The Evolution of Safety Human Factors According to Band-Aid Bob
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This is a story of the people who helped shape today's safety industry and paved just how for future changes in the management and perception of health and safety. This is also a story of the evolution of safe practices in accordance with a safety professional we'll call Band-aid Bob.
In the Beginning
In the late 1800's, there were no safe practices professionals. Companies would never have considered retaining people specifically to manage health and safety for them. Actually, at work, humans really weren't ranked all that high as a resource. In the mining industry for instance, mules were often used to haul equipment and materials in and out of the mines. When a serious incident occurred such as for example an explosion, rescue operations focused not on humans but on the mules. A dead mule cost the mine around $24 to replace. An employee, making around $3 each day, was cheap to replace as there was generally a lineup of people willing to work in exchange for pay. If a worker was only injured he would be sent home to recuperate with no pay. If he recovered fully, he would be allowed to go back to work.
In the first 1900's (i.e. around 1914), workers' compensation insurance was established in many areas in North America. The insurance provided compensation to employees who have been injured in addition to to the families of those that had died on the job. It was at the moment that companies started recruiting people to greatly help patch up their injured workers also to get them back to work as soon as possible, as well as assist in preventing further injuries. Some called these folks "safety advisers". The evolution of the Safety Adviser's role is perhaps best shown by the legend of an individual known as Band-aid Bob.
Band-aid Bob wasn't his real name, but that's what he came to be called. If ever there is a safety person who could patch people up after they were injured, it was Bob. At this time in the evolutionary history of health and safety, there is no such thing as formal safe practices management systems. Workplace injuries were common and accepted within the job. People like Band-aid Bob were typically hired by only the largest of companies who needed you to definitely administer good medical and felt they might afford the overhead. Several safety individuals were workers with work injury disabilities for instance a missing hand, fingers, or toes. After all, if anyone knew anything about safe practices, it needed to be an already injured worker.
Bob was very good at his job. One evening, tired from a hard day of administering bandages, cauterizing wounds, and massaging strained muscles, Band-aid Bob decided to take the time for himself. He packed up some gear and hiked in to the mountains. Trekking up Mount Doringba, he made an incredible discovery that would change how companies viewed employee safe practices.
On top of the mountain, Bob stumbled onto some tablets inscribed with strange writings. Among many broken bits of tablets, he found two intact pieces. Excited about his find, he brought both tablets back to the town and had them transcribed. The tablets' writings became pivotal to safe practices as they identified key elements to achieving health and safety excellence. The elements included: Management Commitment and Involvement, Hazard Identification and Assessment, Records and Administration, Inspection, and Investigation.
Soon Bob found himself on a speaking tour spreading the term about his findings, laced with interpretations from the one and only Band-aid Bob himself. When asked about the need for the writings, Bob would respond, "These key elements are needed in order to achieve safety excellence. Success in implementing these elements means you won't ever have to bandage up an employee again."
Present Day Health & Safety Management Systems
To numerous people, Bob's new method of safety made many sense and, as time passes, Bob gained quite a following. Soon word spread and companies around the globe adopted sun and rain. Mounting interest in the elements gave rise to varied health & safety associations, safety professionals and consultants who all helped spread the term to millions of companies and their workers. Many companies hired people dedicated to implementing and maintaining these landmark elements. Billions of dollars were spent implementing them.
For a time, improvements to safe practices were achieved. Companies employing sun and rain noticed reductions in incident and accident rates. Fatality rates decreased. Insurance rates decreased. This success lasted for quite some time but, there came a time when fatality rates stopped decreasing and some people began to question the worthiness of the basic program elements. Others suggested the essential elements had improved about all they could improve within their companies. They called for a re-evaluation of the status quo, however the prospect of change was a very hard sell. By this time around, so many people had bought in to the basic health and safety elements that were passed down in their mind by Band-aid Bob. Their livelihood depended upon them. To now buy into alternative approaches threatened their very existence and would suggest that they had all along been following the wrong path.
And so it continued for many years: companies entrenched in Bob's basic elements failed to achieve the safety excellence promised them. Many health and safety professionals reported difficulties in obtaining the elements in place and functioning fully. At the moment in the evolutionary era of health and safety systems, many viewed safe practices as an application, separate from all other aspects of the business. Much like other "programs" when times got tough, health and safety systems got cut or downsized to make way for leaner programs yielding profit. For most of these companies, survival and productivity were the true number one priorities. Safe practices was silently considered to be an extra cost to do business. It was around this time that some important truths were revealed that could bring about another enormous shift in health and safety management philosophy.
