Helping Employees Develop Safe Behavior Through Working with Their Own Mistakes

Human Factor as the Root Cause of Incidents

The problem of workplace injuries is often reduced to technical malfunctions or regulatory violations. However, practice shows that over 90% of cases are related to the human factor. Speaker Alexander Vanyukov, General Director of SafeStart Rus LLC, explains why even experienced and sensible employees make critical mistakes that lead to injuries. The presentation details the concept of the SafeStart program, which aims to help workers avoid unintentional errors by becoming aware of their own states.

Four States and Four Critical Errors

The speaker demonstrates by example how certain human states inevitably lead to errors. Four main states are highlighted:

• Rushing: the desire to complete work faster than usual or doing multiple things at once.
• Frustration: an emotional imbalance that distracts from the current task.
• Fatigue: physical or mental exhaustion that reduces concentration.
• Complacency: the highest stage of overconfidence, often occurring in experienced employees when actions are performed on "autopilot".

These states provoke four critical errors: the worker is not looking at what they are doing; not thinking about what they are doing; enters the line of fire (hazardous energy zone); loses balance, traction, or grip. Understanding this chain is the first step to preventing injuries.

Practical Implementation Experience at the Takeda Plant

Maria Alekseeva, EHS Project Engineer at Takeda, shares her experience implementing the program at a pharmaceutical plant in Yaroslavl. Despite zero lost-time injury statistics, two incidents involving experienced employees (fingers caught in equipment) revealed the need to address the behavioral factor. The root causes were rushing and inattention.

Implementing the program required a comprehensive approach: from engaging top management to training internal trainers. An important element was the "Rate Your State" tool, which managers use during walkarounds (gemba) for dialogue with employees. This helps workers realize their risks in the moment and apply error reduction techniques.

Integration into Corporate Culture

The SafeStart program does not replace existing safety standards (e.g., LOTO) but complements them by addressing the human factor. The speaker notes that successful integration requires time and consistency. At the Takeda plant, the program has become part of the overall culture: SafeStart elements are included in briefings, incident investigations, and daily meetings. This has led to increased trust within the team and a rise in reporting of micro-injuries and near misses.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How states of rushing, fatigue, and complacency lead to critical errors in the workplace?
• What techniques help employees become aware of their actions and avoid injuries?
• How to properly implement a behavioral safety program and engage management in it?
• How does the "Rate Your State" tool differ from traditional behavioral safety audits (BBS)?
• How to maintain interest in the safety program in the long term?