By Eamonn Ryan
Most HVAC companies have safety policies and files. Far fewer have a real safety culture – where safe behaviour is the default, not an afterthought. In her SAIRAC workshop, health and safety officer Teagan Beer argues that the difference comes down to leadership behaviour and what happens on site every day. This is part eight of a ten-part series.
The question is not whether there is a policy, but whether leaders live it.
Magnific.co0Beer is explicit: safety cannot be reduced to signatures and binders. “Safety is not a checklist; it is a mindset,” she says. That mindset starts with visible commitment from leadership. When CEOs and managers show up on site, ask about safety, and back up their words with resources, people notice. When they only ever ask about deadlines and costs, that message is heard just as clearly.
Beer highlights several practical ways leaders can make safety a daily habit rather than a formal slogan.
First, they must resource safety properly. That includes providing the right PPE, investing in competent appointments like safety officers and supervisors, and budgeting for training and audits. Under‑resourcing safety sends a powerful signal that production matters more than people.
Second, Beer emphasises the role of supervisors and frontline leaders. On many sites, supervisors are the ones who translate policies into reality. She argues they should be formally trained – through short courses in legal liability and industrial relations – and recognised as critical to the safety system. “As much as safety officers are very vital, the importance of having supervisors being trained is very important,” Beer notes.
A trained supervisor is better equipped to conduct on‑the‑job risk assessments, spot hazards, and support technicians in making safe decisions. Their CV and experience also add weight to the safety file in the eyes of clients and principal contractors.
Third, Beer points to the value of toolbox talks and regular engagement. When leaders use toolbox talks to discuss real risks – like working at height, crane lifts or refrigerant handling – rather than just reading from a script, safety becomes part of the daily conversation. This builds trust and reinforces that speaking up about hazards is expected, not inconvenient.
Beer also links culture to accountability. Leaders must hold managers and supervisors to the same safety standards as technicians. If shortcuts are tolerated for schedule reasons, the culture will quickly adjust downwards.
“When CEOs embed safety into culture, compliance follows naturally. Reputations are protected, and every worker returns home safely,” says Beer.
Finally, she reminds HVAC leaders that culture is tested most when things are busy, complex or uncomfortable: when scaffolding must be erected properly despite time pressure, when subcontractors need to be stopped and corrected, or when environmental responsibilities around refrigerants and waste slow a job down.
In those moments, the question is not whether there is a policy, but whether leaders live it.
For Beer, the end goal is straightforward: “It begins with leadership and ends with every worker returning home safely, every project delivered responsibly, and every company strengthened by resilience.”
In HVAC, where high‑risk activities are routine, companies that turn safety into a daily habit – through consistent leadership, equipped supervisors, real conversations and enforced accountability – will not only comply with the law. They will build teams that trust them, clients that rely on them, and a reputation that outlasts any single project.