Dissatisfaction continued to increase with the current method of safe practices. Band-aid Bob Jr., grandson of Band-aid Bob (who had passed on compared to that safe haven in the sky) and also a Safety Adviser, reflected on hawaii of safe practices at this time. A lot more than 90 years had passed since Band-aid Bob had discovered the essential safety program elements. This approach had failed to yield the improvements to employee health and safety that had been promised. If ever there is a period to re-think the old failed philosophies around safe practices program management, this was it. So, Band-aid Bob Jr. packed up his things and retreated to the mountains, coincidentally to the exact mountain and spot where his grandfather had retreated many years ago.
The New Method of Safe practices Management
When Band-aid Bob Jr. arrived at the spot where his grandfather had made his discovery, the area, initially, seemed clear. But he stumbled on a half-buried rock and upon closer examination, he noticed that it was more than just a plain old rock. Also, he noticed other rocks poking from the earth. He spent a while digging them out, packed them up, and returned to his home in the City. Without hesitation, Bob went to work on cleaning up the rocks and putting the pieces together just like a jigsaw puzzle. When he was done, he found that he had two more complete tablets containing more direction on how to achieve safety excellence.
He had them transcribed into English. When he showed off his new find, there was a great commotion, but mostly there was disbelief. "How could there be more elements?" people exclaimed. There were many meetings and discussions about the new elements plus they were examined one at a time. Following is really a summary of what some call "Health and Safety Human Factors," along with a few of the meeting discussions.
Values/Safety Priority
A company's real health and safety priorities are revealed not by cleverly crafted policies posted throughout the facilities, but by how the employees perform their work. It only takes one incident of management telling a crew to drive to the worksite in a blinding storm, to carry out work short-staffed, to work hastily, or to skip the pre-job safety meeting, to undermine thousands of verbal and written affirmations of "health and safety first". Workers' behaviour are strongly influenced by their perceptions of the company's real health and safety priorities. If they believe safety requires a back seat to production, employees can make the decision to take that trip in inclement weather or work shorthanded. When an incident occurs you can easily blame the employee for not complying with the documented procedures. Unfortunately, the business's real values and priorities are rarely identified as even contributing incident factors.
Trust
A bond of trust may be formed between workers and management once the acts of management convince workers they can confide within their supervisors and can count on them to do something or respond in a predictable way. For example, managers are trusted if they promptly follow up on safety meeting issues. Such a world of trust, employees will freely talk about safety issues at safety meetings since they know they will be acted upon. Alternatively, insufficient action leads to insufficient trust and many very quiet meetings. Trust is also diminished when it is violated, such as for example when an agreement between supervisor and worker is broken. Once this trust is broken, it requires many positive acts by management to regain it.
Employee Participation/Autonomy
Employees must feel that they have a "stake" in the program. Employees tend to be more accepting of a program they helped develop than they're of one which has simply been handed down to them. For example, it is difficult to imagine any other thing more boring or wasteful than a band of workers sitting around a table in a safety meeting, listening to their supervisor read out safe work procedures developed by either them or the Safety Advisor. Half of the employees present will likely have their mind elsewhere. What really gets employees' attention is having them participate in safety procedure exercises or emergency drills, then soliciting their input. Employee participation brings about improved procedures that employees are more committed to following because they have participated within their development.
Autonomy takes employee participation to another level as employees are permitted to make key decisions on various areas of the program. The degrees of commitment obtained through participation and autonomy are much larger than what will be obtained by way of a supervisor reading aloud at a gathering. Companies that allow for a high amount of employee autonomy generally have what's typically called an "open culture" because they engage employees in decisions and in the creative processes.
Credibility
Credibility is closely aligned with trust. Trust is gained whenever there are no differences between what is said and what's practised. For https://ropeaccessspecialistsuk.co.uk/best-rope-access-specialists-london/ , when management condones or ignores the behaviour of workers who are not complying with procedures, credibility is lost. Next time management promotes compliance to procedures, employees will roll their eyes in disbelief. Alternatively, if management is aggressive in correcting the behaviour of some individuals but not others, their credibility again makes question. As with these human factors, you can find no barriers to protect management from these negative employee perceptions leaching into other aspects of the business. If one has lost credibility in safety, credibility overall is lost. A manager's capability to manage all other areas of the work effectively is negatively affected.
