/speaking) - [Media/Podcast](https://www.kevburns.com/media) - [Blog](https://www.kevburns.com/blog) - [Contact](https://www.kevburns.com/contact-us) # Kevin Burns Blog #### Leadership for frontline industrial supervisors. [Current Articles](https://www.kevburns.com/blog) [RSS](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/rss.xml) [Why Work With Kevin?](https://www.kevburns.com/about-kevin-burns) - [safety leadership (247)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/safety-leadership) - [safety culture (166)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/safety-culture) - [kevin burns (135)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/kevin-burns) - [safety buy-in (125)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/safety-buy-in) - [peoplework (96)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/peoplework) - [the carefull supervisor (90)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/the-carefull-supervisor) - [safety meeting (74)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/safety-meeting) - [supervisor training (63)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/supervisor-training) - [safety speaker (60)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/safety-speaker) - [safety marketing (59)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/safety-marketing) - [safety communications (58)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/safety-communications) - 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[staff retention (1)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/staff-retention) - [stress at work (1)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/stress-at-work) - [supervisor coaching (1)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/supervisor-coaching) - [supervisor confidence (1)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/supervisor-confidence) - [supervisor loneliness (1)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/supervisor-loneliness) - [supervisor warning signs (1)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/supervisor-warning-signs) - [taking control of safety meetings (1)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/taking-control-of-safety-meetings) - [truly human leadership (1)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/truly-human-leadership) - [turnover and safety (1)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/turnover-and-safety) - [workforce stability (1)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/workforce-stability) - [workplace stress (1)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/workplace-stress) - [workplace wellness (1)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/workplace-wellness) - [world-class safety program (1)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/world-class-safety-program) See all ## [Are You Running Safety Meetings Like A One-Room Schoolhouse?](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/372402/are-you-running-safety-meetings-like-a-one-room-schoolhouse) Posted by [Kevin Burns](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/author/kevin-burns) on October 1, 2024 [![Are You Running Safety Meetings Like A One-Room Schoolhouse?](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/file-491950253-jpg/images/schoolhouse.jpg?width=900&name=schoolhouse.jpg)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/372402/are-you-running-safety-meetings-like-a-one-room-schoolhouse) Safety meetings have the tendency to be a one-room schoolhouse: too many subjects all at once. I have been the featured keynote speaker at a lot of safety meetings over my twenty years in safety management consulting. I have witnessed some meetings that created incredible focus for attendees and other meetings that were attention-deficit disasters. In safety meetings, it’s not uncommon to see 18 year-old first-time workers sitting alongside 3-more-months-until-retirement seasoned veterans - very similar to the one-room schoolhouses of old. Children of all ages would gathered under one roof to be taught by one teacher across all learning levels. [Read More](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/372402/are-you-running-safety-meetings-like-a-one-room-schoolhouse) ## [Shorten Safety Meeting Presentations](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/370013/shorten-safety-meeting-presentations) Posted by [Kevin Burns](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/author/kevin-burns) on October 1, 2024 [![Shorten Safety Meeting Presentations](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/file-465683017-jpg/images/speech.jpg?width=900&name=speech.jpg)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/370013/shorten-safety-meeting-presentations) Safety meetings are NOT about filling time. They are about ensuring that you engage your attendees in safety and help them to make better choices. (An excerpt from my free e-book, The Perfect Safety Meeting) [Read More](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/370013/shorten-safety-meeting-presentations) ## [4 Reasons Compliance Ignores Safety Attitude](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/367177/4-reasons-compliance-ignores-safety-attitude) Posted by [Kevin Burns](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/author/kevin-burns) on October 1, 2024 [![4 Reasons Compliance Ignores Safety Attitude](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/file-450499718-jpg/images/compliance.jpg?width=900&name=compliance.jpg)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/367177/4-reasons-compliance-ignores-safety-attitude) Safety attitude doesn’t come from compliance. Safety attitude comes from aligning the safety program with a worker's personal values. After delivering a safety keynote presentation, I spotted a driver in treacherous, icy winter driving conditions fly through a yellow light with vehicle windows, side mirrors and tail lights completely obscured by snow. Upon parking, the driver, a construction worker, emerged from his vehicle in full PPE prepared for a full day of working safely. [Read More](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/367177/4-reasons-compliance-ignores-safety-attitude) ## [10 Things Safety Is Not](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/365515/10-things-safety-is-not) Posted by [Kevin Burns](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/author/kevin-burns) on October 1, 2024 [![10 Things Safety Is Not](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/file-433112862-jpg/images/question.jpg?width=900&name=question.jpg)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/365515/10-things-safety-is-not) Safety is not a discussion of logic. People don’t choose to be unsafe logically. They do it illogically. I got my start as a professional speaker very early on. I entered radio when I was fourteen years old; my father owned a small-town radio station. Some refer to radio as the media. But radio is only a part of media as is television, newspaper, bus benches, billboards, Yellow Pages and on the list goes. [Read More](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/365515/10-things-safety-is-not) ## [Safety Meeting Video As Insurance](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/361950/safety-meeting-video-as-insurance) Posted by [Kevin Burns](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/author/kevin-burns) on October 1, 2024 [![Safety Meeting Video As