Tom Lucas sells treated lumber to export customers and he shared a safety note he saw when visiting a shipping company, Crowley Transport, in Jacksonville, Florida.

The port operations manager, Doug Walker, has this on the back of his business card: Safety: It’s Not Silent.

I wish I had thought of it. I can imagine the ways that statement supports a comprehensive safety effort.

It reminds leadership that safety needs to be a matter of constant effort and it won’t happen if it isn’t supported on purpose and out loud.

It reminds teams that safety is a must and we have a responsibility to hold each other accountable by reminding each other of our safety obligations, correcting each other as we fall short and encouraging each other to do what is necessary.

It reminds us all to speak up when we see things that need to be addressed to achieve our goal of having a safe environment. We want to prevent accidents. That’s being responsive to our goals.

Safety happens as we speak up and share. Indeed, safety is not silent.