You need to speak the language that managers understand. To most of them health and safety is not something the importance of which they appreciate. In far too many cases reliance is placed on regulatory compliance. For me this leads to the CATNAP approach (Cheapest Available Technology Narrowly Avoiding Prosecution).
Managers do tend to understand the need for preventative maintenance, i.e. ensuring that any defects are detected before they become an issue (and a cost). After all, they don’t wait until their car breaks down on the motorway in the rain and at night! They have it serviced regularly. They expect everyone in the organisation (particularly managers) to be aware of the need to ensure that if any situation does occur that could result in a breakdown this is reported and action taken. Equally, many organisations have a suggestion box, implying that preventative maintenance is not just the remit of senior managers or the quality control manager.
Suggest to them that health and safety is also a form of preventative maintenance, aimed at ensuring that that most valuable of assets, without which nothing happens (i.e. people), continues to operate efficiently for the benefit of the organisation and that everyone has a role to play in this.
It puts health and safety into a new light. I have tried this many times and it is surprising the response that one gets.
Chris