Leadership
Leadership is a important element of the human factor-oriented method of health and safety. It is leadership's words and actions that establish behavioural expectations of employees. You can generally determine the extent of management's leadership in safe practices by observing how workers behave face to face. If employees demonstrate a lack of commitment to health and safety it is because management have not led the health and safety charge. In order to influence employees, leaders must demonstrate unwavering support for health and safety whatever the business climate of your day.
Leaders should always "walk the talk." They are able to never make exceptions and invite operations to take priority over employee safety. For instance, if a manager, despite operational costs, shuts employment down to ensure worker safety, he or she is a leader who will be believed when he/she proclaims that safety is number one. When exceptions are created to allow production to continue at the expense of safety, the leadership sends a strong message that production is actually the number one priority. Under these circumstances, any attempts to convince employees that safety is management's number one priority are simply not believable.
Caring
When companies demonstrate to employees they truly care, they take advantage of the hard work performed by satisfied employees. They are also rewarded with employees that are more committed to the business. This generally translates into improved safety, productivity, quality, and/or service. Here is one small but powerful example of caring. Some companies send flowers to employees and their family who are seriously ill in a healthcare facility. This act represents hardly any in terms of investment in time or money and goes quite a distance towards increasing employees' sense of security, compliance, satisfaction, and loyalty to the company.
Hiring/Orientation/Socialization
Newly hired employees arrived at employers with their own pre-conceived safe practices attitudes and expectations. If their attitudes are closely aligned with the company's and their peers', their attitudes will be reinforced. If this is not the case, the new employee will have difficulties fitting in. For instance, an employee who does not accept the need to follow all safety rules, procedures, etc. won't likely follow them when the boss is away. If he or she hasn't previously, why start now? One method to avoid these kind of issues is to enhance the hiring/screening process. Hire employees whose values and attitudes are aligned with those of the business. Put simply, make sure they are an effective fit for the business.
Many companies focus their new employee orientation efforts on the content of the new employee orientation program. As important because the content is, the orientation process is equally important. Most employees get their real orientation if they begin dealing with their peers. Peers inform new employees on "how things are actually done around here." If the brand new employee is orientated by way of a peer or peer group that feels a few safety exceptions are okay, the new employee will be orientated with the wrong messages. New employee orientations should be conducted by experienced employees that are aligned with the company safe practices values and principles.
Band-aid Bob Jr. recalls employers commenting on some of the stupid things employees do. His response is, "Can you hire them stupid or make sure they are stupid after you hire them?"
Legends/Folklore
Identify and dispense with folklore or legends of renowned past employees or heroes that not reinforce the behaviours which are currently desired. For instance, Angus MacTavish was a gas utility employee. Legend has it he once performed a rescue by jumping into to a bell hole full of leaking gas. First he minimized the gas flow by bending over the steel gas line and he hoisted an unconscious worker over his shoulder and climbed from the six-foot-deep bell hole to safety. With another deep breath, Angus apparently transpired and saved a second employee. This legend suggests Angus was superhuman. The truth is that there are hardly any people strong enough to actually do what Angus is rumored to have done-especially under conditions of little oxygen and blowing gas. If this company now has procedures set up to ensure this kind of rescue is never attempted, legends such as this will work against compliance with the brand new procedure.
As a way to attain full compliance, conflicting legends must be dispelled, otherwise they may be modelled. One method to dispel the legend in the aforementioned case would be to conduct mock exercises to practise removing unconscious employees from a bell hole. No employee should be able to perform Alex's rescue and that will help reinforce the brand new more time-consuming but safe rescue procedure.
Fairness
Employees must believe the environment they are working in is fair and free from bias or injustice. Few employees complain about a system in which the standards and consequences of compliance are laid out clearly and are consistently enforced. If discipline is warranted, it must be perceived to be fairly administered. On the other hand, workers become frustrated if they have been held in charge of something others have been allowed to escape with. Among the worst exceptions in this regard is when workers are disciplined for non-compliance but exceptions are made for supervisors or managers. Companies should always strive to create a just and fair culture.
