Human Factors: Situational Awareness

For hundreds of years, equestrians have sometimes used blinders on their horses. Blinders keep their horse focused on the task and prevents it from being distracted by things around them. A horse without blinders may rear up and bolt if it sees a snake in the road, this could injure the rider.

On the worksite frequently accidents occur because the person was just too focused on the task. Their focus acts like horse blinders causing them to miss the proverbial snake (hazard) in the road.

We Safety folks can help our leaders understand how to improve their team's situational awareness. I recommend presenting Dupont's video "Miracle On The Hudson: Prepare For Safety" featuring Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and utilizing the support materials.

Please understand, I am not affiliated in any way, it is merely a recommendation.

Unclesafety

This Is How I Roll

Someone once asked me where do I get my views on safety. I said, Aside from my candor from my grandmother telling me, to tell the truth, and shame the devil and my persistence caused my grandfather always saying if doing the right thing were easy everyone would be doing it. The rest comes from study and just doing it. To improve safety performance, I start with the following: 

1. Change Management: 

Change is first. In John Kotter's book "Leading Change"  he tells us that change is a multi-step process which includes; establishing need, urgency, developing a coalition with authority, having a clear vision, communicating that vision, empowering action, generating wins, consolidating and reviving the inevitable lull when the initial change surge passes and lastly anchoring the change in the culture..

2. Perceptions:

Dan Peterson in his book "Safety Management: A Human Approach" he talks about how the new paradigm in behavior-based safety is, where we accept that there are some new axioms in safety management. The old principal attempted to boil down incidents to one single factor, but rather than that the new axiom proposes that a single incident can identify many weak points in the entire management system. Additionally, this new model embraces that hard to grasp “perception” or “feelings” both of which principally affect the worker's decision to follow the rules, push back or otherwise exhibit the safe behavior by choice when they hit that crucial moment or that too familiar Y on the road.

3. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): 

This is too often overlooked, a good CSR program offers many benefits which are too numerous to detail in this blog. However where it relates to a safety culture, improving perceptions according to The Social Environment - Boundless, "reputations that take decades to build up can be ruined in hours through incidents such as corruption scandals or environmental accidents. These can also draw unwanted attention from regulators, courts, governments, and media." Building a genuine culture of 'doing the right thing' within a corporation can offset these risks.

4. Safety Culture:

So considering the above I propose that a heart centered safety program, where teams Emotionally Invest in each other will generate a caring culture, interdependent on every member. A culture that fosters an environment where leadership actively seeks ways to understand and engage their workforce. One where everyone accepts their role in preventing every incident and culpability if they occur. All members share the vision of living a safe lifestyle and working safely because living-safe is part of their Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. When this happens, we see significant improvements in relationships vertically and horizontally in the organization. Also, there are positive impacts on worker engagement, quality, operational efficiency, human resource retention and even recruitment. 

 

Slaying Dragons of Ignorance.

The Safety Professional is someone working at preventing injury, death, and heartache. Many others like me, view it as more than a "vocation." It is a difficult lifestyle choice to live-safe. That's why I see it as a noble calling. To me, safety people are like noble knights fighting, protecting the innocent and slaying dragons of ignorance.

But, I admit, I do sometimes feel the futility of a Don Quixote, only the dragons in our story do real harm and bring tragedy to families. Sometimes when I am unnerved after losing a difficult joust with someone or otherwise tending to my wounds, I occasionally read this medieval code of chivalry.

I review this to remind me that being noble and doing the right thing is not easy. Besides, if it were, everyone would be doing it. I know I will never truly become "genuinely noble," but the quest is what makes me a better person. I see it as something that, once incorporated into my personal ethos, it will bring success.  I hope you enjoy it.

I welcome any comments on what do you do to keep your spirits up when you're shaken from a battle.

Prowess:

To seek excellence in all endeavors is expected of someone noble, martial and otherwise, finding the strength to be used in the service of justice, rather than in personal aggrandizement.

Justice:

Seek always the path of 'right,' unencumbered by bias or personal interest. Recognize that the sword of truth can be a terrible thing, so it must be tempered by humanity and mercy. If the 'right' you see rings agrees with others, and you seek it out without bending to the temptation for expediency, then you will earn renown beyond measure.

Loyalty:

Be known for unwavering commitment to the people and ideals you choose to live by. There are many places where compromise is expected; loyalty is not amongst them.

Defense:

The ideal noble person is required to defend those who depended upon him. Seek always to defend your faith, your family, your nation and those to whom you believe worthy of loyalty

Courage:

Being noble often means choosing the more difficult path, the personally expensive one. Be prepared to make personal sacrifices in the service of the precepts and people you value. At the same time, a noble should seek wisdom to see that stupidity and courage are cousins. Courage also means taking the side of truth in all matters, rather than finding the expedient lie. Seek the truth whenever possible, but remember to temper justice with mercy, or the pure truth can bring grief.

