What makes a safety culture programme fail?

Thoughts

The returns to be got from a successful safety culture programme implementation are huge. Tangible, ongoing safety performance improvement; better employee engagement; higher productivity – what’s not to like?! With the stakes so high, you’ll want to avoid the pitfalls and get the best you can from your safety culture programme. Each of the following are issues that we’ve seen impact negatively on a safety culture programme in the past…

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Why oh why are our safety procedures not being followed?!?!

Thoughts

You’ve told them umpteen times. You’ve documented everything clearly. You’ve held safety days, you run toolbox talks… perhaps you’ve even implemented a fully blown behavioural safety programme. So why are people not following the oh-so-clear procedures??!! A just culture recognises 9 different causes of human failure. In our experience, it’s only around 5% of incidents that can be described as individual violations – that is, a deliberate, self-serving decision not…

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Mirror, Mirror, on the wall… Avoiding ‘Fairy Tale’ Safety Plans

Thoughts

As we approach the panto season, many organisations are making or updating safety plans for the year ahead. No one wants to see that time and effort go to waste and before anyone shouts out “Oh yes we do”, very definitely… “Oh No We Don’t!” To avoid wasted planning time & effort, it’s crucial you know where you are as an organisation – before mapping the journey to your target…

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Highlighting An Under-Used Engagement Tool

Thoughts

If you haven’t got the right tools for any job, the outcome is likely to be sub-optimal. Without a complete set of tools the pathway to strong employee engagement will inevitably be pretty rough and a response such as “Darn it!” (or something stronger) to the results of an employee engagement survey an unwelcome probability.   The response itself, though, gives a clue as to what might be missing and…

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Are we nearly there yet?

Thoughts

If, like us, you’re based in the northern hemisphere, I imagine we find you towards the end of the holiday season. Perhaps you’re anticipating or looking back on a relaxing time on the beach or by the pool, a long cool drink in hand… Sounds idyllic. How long can you hold that thought… in a sweltering car stuck in a tailback, a packed plane or an airport queue with the more traditional sounds of summer, cries of “Are we there yet!”… “I’m bored!”… “Waaaah!”

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What’s the story? Mourning Glory?

Thoughts

Do we ever wonder why well-intentioned ‘initiatives’ fall flat?  Instead of basking in glory, we’re mourning their demise. Neuroscience might help us understand the reasons and remedies. Our brains detest uncertainty and ambiguity. It’s often a lack of clarity in an initiative’s context and purpose that lies at the root of the issue. Imagine… Imagine people listening to one of your leadership team and hearing their opinion on why, how…

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How Culture Change principles can ensure “unfurling” avoids unravelling

Thoughts

As the furlough scheme runs down many organisations will start the “unfurling” process. For many this will signal a welcome return to a place of both physical and emotional safety & comfort. However, the reality is that things will necessarily be different. A wise man once said that nothing is constant but change. Ironically, the wise man was Heraclitus being quoted by Plato. So, ironically, on the one hand it’s…

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Safety Culture: Fact and Fiction

Thoughts

There’s an awful lot been talked and written about Safety Culture, some of well-informed, some well-meaning and some well out of date.  So it can be hard to separate fact from fiction.  Based on our experience of the most common assertions since the concept first emerged, some 20 years ago, we’re happy to give some in-depth analysis of some of the myths that have grown up. #1 Safety Culture can’t…

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An “EASY” Safety Conversation

Thoughts

The phone rings, it’s our seventeen year-old daughter’s school. They have excluded Mandy and sent her home. She has been caught “selling” her homework to kids in her class. Just as we hang up the phone Mandy comes through the front door. What are we going to say/do? Tell her off/punish her?Ask her why she did what she did in a very parental style (raised voice/pointing finger etc), and then…

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Mobile app technology supporting safety engagement

Thoughts

Mobile apps in support of safety have been around for a while but tended to be a bit clunky and not really fit for purpose. With the advent of faster processing and more effective smart phone/tablet technology then organisations are now starting to see major benefits. As we know with human nature, if something isn’t easy to use, people wont use it so that’s a major focus for the service…

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