Employee Satisfaction
This can be a well-known fact that satisfied employees tend to be more productive, take fewer days off for illness, stay with the company longer and also have fewer incident/accidents. The deeply hidden benefits of implementing an effective safe practices program are that it opens the entranceway to good two-way communication and fosters employee participation and trust. In this environment, employee satisfaction improves. Satisfied employees benefit companies not only by improving safe practices in the company, but also by improving all the aspects of the business. Companies that view safe practices from this perspective understand that safe practices adds value to an organization.
Culture Influences Behaviour
There are lots of factors affecting why individuals behave the way that they do. The factors influencing employee behaviour are varied and complex. Supervisors and managers cannot be counted to understand them all. However, a few of the factors that affect behaviour are well known and understood and they are useful tools for management and supervisors.
For instance, behavioural science tells us that if supervisors and management provide positive recognition for just about any desirable behaviour, the behaviour is more prone to be repeated. If an unhealthy behaviour is condoned or overlooked as the supervisor or manager chooses not to address it, the undesirable behavior will undoubtedly be reinforced and repeated. All supervisors and managers should be aware of these simple behavioural truths that all supervisors and managers should become aware of.
Another, as well as perhaps less-known, factor influencing employee behaviour may be the company's health and safety culture. A generally accepted description of workplace culture is "just how things remain here." Here is a good example. Band-aid Bob recalls a time years ago when he was auditing a company's health and safety management system. While interviewing an older but new employee, he asked about compliance to wearing PPE and following safe practices procedures. The interviewee responded positively and continued to say that if he saw someone not complying, he felt comfortable with and compelled to say something to them. He then revealed his recent non-compliant history. In the company where he previously previously worked for over twenty years, he had commonly disregarded the rules. When asked why the sudden change in behaviour, his response was short and to the point: "Because that is the way we do things around here."
Safety excellent companies are well aware of the influences a positive health and safety culture can have on employee behaviour. Many of them conduct safety perception surveys to access employee perceptions in order to focus on improving negative employee perceptions.
Conclusion
We have come a long way since the first stages of health and safety. Each new era has brought new improvements to safe practices management systems. The brand new elements discovered by Band-aid Bob Jr. (and real-life health and safety professionals) are proclaiming a new and exciting era where "health and safety" is no longer viewed as yet another program, but as a key contributor to success running a business. The move towards these more human-oriented elements promises to greatly help produce improvements to corporate safe practices culture that may have results on all other areas of a business. Some companies have previously discovered these cascading benefits and also have evolved into safe practices leaders and, and in addition, leaders within their respective businesses.
In the Beginning
In the late 1800's, there were no safe practices professionals. Companies would never have considered retaining people specifically to manage health and safety for them. Actually, at work, humans really weren't ranked all that high as a resource. In the mining industry for instance, mules were often used to haul equipment and materials in and out of the mines. When a serious incident occurred such as for example an explosion, rescue operations focused not on humans but on the mules. A dead mule cost the mine around $24 to replace. An employee, making around $3 each day, was cheap to replace as there was generally a lineup of people willing to work in exchange for pay. If a worker was only injured he would be sent home to recuperate with no pay. If he recovered fully, he would be allowed to go back to work.
In the first 1900's (i.e. around 1914), workers' compensation insurance was established in many areas in North America. The insurance provided compensation to employees who have been injured in addition to to the families of those that had died on the job. It was at the moment that companies started recruiting people to greatly help patch up their injured workers also to get them back to work as soon as possible, as well as assist in preventing further injuries. Some called these folks "safety advisers". The evolution of the Safety Adviser's role is perhaps best shown by the legend of an individual known as Band-aid Bob.
Band-aid Bob wasn't his real name, but that's what he came to be called. If ever there is a safety person who could patch people up after they were injured, it was Bob. At this time in the evolutionary history of health and safety, there is no such thing as formal safe practices management systems. Workplace injuries were common and accepted within the job. People like Band-aid Bob were typically hired by only the largest of companies who needed you to definitely administer good medical and felt they might afford the overhead. Several safety individuals were workers with work injury disabilities for instance a missing hand, fingers, or toes. After all, if anyone knew anything about safe practices, it needed to be an already injured worker.
Bob was very good at his job. One evening, tired from a hard day of administering bandages, cauterizing wounds, and massaging strained muscles, Band-aid Bob decided to take the time for himself. He packed up some gear and hiked in to the mountains. Trekking up Mount Doringba, he made an incredible discovery that would change how companies viewed employee safe practices.
