Jack Jackson is Senior Consultant with SafeStart and President of Zion Safety Consulting. On any given day you can find Jack working alongside safety leaders to strategically help them achieve workplace safety goals.
At SafeStart, safety training is used to reduce injuries, increase awareness, reduce complacency, improve safety, and exceed compliance.
Taking into account the big picture goals and objectives of any organization, Jack is a Safety Hero who is able to connect and inspire all people within the organization to drive meaningful results.
That’s part of why his superpower is that he’s a motivator—always encouraging others to improve and change their behavior. “I love doing motivational speeches. My superpower consists of the ability to influence people to change their ways for the better through sharing my own examples, and experiences,” he says. “Storytelling is my tool of choice.”
Keep reading to see the incident that changed his approach to safety and the company he admires in terms of how they support safety.
How did your career in safety start?
I started out in operation at an automotive manufacturing company. When the safety coordinator left, the responsibility was left up to me because they were not going to hire a new safety coordinator.
The task still had to be done, and the responsibilities fell in my lap. I grew to like it and continued to work in that field and a new replacement was filled in my vacated Operations spot.
Have you ever had an experience, incident or situation shape your approach to safety?
I had an incident where an experienced employee became trapped underneath a dock plate. I realized then that people don’t get hurt because they don’t know the rules, but rather when they are pre-occupied and are thinking about the rules.
Most of the times when we get hurt we know the rules, and we know the hazards involved—so complacency is usually a huge contributing factor.
Is there anyone who has helped you learn about safety?
Gary Higbee has probably been my biggest influence in the world of safety. He taught me the important aspect in influencing others to work safely is to show that you care.
Is there a company – other than the one you work for/your own – that you admire in terms of their approach towards safety?
Johnson Controls. They invested in me and my future by sending me to various trainings and seminars to enhance my skillset. They also seemed to genuinely care about their employees’ well-being.