Insurance](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/file-415028798-jpg/images/video.jpg?width=900&name=video.jpg)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/361950/safety-meeting-video-as-insurance) Video creates a public record of your safety meeting, aids investigations, removes ambiguity and makes a safety meeting rock solid. Last week, while preparing to deliver a safety keynote presentation, I was testing the rented cordless lapel microphone at a community hall. My client was hosting their Safety Awards Banquet that night, and I had been chosen as the keynote speaker. The HSE Manager suggested that perhaps they should buy a microphone system like the one I was testing because it was so compact. It would allow them to have some flexibility in their safety meetings by not always having to seek out a vendor to rent A/V equipment from. [Read More](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/361950/safety-meeting-video-as-insurance) ## [Why Courtesy Improves Safety](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/359128/why-courtesy-improves-safety) Posted by [Kevin Burns](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/author/kevin-burns) on October 1, 2024 [![Why Courtesy Improves Safety](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/file-406920831-jpg/images/courtesy.jpg?width=900&name=courtesy.jpg)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/359128/why-courtesy-improves-safety) If you can get your people to be courteous to each other, you can get them to improve safety at the same time. My travel takes me to the four corners of the North American continent as a safety attitude and safety management speaker. I get to witness, first-hand, some of the best and some of the worst safety behaviors - but none more prevalent than that of drivers. [Read More](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/359128/why-courtesy-improves-safety) ## [Safety Starts With Attitude](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/357186/safety-starts-with-attitude) Posted by [Kevin Burns](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/author/kevin-burns) on October 1, 2024 [![Safety Starts With Attitude](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/file-403072855-jpg/images/safetyattitude.jpg?width=900&name=safetyattitude.jpg)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/357186/safety-starts-with-attitude) Until you start addressing the underlying attitudes of your people, you will always struggle with compliance, behaviors and communication. This week, here in Calgary, we experienced our first blizzard of the season. It’s not winter yet but we have experienced plenty of blowing and drifting snow. My three appointments on Monday all got canceled. No one wanted to venture out. Can’t say I blame them. I am an Alberta Safety Speaker. Be safe right? [Read More](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/357186/safety-starts-with-attitude) ## [Always Be Improving In Safety](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/353058/always-be-improving-in-safety) Posted by [Kevin Burns](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/author/kevin-burns) on October 1, 2024 [![Always Be Improving In Safety](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/file-387024601-jpg/images/dj.jpg?width=900&name=dj.jpg)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/353058/always-be-improving-in-safety) When you tweak job performance in small chunks, little by little, safety performance improves. Back in a former lifetime (20 years ago), I made my living as a radio announcer. Radio is a cut-throat game that depends on ratings. Take a tumble in the ratings and you can start looking for another job. To stay on top in the ratings requires constant monitoring, adjustment and improvement. That means weekly airchecks. [Read More](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/353058/always-be-improving-in-safety) ## [Are Your Safety Meetings Preventing Buy-in?](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/344361/are-your-safety-meetings-preventing-buy-in) Posted by [Kevin Burns](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/author/kevin-burns) on October 1, 2024 [![Are Your Safety Meetings Preventing Buy-in?](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/file-357426081-jpg/images/stop.jpg?width=900&name=stop.jpg)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/344361/are-your-safety-meetings-preventing-buy-in) Your job is to change the perception from HAVING to attend safety meetings, to WANTING to. Imagine receiving a pair of tickets to the best seats in the house to watch your favorite sports team play. You’re primed and excited for the event but once you get there, you find out that there is no game. There are only stats, and numbers, and data and reports and transactions. Sure, stats and numbers and data are a part of sports but it’s not the enjoyable part. [Read More](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/344361/are-your-safety-meetings-preventing-buy-in) ## [Why Safety Meetings Are Boring](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/341056/why-safety-meetings-are-boring) Posted by [Kevin Burns](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/author/kevin-burns) on October 1, 2024 [![Why Safety Meetings Are Boring](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/file-341748250-jpg/images/training5.jpg?width=900&name=training5.jpg)](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/341056/why-safety-meetings-are-boring) Safety meetings are not supposed to be boring. People, more specifically presenters, make them that way. Talks from the TED conferences are engaging. If you are not familiar with TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), they are a global set of conferences that bring together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. [Read More](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/bid/341056/why-safety-meetings-are-boring) [Previous](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/safety/page/2) [All posts](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/all) [Next](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/safety/page/4) ### Subscribe to Kevin's Blog Get insights and strategies to build the leadership skills employees want their supervisors to have! Subscribe now. --- Kevin Burns' newest book, **The CareFull Supervisor**. This is the book that every frontline supervisor should read.   ![carefull-supervisor-3d-covers-400-1](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/hubfs/carefull-supervisor-3d-covers-400-1.png?width=253&height=253&name=carefull-supervisor-3d-covers-400-1.png)   **BUY NOW:** [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/CareFull-Supervisor-Tools-Succeed-Employees/dp/1039197256)| [B&N](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-carefull-supervisor-kevin-burns/1144577942) | [Indigo](https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/the-carefull-supervisor-the-tools-to-succeed-and-be-the-supervisor-employees-want-to-have/9781039197268.html)| [FreisenPress](https://books.friesenpress.com/store/title/119734000383321344)| [Kobo](https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-carefull-supervisor)| Audible --- ### Recent Posts - About - [Supervisor Training](https://www.kevburns.com/supervisors-old) - [Blog](https://www.kevburns.com/blog) #### © 2026 PeopleWork Align Inc. 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