On top of the mountain, Bob stumbled onto some tablets inscribed with strange writings. Among many broken bits of tablets, he found two intact pieces. Excited about his find, he brought both tablets back to the town and had them transcribed. The tablets' writings became pivotal to safe practices as they identified key elements to achieving health and safety excellence. The elements included: Management Commitment and Involvement, Hazard Identification and Assessment, Records and Administration, Inspection, and Investigation.
Soon Bob found himself on a speaking tour spreading the term about his findings, laced with interpretations from the one and only Band-aid Bob himself. When asked about the need for the writings, Bob would respond, "These key elements are needed in order to achieve safety excellence. Success in implementing these elements means you won't ever have to bandage up an employee again."
Present Day Health & Safety Management Systems
To numerous people, Bob's new method of safety made many sense and, as time passes, Bob gained quite a following. Soon word spread and companies around the globe adopted sun and rain. Mounting interest in the elements gave rise to varied health & safety associations, safety professionals and consultants who all helped spread the term to millions of companies and their workers. Many companies hired people dedicated to implementing and maintaining these landmark elements. Billions of dollars were spent implementing them.
For a time, improvements to safe practices were achieved. Companies employing sun and rain noticed reductions in incident and accident rates. Fatality rates decreased. Insurance rates decreased. This success lasted for quite some time but, there came a time when fatality rates stopped decreasing and some people began to question the worthiness of the basic program elements. Others suggested the essential elements had improved about all they could improve within their companies. They called for a re-evaluation of the status quo, however the prospect of change was a very hard sell. By this time around, so many people had bought in to the basic health and safety elements that were passed down in their mind by Band-aid Bob. Their livelihood depended upon them. To now buy into alternative approaches threatened their very existence and would suggest that they had all along been following the wrong path.
And so it continued for many years: companies entrenched in Bob's basic elements failed to achieve the safety excellence promised them. Many health and safety professionals reported difficulties in obtaining the elements in place and functioning fully. At the moment in the evolutionary era of health and safety systems, many viewed safe practices as an application, separate from all other aspects of the business. Much like other "programs" when times got tough, health and safety systems got cut or downsized to make way for leaner programs yielding profit. For most of these companies, survival and productivity were the true number one priorities. Safe practices was silently considered to be an extra cost to do business. It was around this time that some important truths were revealed that could bring about another enormous shift in health and safety management philosophy.
Dissatisfaction continued to increase with the current method of safe practices. Band-aid Bob Jr., grandson of Band-aid Bob (who had passed on compared to that safe haven in the sky) and also a Safety Adviser, reflected on hawaii of safe practices at this time. A lot more than 90 years had passed since Band-aid Bob had discovered the essential safety program elements. This approach had failed to yield the improvements to employee health and safety that had been promised. If ever there is a period to re-think the old failed philosophies around safe practices program management, this was it. So, Band-aid Bob Jr. packed up his things and retreated to the mountains, coincidentally to the exact mountain and spot where his grandfather had retreated many years ago.
The New Method of Safe practices Management
When Band-aid Bob Jr. arrived at the spot where his grandfather had made his discovery, the area, initially, seemed clear. But he stumbled on a half-buried rock and upon closer examination, he noticed that it was more than just a plain old rock. Also, he noticed other rocks poking from the earth. He spent a while digging them out, packed them up, and returned to his home in the City. Without hesitation, Bob went to work on cleaning up the rocks and putting the pieces together just like a jigsaw puzzle. When he was done, he found that he had two more complete tablets containing more direction on how to achieve safety excellence.
He had them transcribed into English. When he showed off his new find, there was a great commotion, but mostly there was disbelief. "How could there be more elements?" people exclaimed. There were many meetings and discussions about the new elements plus they were examined one at a time. Following is really a summary of what some call "Health and Safety Human Factors," along with a few of the meeting discussions.
Values/Safety Priority
A company's real health and safety priorities are revealed not by cleverly crafted policies posted throughout the facilities, but by how the employees perform their work. It only takes one incident of management telling a crew to drive to the worksite in a blinding storm, to carry out work short-staffed, to work hastily, or to skip the pre-job safety meeting, to undermine thousands of verbal and written affirmations of "health and safety first". Workers' behaviour are strongly influenced by their perceptions of the company's real health and safety priorities. If they believe safety requires a back seat to production, employees can make the decision to take that trip in inclement weather or work shorthanded. When an incident occurs you can easily blame the employee for not complying with the documented procedures. Unfortunately, the business's real values and priorities are rarely identified as even contributing incident factors.
