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Use positive reinforcement to encourage the
behavior you wish to nurture
Ingar Rasmussen (see Part 3, item 3 Reinforce actively caring behaviors)
is vitally interested in what he calls the psychology of safety.
He believes that behavior is strongly influenced by its consequences. "In a workplace where employees have a 'devil may care' regard
for safety, unsafe acts may actually be rewarded by the approval
of their peers," he observes."We work hard to show everyone
that working unsafely is not smart, it is foolish."
Ingar reports that in their facility, they have tried to develop
a culture where safe behaviors are recognized and rewarded, both
by management, and by the 'culture' within the workplace. "All
workers in the plant understand our commitment: it has been drilled
into us at every safety meeting, and on every opportunity. We give
special recognition to actively-caring behaviors."
Ingar makes no mention of enforcement. "The rules are there
of course, and everyone is very familiar with them. But enforcement
is less of an issue. Everyone is so conscious of safe behaviors
that their caring attitude goes well beyond the rules. Rules imply
control, and directives from management. Workers are in charge of
their own safety. They are cautiously confident when facing hazards
that they understand and feel they can control."
It takes constant nurturing
"While our safety record has improved tremendously over the
past five years, I am nonetheless describing a Utopian world,"
Ingar admits.
"The average person is reluctant to spend valuable time learning
ways to reduce personal risk of injury. Indeed, most of
our associates don't believe they are at risk for personal injury,
and before we learned ways to emphasize safe behaviors, they
were reluctant to learn ways to improve safety.
"Our present happy situation did not grow or flourish on its
own. We have to work at it all the time. A Total Safety Culture
is an ideal towards which we strive, and while we applaud the actions
of Thomas and Mario that I mentioned (see part 3, item 3), these
examples are not as universal as we would hope. On the other hand,
as everyone takes the Total Safety Culture to heart, we see our
associates accepting greater responsibility for personal and workplace
safety, and less and less need for interventions."
The program Ingar describes contains the following elements:
* Safety audits
Safety audits are conducted at least yearly. The audits are conducted
both by safety personnel and by the operators who meet regularly
to discuss safety issues and problems, and to develop action plans
for safety improvement. An important element in this approach is
the reporting and investigation of near miss incidents, together
with suggestions for reducing the possibility of injuries.
“ In a workplace where employees have a
‘devil-may-care’ regard for safety, unsafe acts may
actually be rewarded by the approval of their peers.”
* Hazard reporting
Associates are encouraged to report hazards (through positive reinforcement
and occasional rewards) and action is taken to correct them.
* Observation
The workplace is systematically observed. Workers receive feedback
regarding the frequency or percentage of safe versus
at-risk behaviors.
* Training and Awareness
Employees receive systematic and ongoing safe practices training.
The training is reinforced through employee handouts, short training
videos, and the constant visibility of safety messages. These are
displayed prominently throughout the plant.
* Specify behavior
Ingar notes, "We target the safe behaviors we need to encourage,
such as correct lifting techniques; walking around the plant safely,
not running; holding on to stair rails. When observation revealed
that operators were taking shortcuts when they should have been
calling in maintenance and following lockout/tagout, we emphasized
safe operating of equipment."
* Positive Reinforcement
Targeted safe behaviors are recognized. "Positive reinforcement
works best when some rewards are immediate—and varied,"
Ingar notes. "Most times, praise to a worker doing something
right is all it takes. I often ask our team leaders, "How many
of our associates did you compliment today?" We also provide
all those in a position to influence behavior with a small stock
of low-cost incentives, novelties, and sometimes, credits redeemable
for prizes. However, we also reward long-term goals. We reward prizes
to teams that have experienced no lost-time injuries for specific
periods."
* Peer recognition
Workers are encouraged to report their observation of outstanding
safety related actions by their co-workers.Everyone is taught to
recognize and respect safe behaviors and safe work practices.
* Evaluation
Part of every performance appraisal is safety related, says Ingar.
"It gets back to behavior. If we want people to behave safely,
we must not reward unsafe behavior. We are not just interested in
how productive an associate is, we are also interested in how safely
productive he or she is. In our organization, no one gets ahead
if they are not highly diligent in their regard for safety—all
the time."
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