Faith:

A noble must have faith in God and his word, for this faith roots him and gives hope against the despair that human failings create.

Humility:

Value first the contributions of others; do not boast of your own accomplishments, let others do this for you. Tell the deeds of others before your own, according to them the renown rightfully earned through virtuous deeds. In this way, nobility is well done and glorified, helping not only the gentle spoken of but also all who show themselves as being noble.

Largesse:

Be generous in so far as your resources allow; largesse (generosity) used in this way counters gluttony. It also makes the path of mercy easier to discern when a difficult decision of justice is required.

Nobility:

Seek great stature of character by holding to the virtues and duties of a noble person, realizing that though the ideals cannot be reached, the quality of striving towards them ennobles the spirit, growing the character from dust towards the heavens. A good person's nobility also has the tendency to influence others, offering a compelling example of what can be done in the service of rightness.

Franchise:

Seek to emulate everything I have spoken of as sincerely as possible, not for the reason of personal gain but because it is right. Do not restrict your exploration to a small world, but seek to infuse every aspect of your life with these qualities. Should you succeed in even a small measure, then you will be well remembered for your quality and virtue.

Del - UncleSafety

I'm Supposed To Do What?

Occupational health and safety must be managed by the leadership. Expected outcomes from goals promoting desired behaviors and the collaborative development and management of any supporting HSE Systems must have the ownership, endorsement and buy in from all levels of management. Line management and senior management must ensure accountability is concurrent and when gaps occur or are discovered they are addressed quickly.

Occupational health and safety (HSE) personnel must function as facilitators and subject matter experts were they consult / advise leadership throughout the organization. Some additional services that can be provided, just to name a few are; cause analysis investigations, monitoring and measuring of the organizational safety culture.

If real results can be affected by looking at root causes, then the HSE professional must know how to go deeper than just the surface contributing factors. Analysis of superficial findings will not deliver enough information to allow for an effective corrective action.

If unplanned events or incidents are caused by a management system gap, the HSE professional must be able to help identify these gaps and facilitate leadership in closing them. The HSE professional must stay up to date and current on new tools which will help him/her prevent their organization from repeatedly making the same mistakes. However, some of the tried and true tools are still useful but may require sharpening or upgrading. To do this the HSE professional must be well read and networked with colleagues in various industries.

I personally find the ever evolving face of safety exciting. I believe it's mostly because safety deals with people and people are always changing. Their objectives, their goals, their desires and even their ethics and morals are always on the move. Saving lives and improving the quality of life at the worksite is always the right thing and doing the right thing is never easy, if it were everyone would do it….

Getting Executive Buy-In

There is an old axiom which says, “As goes the head so goes the body.” Therefore I posit that a safety program without the commitment of management will not be successful. I say this because my experiences in safety have taught me that when leadership has not bought into a safety program, that program will fail.

This failure comes from several factors; most significantly, a lack of resources. Because leadership is not onboard they fail to provide the personnel, the time, or the financial resources needed to ensure success. Other factors are related to management’s decisions, priorities or behaviors. This is demonstrated by their misbehaving or working under priorities that are in conflict with the organization’s safety paradigm. Those priorities will cause line supervisors to push the safety envelope and cut corners, take shortcuts, or hurry the worker.

Misbehavior is demonstrated by leadership’s inappropriate reaction to incidents. Getting angry at results or rushing investigation teams will short-circuit investigations and cause analysis processes. Lastly, there is often a failure to establish clear expectations and accountabilities. In fact, such leadership practices may even reward shortcuts by advancing those persons who just “Git-er-done” without examining how they actually “Got-er-did.”

Because of this it is imperative that executive buy-in be established first. With that said, too many times have I seen safety pro’s making the mistake of pushing the “Safety first” message when it should unquestionably be “Safe-operations first.”

Safety and operations are interdependent; one is useless without the other. To get your buy-in, build a business case focused on enterprise risk. Taking a risk perspective communicates the safety benefit message in the language frequently used by the top brass, so they will certainly relate to it better. You must reinforce the cost benefits and the gains they will see in employee retention, production, and mechanical integrity programs.

After they give you their blessing, through coaching and influence you will need to ensure that all leaders and supervisors exhibit—through word and deed—a consistent safety message. Then through collaboration with all stakeholders (including line supervisors and end users), ensure that processes and policies which establish clear expectations and accountabilities are developed. Remember, all output must reinforce a consistent safety message from the top down.