Trust
A bond of trust may be formed between workers and management once the acts of management convince workers they can confide within their supervisors and can count on them to do something or respond in a predictable way. For example, managers are trusted if they promptly follow up on safety meeting issues. Such a world of trust, employees will freely talk about safety issues at safety meetings since they know they will be acted upon. Alternatively, insufficient action leads to insufficient trust and many very quiet meetings. Trust is also diminished when it is violated, such as for example when an agreement between supervisor and worker is broken. Once this trust is broken, it requires many positive acts by management to regain it.
Employee Participation/Autonomy
Employees must feel that they have a "stake" in the program. Employees tend to be more accepting of a program they helped develop than they're of one which has simply been handed down to them. For example, it is difficult to imagine any other thing more boring or wasteful than a band of workers sitting around a table in a safety meeting, listening to their supervisor read out safe work procedures developed by either them or the Safety Advisor. Half of the employees present will likely have their mind elsewhere. What really gets employees' attention is having them participate in safety procedure exercises or emergency drills, then soliciting their input. Employee participation brings about improved procedures that employees are more committed to following because they have participated within their development.
Autonomy takes employee participation to another level as employees are permitted to make key decisions on various areas of the program. The degrees of commitment obtained through participation and autonomy are much larger than what will be obtained by way of a supervisor reading aloud at a gathering. Companies that allow for a high amount of employee autonomy generally have what's typically called an "open culture" because they engage employees in decisions and in the creative processes.
Credibility
Credibility is closely aligned with trust. Trust is gained whenever there are no differences between what is said and what's practised. For https://ropeaccessspecialistsuk.co.uk/best-rope-access-specialists-london/ , when management condones or ignores the behaviour of workers who are not complying with procedures, credibility is lost. Next time management promotes compliance to procedures, employees will roll their eyes in disbelief. Alternatively, if management is aggressive in correcting the behaviour of some individuals but not others, their credibility again makes question. As with these human factors, you can find no barriers to protect management from these negative employee perceptions leaching into other aspects of the business. If one has lost credibility in safety, credibility overall is lost. A manager's capability to manage all other areas of the work effectively is negatively affected.
Leadership
Leadership is a important element of the human factor-oriented method of health and safety. It is leadership's words and actions that establish behavioural expectations of employees. You can generally determine the extent of management's leadership in safe practices by observing how workers behave face to face. If employees demonstrate a lack of commitment to health and safety it is because management have not led the health and safety charge. In order to influence employees, leaders must demonstrate unwavering support for health and safety whatever the business climate of your day.
Leaders should always "walk the talk." They are able to never make exceptions and invite operations to take priority over employee safety. For instance, if a manager, despite operational costs, shuts employment down to ensure worker safety, he or she is a leader who will be believed when he/she proclaims that safety is number one. When exceptions are created to allow production to continue at the expense of safety, the leadership sends a strong message that production is actually the number one priority. Under these circumstances, any attempts to convince employees that safety is management's number one priority are simply not believable.
Caring
When companies demonstrate to employees they truly care, they take advantage of the hard work performed by satisfied employees. They are also rewarded with employees that are more committed to the business. This generally translates into improved safety, productivity, quality, and/or service. Here is one small but powerful example of caring. Some companies send flowers to employees and their family who are seriously ill in a healthcare facility. This act represents hardly any in terms of investment in time or money and goes quite a distance towards increasing employees' sense of security, compliance, satisfaction, and loyalty to the company.
Hiring/Orientation/Socialization
Newly hired employees arrived at employers with their own pre-conceived safe practices attitudes and expectations. If their attitudes are closely aligned with the company's and their peers', their attitudes will be reinforced. If this is not the case, the new employee will have difficulties fitting in. For instance, an employee who does not accept the need to follow all safety rules, procedures, etc. won't likely follow them when the boss is away. If he or she hasn't previously, why start now? One method to avoid these kind of issues is to enhance the hiring/screening process. Hire employees whose values and attitudes are aligned with those of the business. Put simply, make sure they are an effective fit for the business.
Many companies focus their new employee orientation efforts on the content of the new employee orientation program. As important because the content is, the orientation process is equally important. Most employees get their real orientation if they begin dealing with their peers. Peers inform new employees on "how things are actually done around here." If the brand new employee is orientated by way of a peer or peer group that feels a few safety exceptions are okay, the new employee will be orientated with the wrong messages. New employee orientations should be conducted by experienced employees that are aligned with the company safe practices values and principles.
