Safety management and motivation is a complex subject, essential because of the human factor associated with it. Numerous accidents have been caused by humans committing unsafe acts. Human response is not always predictable and scientifically quantifiable; hence safety management and motivation cannot be "engineered" in a same way that hazards are controlled through technology. This has led to safety professionals to rely of behavioural theories to make safety initiatives effective.
The emphasis is creating a safety valuing organisational culture. This Productive Safety Culture is modelled by management and driven by supervisors at every level with the support of the Health and safety representative.
We like to think of safety as:
"slow is sure | sure is smooth | smooth is fast
make it sure, make it last"
Read more on Robin E Pullen's presentation on “Leadership and Culture, the impact that it has on safety” and Pumalo Africa's involvement in Workplace Safety and Safety Leadership