Lastly, and here’s the hard part—make sure you are not viewed as an obstructionist. Look to solve problems. Never just say “no we can’t do that,” but find a way to help operations meet their objectives safely. This is the essence of safe-operations. Without complete surrender, help them see that you are on their team.

Just remind yourself:  if it can be made safe to jump from an airplane with the right procedures, training, and equipment, then there is a way to make this job safe.

I trust you found this article to be helpful. To learn more, contact me. below

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“I Really Don't Care For People!!”

There I said it….

You’re probably thinking “Well That’s Not Very Nice” but before passing judgment, that's how I feel sometimes towards some people. Now how I act is entirely different. Some may say it's  hypocritical to not like someone but act as I do. 

You must agree, some people are really just hard to like, either they are belligerent or their personality traits grate against ours.

Sometimes people's ethics and morals make it difficult for us not to judge them. If I don't like them I don't want to listen to them, nevertheless I still have to work with them, meet with them, do business with them and socialize with them. I must help keep them safe, I want to like them. 

So here is the problem “I don’t care but I want to” It would be deceitful for me to fain care, so I must really genuinely care. I must find ways to develop and show honest affection for them.

Now “Honest” that’s the hard part,  if I don't care for them. I must get myself to the point where I do care.  If I'm going to be genuine it must change me, but how?

Emotional Investment is the primer that breaks the code to genuine care. What is “Emotional Investment”? 

Emotional Investment is the act of investing in another person through the exchange of personal and emotionally connected experiences, activities etc…This act of investing requires deliberate effort and preparation.

So what do we do?

Well it’s not rocket science; you have to get to know the person, but you don't go right in and start asking lots of questions. Because you don't want them to feel like they're being interrogated. I find it's best to open up things about myself; I share with them my life, and my joys. I have discovered that offering up personal information that is emotionally connected shows the person I really want to get to know them. Its quid pro quo - you give, they give etc. Here are a few pointers.

• Pick a time that is comfortable for them, maybe at their workstation or on a break.
• Don't force the issue as it may take a few tries to get a response.
• Make sure your body is not positioned above them. Like standing up while they're sitting down.
• Make sure nothing is between you and them like a desk or table.
• Make sure your body language is open, hands in view empty and arms open not crossed.
• If they come to you and speak to you, stop what you're doing turn towards them and listen. Don't continue to face your computer because it sends the message that you don't have time to listen.
• If there on the phone, don't wait around come back later.
• Eye contact is important, but don't get into a staring contest.
• When it’s your turn to talk compare your life to theirs by using some of their own words, doing this shows you were listening.
• For obvious reasons never talk about others good or bad it's gossiping.
• If something seems unbelievable and you suspected to be untrue don't challenge it give them the benefit of the doubt. We have all that interesting lives and many of us have had remarkable experiences that are hard to believe.
• Tilting the head and nodding is a good indicator that you're listening.
• Lastly remember it's likely that they've already picked up on the vibe that you not really fond of them, so they may come off as a bit skeptical.

So while making it safe all the while remain patient and understanding. Here is just some of the type of questions you might want to ask:

• I grew up in Oklahoma; I remember one time fishing with my grandfather, before he passed away we got very close I still miss him terribly. Where is your hometown?


• I guess that's why like to fish so much, it reminds me of my time with him. Do you have any hobbies?

I guess the great thing about this process is that it doesn't require a lot of effort, it just requires action.

Remember that most of the negative perceptions we have about people are very wrong. That's because perceptions are seldom based on truth. Often they are based on rumors, misunderstandings.

The way others have treated us affects our perceptions, because we place those feelings others have imprinted on us on people undeserving of such judgment.

So the next time you “Just Don't Care”, remember:

Everybody has somebody who loves them, everybody is worthy of friendship, everybody deserves a chance.

Perceptions Sank the Titanic

"The Titanic" these words bring many thoughts to mind all of which are tied immortally to an avoidable tragic loss of life. This one event changed the world and raised the bar for public safety like no other.

Why did it happen, how could it happen and how do we make sure it never happens again? It was the hope of everyone that the ensuing investigation would bring to light the chain of actions that led to the catastrophic event.

I propose the most important contributor was overlooked and as a result not addressed in the resulting corrective actions. Additionally this contributor is often still overlooked today, some that do see it still do not know what to do with it. It is "Human Behavior Based on Perspective" a root cause analysis is primarily entrenched in cause and effect now this view in itself is not bad but the cause is habitually seen as systems, equipment or leaderships decisions/actions.

But what if you back up the time line a little more and look at what perceptions were the influencers acting on, what pressures were they under, were they external or internal how did they come to that perspective? Now ask yourself knowing the answers to those questions, what would the corrective actions look like now? I expect much different, but what would they be? How do you develop a "Corrective Action" for a "Perception"?