Band-aid Bob Jr. recalls employers commenting on some of the stupid things employees do. His response is, "Can you hire them stupid or make sure they are stupid after you hire them?"
Legends/Folklore
Identify and dispense with folklore or legends of renowned past employees or heroes that not reinforce the behaviours which are currently desired. For instance, Angus MacTavish was a gas utility employee. Legend has it he once performed a rescue by jumping into to a bell hole full of leaking gas. First he minimized the gas flow by bending over the steel gas line and he hoisted an unconscious worker over his shoulder and climbed from the six-foot-deep bell hole to safety. With another deep breath, Angus apparently transpired and saved a second employee. This legend suggests Angus was superhuman. The truth is that there are hardly any people strong enough to actually do what Angus is rumored to have done-especially under conditions of little oxygen and blowing gas. If this company now has procedures set up to ensure this kind of rescue is never attempted, legends such as this will work against compliance with the brand new procedure.
As a way to attain full compliance, conflicting legends must be dispelled, otherwise they may be modelled. One method to dispel the legend in the aforementioned case would be to conduct mock exercises to practise removing unconscious employees from a bell hole. No employee should be able to perform Alex's rescue and that will help reinforce the brand new more time-consuming but safe rescue procedure.
Fairness
Employees must believe the environment they are working in is fair and free from bias or injustice. Few employees complain about a system in which the standards and consequences of compliance are laid out clearly and are consistently enforced. If discipline is warranted, it must be perceived to be fairly administered. On the other hand, workers become frustrated if they have been held in charge of something others have been allowed to escape with. Among the worst exceptions in this regard is when workers are disciplined for non-compliance but exceptions are made for supervisors or managers. Companies should always strive to create a just and fair culture.
Employee Satisfaction
This can be a well-known fact that satisfied employees tend to be more productive, take fewer days off for illness, stay with the company longer and also have fewer incident/accidents. The deeply hidden benefits of implementing an effective safe practices program are that it opens the entranceway to good two-way communication and fosters employee participation and trust. In this environment, employee satisfaction improves. Satisfied employees benefit companies not only by improving safe practices in the company, but also by improving all the aspects of the business. Companies that view safe practices from this perspective understand that safe practices adds value to an organization.
Culture Influences Behaviour
There are lots of factors affecting why individuals behave the way that they do. The factors influencing employee behaviour are varied and complex. Supervisors and managers cannot be counted to understand them all. However, a few of the factors that affect behaviour are well known and understood and they are useful tools for management and supervisors.
For instance, behavioural science tells us that if supervisors and management provide positive recognition for just about any desirable behaviour, the behaviour is more prone to be repeated. If an unhealthy behaviour is condoned or overlooked as the supervisor or manager chooses not to address it, the undesirable behavior will undoubtedly be reinforced and repeated. All supervisors and managers should be aware of these simple behavioural truths that all supervisors and managers should become aware of.
Another, as well as perhaps less-known, factor influencing employee behaviour may be the company's health and safety culture. A generally accepted description of workplace culture is "just how things remain here." Here is a good example. Band-aid Bob recalls a time years ago when he was auditing a company's health and safety management system. While interviewing an older but new employee, he asked about compliance to wearing PPE and following safe practices procedures. The interviewee responded positively and continued to say that if he saw someone not complying, he felt comfortable with and compelled to say something to them. He then revealed his recent non-compliant history. In the company where he previously previously worked for over twenty years, he had commonly disregarded the rules. When asked why the sudden change in behaviour, his response was short and to the point: "Because that is the way we do things around here."
Safety excellent companies are well aware of the influences a positive health and safety culture can have on employee behaviour. Many of them conduct safety perception surveys to access employee perceptions in order to focus on improving negative employee perceptions.
Conclusion
We have come a long way since the first stages of health and safety. Each new era has brought new improvements to safe practices management systems. The brand new elements discovered by Band-aid Bob Jr. (and real-life health and safety professionals) are proclaiming a new and exciting era where "health and safety" is no longer viewed as yet another program, but as a key contributor to success running a business. The move towards these more human-oriented elements promises to greatly help produce improvements to corporate safe practices culture that may have results on all other areas of a business. Some companies have previously discovered these cascading benefits and also have evolved into safe practices leaders and, and in addition, leaders within their respective businesses.
