Welcome to the blog of 4QR Environmental Solutions, Inc. Here we will touch on subjects that are specific to certain industries for discussion and to provide overall news on environmental, health, and safety issues as they relate to your business environment in the US.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Why Do Some People Make Bad Decisions Regarding Safety?

When it comes to safety in the workplace, supervisors, human resource directors, and others who regularly manage employees often have their hands full trying to do their main job functions while also adding emphasis in safety. Training is done. But still, there are times when employees do 'dumb' things that can cause injuries or fatalities. To increase awareness in safety, it is good to remind employees of safety issues regularly. But how can you do this without beating a dead horse? Perhaps your basic training is becoming redundant. Maybe you are turning into a nag with your continuous reminders.  Or maybe you have overly discussed a problem that arose after an incident. There comes a time when you may have brought up a topic enough, even though not everyone had been at the meetings or read the memo.


At some point, you may need to change your tactic on safety awareness. What can be done to prevent future incidents? One thing you can do is consider giving different examples of incidents that can be found in your industry, even if you have never had that incident in your facility. Understand why employees do what they do so you can properly train and motivate them to make the right decisions regarding safety. Keep in mind that there may be an underlying problem that is causing employees to do 'dumb' things. Here are 10 possible underlying reasons with examples for why an employee might do something 'dumb' regarding safety:



1. Pressure to perform - getting a task done now to meet a deadline or production goal instead of taking the time to replace or fix a part

2. Interruptions or distractions - not being able to use appropriate caution because your too upset with family issues or concerned about a friend

3. Poor situational awareness - not having full view of a potentially dangerous activity that you are monitoring

4. Making assumptions - relying too much on engineering controls that have not been properly maintained or are old

5. Poor perspective or objectivity - making a judgment based on visual appearance instead of checking the expiration or measuring wear on equipment

6. Ego or overconfidence - "I know what I am doing and I am not going to let something go wrong"

7. Complacency - "this is how I've always done it and there has never been a problem"

8. Lack of a moral compass - causing an employee to rely on their common sense, which is then thrown out the window when there is a shortcut

9. Improper or inadequate training - needing an employee to operate equipment because they have seen it used and you are short-handed, "it's just this one time"

10. Following the leader - "He doesn't wear the PPE in this area so I don't have to wear it either"



The problem may be that when an employee is doing any of these, they either don't realize they are doing it, or they don't think they will get in trouble from it. Therefore, something else you can do is open your safety meetings up with more interaction by asking employees "what would you do in this situation?" This helps the employee to think about themselves in the situation, preparing them before an incident can occur. As a safety manager, human resources director, or other supervisor, do you see any of the above problems in your company? What other examples can you give your employees that can help prevent incidents?