Here's how you can effectively convey safety and risk considerations to stakeholders as an engineer.

Yes, even spelling out acronyms is helpful. I have found that it’s easy to lose novice employees when it’s too technical. Also, using safety pictures only when relevant to the content. Also learning by example helps, like asking the crowd what’s wrong with this, so their peers can spell it out.

There is such a thing as "Unconscious Competence", i.e. when you spend years gaining expertise in a topic and you become so adept, you can do a task with your eyes closed. When this happens, you get complacent with providing feedback in "your language". What seems like a straightforward answer in your language, could seem like total gibberish to the stakeholders. It is important to view your communication through the eyes of the receiver to ensure they're able to understand what you are trying to convey.

Understanding your audience is really important in communicating with Stakeholders especially on a construction site. An example of understanding your audience is how as a Temporary Works Supervisor (TWS), put up images of acceptable MEWPs for use on different Temporary Works platforms/ Decks, this way through the shape of the MEWP and colour, even someone with minimal technical knowledge can ascertain the right MEWPS to use and don't end up overloading the temporary works.

Tailoring your message to the needs, knowledge level, and concerns of the audience ensures clarity and fosters better decision-making. Determine their roles, responsibilities, and how they are affected by safety and risk considerations. Gauge the technical expertise of your audience. Understand what they already know about the subject. Identify what aspects of safety and risks are most important to your audience. This could be regulatory compliance, financial impact, operational safety, or public health. Tailor your message to address these specific concerns directly and comprehensively. Use appropriate language based on the audience's expertise. Simplify complex technical terms for non-technical stakeholders.

It is also important to consider the cultural and social context of the stakeholders. For example, stakeholders from different countries or regions may have different attitudes towards risk and safety, and may require different types of communication to effectively understand the risks and safety considerations. Being Engineers we should ensure that all parties have a clear understanding of the potential hazards and mitigation strategies.

By connecting safety and risk considerations to the project's goals, stakeholders can better understand the importance of these measures and see the bigger picture.

When discussing safety and risk, it’s crucial to clarify the project’s objectives and their connection to these considerations. Stakeholders should grasp not only the risks but also how they align with the project’s goals. For instance, if a project aims to enhance public safety, explaining how proposed engineering solutions mitigate specific risks helps stakeholders appreciate the rationale behind design choices.

When discussing safety and risk, it's critical to be clear about the objectives of your project and how they relate to these considerations. Stakeholders need to understand not only what the risks are but also how they align with the project's goals. For example, if a project aims to enhance public safety, explain how the proposed engineering solutions mitigate specific risks. This helps stakeholders see the bigger picture and appreciate the rationale behind design choices.

By visual aids, and support them as well by providing the relevant evidence on safety and risk aspects affecting their operations / mitigation plans and /or lessons learned.

When discussing safety and risk in engineering projects, it's crucial to clearly connect the project's objectives with the risk management strategies. For instance, if the goal is to enhance public safety, explain how specific engineering solutions, like improved traffic signals or structural reinforcements, directly mitigate identified risks. This helps stakeholders understand the rationale behind design choices and see the broader impact on project success, ensuring informed decision-making and fostering trust in the project's outcomes.

By using visual aids, you make safety and risk information more accessible and understandable for all stakeholders, helping them grasp the importance of specific design decisions.

Visuelle Hilfsmittel sind kraftvolle Werkzeuge, um komplexe Sicherheits- und Risikoinformationen zu vermitteln. Diagramme, Flussdiagramme und sogar Virtual-Reality-Simulationen können Stakeholder dabei unterstützen, Risiken und Sicherheitsmerkmale zu visualisieren. Durch die Bereitstellung eines visuellen Kontexts werden abstrakte Konzepte greifbarer. Zum Beispiel kann die Darstellung einer Wärmekarte von Spannungspunkten in einer Struktur Nicht-Ingenieuren verdeutlichen, wo potenzielle Fehler auftreten könnten und warum bestimmte Designentscheidungen für die Sicherheit entscheidend sind.

I would go one step further and use visual analogies. Bring the engineering risk back to an everyday example where they will clearly understand the risk and the impacts. Examples might be a bathtub overflowing, a straw house in the rain, or forgetting to use oven mitts when getting a tray out of the oven.

Visual ads just remember people about the risks of the enviroment. The person who stay away of risks is trained to avoid It.

Muito importante a utilização debl recursos visuais. O que é visto é lembrado! Cria uma atmosfera de atenção e demonstração de segurança. Envolver técnicas assim só contribuem para uma melhora na segurança e prevenção de riscos

• Identify Major Risks: Clearly outline the primary risks associated with the project or operation. • Explain Mitigation Strategies: Describe the measures in place to mitigate these risks and enhance safety.

Factor in the organisation’s risk appetite or risk and safety policy. Reference any regulatory requirements around safety and risk. For example is there a regulatory requirement to reduce risk like ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable) or SFARP (so far as reasonably practicable).

When discussing safety and risk, it’s crucial to address the safety protocols throughout a project’s lifecycle. Explain the risk monitoring procedures, incident contingency plans, and integrated safety measures. This reassures stakeholders that safety is a priority, with clear steps to address potential issues. For instance, describe scheduled inspections and maintenance to ensure ongoing structural integrity.

A blame-free safety culture is essential here to ensure that staff feel psychologically safe to report hazards,near misses and incidents through safety communication channels like safety walks, toolbox talks and project risk registers.

From the perspective of the construction team on site, safety is sometimes considered a stringent practice that goes only in one direction. That is important in some situations to store this kind of respect toward the safety team, however, without involving the construction and hearing their concerns since they are the ones that are on the front line, Risk and safety will remain seen as a practice that slows down the construction team works. This relationship should change from being a Teacher/Student relationship to being more like two coworkers working on the same project with one having more knowledge in the field of safety and the other in the practicality of how work should flow on-site.

In order to effectively convey safety and risk considerations, Top management, should firstly create a conducive environment for compulsory meeting starters. When employees understand hazards within environments and are equipped with the knowledge and skills to mitigate those risks, they are less likely to be involved in accidents. There are various methods to convey safety topics, including: 1. Training sessions. 2. Posters and visual aids. 3. Safety meetings 4. Videos and films. 5. Safety manuals and guides. 6. Online resources. 7. Safety drills and simulations. 8. Mentoring and coaching 9. Safety apps and software. 10. Games and activities Remember, a combination of methods is often more effective than relying on a single approach.

Clear and demystified communication. Demystifying all the tech-side enables the stakeholders and decision-makers to make informed decisions.

Do not be opposed to advising your Client of their obligations to provide a safe working environment for their staff. As such, any unsafe equipment / buildings etc. are a legal liability to the responsible person (16.1 in the case of the South African OHSAct). It’s sometimes an effective way to encourage replacement / rectification of said unsafe equipment etc. as sometimes cost factors are put before safety, until legal liability is understood.

Apply the hierarchy of control when considering risks. Eliminating safety risks at the design stage is preferable to mitigating risks during commissioning or operation/ maintenance over the life of the asset.

Risk assessment and analysis are crucial steps in ensuring workplace safety and compliance with legal requirements. It’s important to involve employees in the process, as they can provide valuable insights into potential hazards and effective control measures. Additionally, training may be required to ensure that those conducting the risk assessments are competent and that the assessments are sufficiently detailed. Remember, the goal of risk assessment is not to eliminate all risks but to do everything' reasonably practicable’ to protect people from harm. This means balancing the level of risk against the measures needed to control the real risk in terms of money, time, or trouble.