A continuation of our discussion on Safety Culture and Risk Management.
We always start a meeting with a safety moment:
Who knows how to evacuate the building?
Who knows where the assembly point is?
Who knows how to provide first aid?
What is unsafe in this room? What could go wrong?
What are the risks during evacuation from the room?
What height is considered unsafe?
Next, we move on to understand why it is necessary to train people.
Recalling the "Change Matrix," stereotypes and beliefs, myths, and what people believe in. Next, we discuss how, given new beliefs and a different way of perception, a different manner, we can do things differently and act more safely. Also, let's remember: what is Safety Culture? It is when people work safely because they chose to do so themselves, because they made that decision themselves, as they understand it is done so that everyone returns home safe and sound.
It is necessary to talk about a tool such as the accident pyramid. What is it? Historically, it was an insurance mechanism; they needed to understand their financial risks regarding client payouts. Essentially, they looked at how the logical chain is structured. The following picture emerges: for every 1 severe accident, there are about 10 minor ones. In turn, for 10 minor ones, there are 600 incidents without consequences (near-misses). At the base of the pyramid lie 2,000 unsafe acts and conditions. But all of this has root causes. Why was it unsafe? Later, this tool began to be applied in industry. Our methodology is built on this pyramid. That is, it is easier to work with root causes.
The tools we will discuss next are focused on different levels. There are tools that allow for the prevention of root causes, the elimination of unsafe acts, etc.
To understand the effectiveness of these tools, diagnostics and maturity audits are conducted.
Let's start with the first one: Dynamic Risk Assessment. This is a non-documented risk assessment performed at the start of and during work, and in principle, constantly. Why? To identify and prevent potentially unsafe acts or risk factors. Most importantly, when we talk about workers and how to teach them to act the same way, we must teach them to conduct dynamic risk assessments consciously. This process resembles a traffic light: assess the risk factor, analyze the possibility of minimization, and take action.
Example: a video can be paused to see what might go wrong. In life, we can also stop and ask ourselves: what could go wrong? All of this is the process of dynamic risk assessment. We pause our actions and ask ourselves a question.
The next tool is stopping unsafe work (Stop Work Authority). What is this about?
How often have you encountered workers refusing to perform work?
It turns out that a person, by virtue of their experience, can stop and say, "I won't work like this, it's unsafe." But a young and inexperienced person does not do this. On the other hand, sometimes experienced people perceive risk worse. The more experience, the worse the risk perception. We move to work suspension, and it looks like this: As managers, we give people a kind of "credit of trust." We give you the right to stop if the work seems unsafe to you.
It is important for an employee to understand why they are doing something, the meaning behind the actions they are required to perform. Why do we talk about the ability to see risks, risk perception, and assessment at all? So that the employee can answer the question of why they should go and perform certain actions themselves. That is, when they see only the hazard but do not see the consequences in the form of harm that the hazard can cause them, they cannot answer the question of why they need to do something, because the consequences must be thought through. When we talk about the ability to see risks, we always start from the consequences to look beyond the obvious. This is a feature of thinking, and it is very difficult for the brain to figure it out. That is why it must be done consciously.
The next tool is Job Safety Analysis (JSA).
Dynamic risk assessment is about informal rules of worker behavior. Formal rules are instructions on how things should be. There are many instructions, but they do not always describe all actions and tasks. To record this, so that the employee has an understanding of how to perform it safely, we introduce this tool — Job Safety Analysis. This document answers three questions: What are we doing? What could go wrong? What must we do to stay safe? It is used by the worker to manage risks during an operation. Where can we apply it? All repair work where accidents have occurred, rarely performed tasks, work in a vacuum, high-risk work. JSA is not developed for emergency or office work.
The process of compiling this document consists of 7 stages:
1. Understand which operations require a JSA.
2. Describe the work stages.
3. Describe and assess risks.
4. Develop measures to avoid risks.
5. Approval.
6. Delivery to the workplace.
7. Execution.
If the tool, technology, or working conditions change, it is necessary to adjust the JSA so that informal rules do not arise. That is, this document lives alongside production.
The next tool is the pre-job safety dialogue. A monologue is a problem. A safety dialogue is needed so that the eye doesn't get blurred (complacency is avoided) and everyone understands what is being discussed. It is important to involve everyone in this dialogue so that employees understand and voice how they will do it, what PPE is needed, tools, etc.
The procedure for conducting the dialogue is as follows: gather the crew at the work site (if possible). Ensure that the working conditions match what is written in the JSA. Next, discuss the work — that is, ask people questions so they can explain how they will work. Ensure that every crew member is involved. We all understand that getting people to talk is difficult. Essentially, we use the "3S" method. What is it? 1. Ask open-ended questions (S - Sprashivaem). We ask the worker: what could go wrong, what are the hazards and risks, what could this lead to, what will you do to prevent an incident? They need to voice this. We shift the focus. 2. Listen to the answers (S - Slushaem). If necessary, ask clarifying questions. 3. Watch and observe worker behavior (S - Smotrim). It is necessary to understand that everyone feels well. There must be an atmosphere of trust in the team. Therefore, it is a good, working tool.
The next tool is a control tool called Work Safety Monitoring. This may be associated with Behavioral Safety Audits or Leadership Site Visits. Here we cover a large audience. Monitoring can be conducted by any of us, any manager. The task is not control and finding violations, but finding out how people work. And if they work unsafely, to see where adjustments can be made.
Work safety monitoring is a planned process of observing compliance with established standards. Essentially, it is an impartial observation that includes encouraging good behavioral patterns that meet established requirements. We arrive and see that the employee is doing everything well; we should approach and thank them, say, "Well done for working safely." If we see that the employee is not doing everything as written, we don't "hit them over the head with a stick" or demand an explanatory note. Instead, we ask a simple question: "How did it happen? We discussed everything, filled out the JSA — what was missing?" And then there will be stable improvement; that is, people will understand that their safety is not because someone will punish them, but because they are being helped to become safer.
Managers develop four skills: