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Congratulations! You’ve worked long
and hard. Armed with the commitment and support of both line and
management employees, you’ve achieved VPPA certification. You’ve
spent countless hours conducting work site analyses, auditing,
cheerleading and assuring that hazard prevention measures and
controls are in place. At last – certification! It’s time to
celebrate, pat each other on the back and take a breather. Or is
it?
Of course you and your team deserve a
chance to bask in the glow of your accomplishment, feeling proud of
what you’ve achieved together. But in fact, now is when the really
hard work begins. The larger, ongoing challenge is continuing to
excel once an objective measure of excellence has been attained.
It’s Human Nature
It is common that, after reaching a
sought-after goal, we often redirect our attention and energy
elsewhere, typically towards another objective. Or thinking things
are now handled, we kick back, abandoning the very efforts that
helped us reach that goal. Either can signal the beginning of a
deterioration in performance.
Our company was asked to implement our
attitudinal and behavioral improvement process at a large research
and development site of a major chemical company that had achieved
VPP Star status. Site leadership was perplexed. Why, they
wondered, following a period of remarkably low injury and illness
rates, did their performance appear to slide, with accidents,
injuries, and health incidents on the rise?
We determined that performance began
to drop off shortly after Star status
had been achieved. The perception was that, now that the
facility was in compliance, safety and health were somehow being
“handled” and that the rigorous attention that had been put into
place during the application process was no longer necessary.
How, then, do you move successfully
beyond the goal of VPP certification to a level of awareness and
proactive behavior that keeps all levels of employees interested and
motivated to maintain health, safety and environmental (HSE)
excellence for the long haul? I believe the key is in assuring that
a high level of HSE performance is not only embodied as a company
value, but is held as a personal value by every employee.
This article explores the primary
factors that can cause an erosion of performance, and suggests what
is needed to sustain performance and break through to the next level
of excellence.
We have found from our experience
working with a variety of companies over the past 20 years that key
to ensuring a high level of self-motivated and self-generating
employees is ensuring that their attitudes and values reflect a
personal belief in the benefit of safe, healthy and environmentally
sound practices for themselves, their co-workers, families,
communities and planet.
Since not every employee is involved
in the certification process, we can’t assume that everyone shares
the same values or believes in the benefit of complying with what is
required. In our training sessions we always ask, “Who is the only
person around you 100% of the time?” The obvious answer is: “You
are!” So how do we ensure that all employees are self-motivated and
self-generated for safe practice? How do we ensure that they are
willing to take personal responsibility for themselves and others on
and off the job? How do we ensure that they are willing to
intervene immediately when another employee, contractor or visitor
is observed not complying with requirements? Since VPP requires
that employees embrace the values and attitudes that keep themselves
and others safe, how do we ensure that this in fact does occur, as
not all employees are directly involved in the certification
process, nor are they interacted with on an individual basis until
their belief in these values is confirmed?
A
Holistic, Integrated Process
To reach and sustain higher levels of performance it is
essential to implement a holistic, integrated culture change and
attitudinal and behavioral improvement process. This includes
building a common HSE culture (including norms, values, attitudes
and behaviors), which permit everyone at your site to continually
work towards a common vision of excellence with objectives and goals
that support their vision.
Once VPP status has been achieved and the toasts and speeches
are over, it is necessary for the same team that led the charge for
VPP to begin exploring the necessary steps to create the next
breakthrough in HSE performance.
If we can assume that VPP sites have already asked and
answered the question as to “what barriers exist to preventing
injuries and incidents of all types”, and have achieved stellar
records as well, the question to move forward should be “what
barriers either continue to exist that we have not fully addressed
and resolved yet, and/or how to we maintain yet analyze and
continually improve existing systems, regardless of our level of
excellence?”
Human Factors
A key aspect to focus on here relates to human factors and
injury and incident prevention. Addressing the work environment and
related safeguards must of course be thorough and complete. What we
cannot assume is that the attitudes and behaviors of all levels of
employees are addressed on a daily basis! Even though Star status
has been achieved, given that only a limited number of people were
actually involved in the certification process, can we assume that
all employees are thinking and behaving in a safe, healthy, and
environmentally sound matter? Can we maintain our current level of
excellence, if what can occur is similar to the example given above
relating to the Star facility whose performance slid back after
certification? How do we prevent management and labor employees
from reverting back to old standards and beliefs, including putting
production, research, distribution and other necessary results ahead
of HS&E, especially during current business challenges such as
downsizing, increased competition, and economic and political
factors?
It's controversial, yet it's been asserted that some 94-96%
of workplace injuries are due to unsafe acts and more than 90% of
those are also due to unsafe conditions. (Source: Accident
Prevention Manual for Business and Industry starting with the 3rd
edition in 1955 through the 8th edition in 1980). Whether this
number is accurate or not, Topf research has found that
most incidents are caused by one of two human factors. The first is
automatic or non-deliberate behavior, which is related to our
ability to focus and pay attention, as well as, stress. In 1983, we
found stress to be a factor affecting HS&E performance at a chemical
company with world-class performance, and we predict it will play an
even more dramatic role as we move further into the 21st
century. With all the down sizing, upsizing, reorganizing and other
organizational changes, unless properly addressed, stress will
continue to be a major cause of industrial injuries and illnesses. The tragic events of 9/11 have given us a new set of safety concerns
that dwell on the minds and emotions of employees everywhere. Incident reports over the past 20 years of being in this field have
shown that well trained and well-equipped personnel, following all
prescribed procedures, have been injured, as well as, injure others
due to this human factor.
The second factor is conscious or deliberate behaviors,
which relates to our attitudes, beliefs and decision-making
processes. Concerns and priorities from both home and work affect
our thinking and decision making process. In Star facilities
especially, most people clearly know what to do and not do regarding
HS&E performance. They have been trained and equipped for proper
procedures. This is not the issue. The issue is that they don’t
always do what is required and what they know is safe practice. Safety at home, vacation, sports, hunting, fishing and the like is
not always followed. Time, comfort, convenience, being macho, or
unwilling to spend the money it would take to be as safe as
possible, affect our decisions and behaviors and incidents can
result.
An employee from one Star facility reported in one of our
training sessions that he had an injury when working on his home. Using a ladder that was too short, he had to extend himself to reach
a point on a gutter he was trying to fix. He lost his balance and
fell to the ground below. When asked why he was using a ladder that
was too short, he reported with some embarrassment, that he didn’t
want to spend the money for a taller ladder. This same attitude
also applies in many businesses, where decisions not to invest
necessary money and time to provide proper safeguards and training,
or improve unsafe, unhealthy, and environmentally unsound conditions
are made.
Skills to prevent incidents must be
internalized, and they must be able to be generalized to situations
other than what a person is trained for, as people move to new
circumstances at work and at home. An article in the November 2001,
Safety & Health Magazine, called "Safety Numbers At A Crossroads",
by Gay Lynn Cronin, asserts that there are more off the job deaths
and injuries (includes disabling injuries) than on the job from
unintentional incidents. (Source National Safety Council
estimates). Also, since we can’t guarantee that the people around
us in every situation won’t take actions that can get us hurt, or
will be the most constructive influence to behave safely, each one
of us must be personally responsible for this challenging task.
The pioneering work of HW Heinreich from the late 1920’s,
early 1930’s, asserted that for every incident, from a fatality to a
near miss, many more underlying unsafe behaviors leading to the
incident could be identified. Topf research has taken this a few
steps further to include the two accident causing behaviors
mentioned above. Also, included is the fact that attitudes and
behaviors of others can cause incidents to occur.
We have modified the ancient proverb that says, "Give a
person a fish and they will eat for a day. Teach them to fish and
they’ll eat for a lifetime.” Our variation states: “Give an
employee PPE and a set of safety regs and they’re safe for a day. Change awareness, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors, and they’re safe
for a lifetime.”
Easy as ABC
The primary goals for lasting change should include
permanence of the change and the ability for employees to generalize
the change so they can apply their learnings in any situation, at
work or at home. Greater awareness is essential to help employees
become self-observant and self-managing. Once a belief is formed,
we humans operate fairly automatically, and we habitualize the
behavior. Think of how many times you have run a “yellow traffic
light” automatically because you did it before and got away with
it. For greater safety, awareness must start with self-awareness,
leading to self-observation and self-management skills, which lead
in turn to new choices for safe attitudes and behaviors.
The A-B-C model from behavior science theory, derived from
the work of B.F. Skinner, states that activating events (A) lead to
behaviors (B), which lead to consequences (C). Apply a positive or
negative reinforcement to an observed behavior and the result should
be more or less of that behavior. This premise is limited in its’
long term effect given the cognitive ability of humans to
rationalize and justify anything we do.
The infrequency of observations also limits their
effectiveness. When we are observed, say by a passing a police car,
we slow down. As soon as we think we are out of the officer’s sight
and radar, most of us resume a rate of speed we believe we can
safely get away with. The same applies relating to safe practices
at home and work. When we are out of sight of a safety observer,
most of us revert back to the behavior we believe in. Lasting
change requires that beliefs that underlie unsafe behaviors be
addressed. Rather than hope for this to occur as a result of a
series of observations and related interactions, the process of
changing unsafe beliefs to safe ones can be accelerated and achieved
in a classroom setting using methods derived from cognitive
behavioral theory and experienced based learning. Management and
line employees can learn to observe and gain insight into their own
thinking process, beliefs, and the behaviors that result from
them.
The Strength of Beliefs
There are both organizational beliefs and personal beliefs
that influence the choices we make and the resulting behaviors. Beliefs are defined as habits based on trust and confidence in some
person or thing. They cause us to act in a particular way on a
continual basis. In the workplace, the culture of the organization
assures that beliefs, stressing positive or negative behaviors, are
passed on to new employees. Although work place procedures and
safeguards may be established and known, beliefs such as “I know
what I’m doing, so I can shortcut this procedure and nothing will
happen to me” can cause even the most safety minded people to put
logic aside and by-pass procedures to accomplish an organizational
or personal task or goal.
An incident occurred in one Star facility where we were
working, when a chemist, knowing that protocol mandated that a
process he was working on be shut down to make a correction, decided
to make the correction without shutting down to save precious time
in a competitive business climate. Fortunately no one was injured,
yet, the incident was discovered by the lab supervisor when she
stopped in to check on his progress.
This situation demonstrated that personal values must also be
addressed. This chemist thought his action was in the best interest
of his company and their financial success. Values are the
principles and standards we consider worthwhile and thus exert a
strong influence on behaviors. Leadership needed to reinforce that
the organizational value for the safety, health, and well being of
each person must take precedent over the personal value of this
chemist in regards to achieving a competitive edge and that he must
follow protocol in the future.
To achieve a breakthrough in HSE performance, it is essential
for labor/line and management to identify current values, as well
as, identify gaps between perceived values and professed values. The goal is to insure that the daily behaviors of all employees
reflect the true commitments of management and line employees.
This blueprint will assist people in staying on course in how they
and the company will perform.
Since VPP sites generally have strong organizational beliefs
and values relating to HSE, a practical format for teaching and
reinforcing these values for both management and line employees are:
1.
Conduct a present time
survey to determine employees’ perception and understanding of the
organization's stated beliefs and values related to HSE. Include
both management and line employees. Ask questions to find out if
what is proclaimed and what people believe to be true are the same. Determine if past values hold true today. (Remember, times and
circumstances cause values to change. What was so may no longer be
so. We can’t assume that what was, is now!)
2.
Perform a gap analysis
of the stated values of the organization and what the perception
survey shows.
3.
Determine where there
are differences in the stated values and perceived values. Bottom
line, we want to find out incongruences between what is said and
what shows up in daily practice.
4.
Feed this information
back to a group or committee consisting of a cross section of
management and line personnel, empowered to determine what values
and beliefs should prevail that will influence the HS&E thinking and
behaviors of the men and women that work there in the most
constructive manner possible.
5.
Communicate to all
employees the results of the survey, including where perceptions
match reality and where they don’t.
6.
Communicate to all
employees what the updated, 2002 version is. Enable people to
interact with and discuss these values openly to insure their
understanding and acceptance.
7.
Set up a structure, if
it doesn’t already exist, or reinforce it if it does exist, for
employees to ‘safely’ communicate to people who can do something
about it, when they experience a discrepancy between what is said
and what is practiced.
Other Components
What has become conventional wisdom at VPP sites is that
employees at all levels must be included in order to maintain and
improve performance. A holistic approach emphasizes the importance
of the whole and inter-dependence of the parts. Experience has
shown that any one person or group cannot achieve a breakthrough
alone. Moving beyond compliance means management and labor/line
must continue to work as a team at new levels of cooperation and
unity. Even though it may be known that everyone involved must be
willing to communicate, coach each other and work together to
prevent incidents, this doesn’t always happen.
Knowing something is necessary or important doesn’t mean that
people are skilled in how to do it or if they are skilled, are
willing to use what is known to approach and correct anyone’s
unsafe behavior regardless of his or her position. Experience over
the years has shown us that many people are requested to or
volunteer to accept HS&E committee, or labor and management
leadership positions without direct experience or training in
specific leadership, communication, coaching, counseling, or other
needed interpersonal skills to do the job effectively. Ongoing
training in these skills, as well as, skills to manage and transcend
personal resistance to using them to intervene with others, is
surely needed.
Another primary ingredient in moving beyond certification is
personal responsibility. Responsibility implies ownership for
taking HSE improvement to the next level. It also implies being
proactive and taking action. Empowering people means involving them
and recognizing their contributions. Once Star status is achieved,
involvement must continue to maintain and further improve
performance. It also means that you, regardless of your position,
line or management, must be approachable, encouraging others,
through your demonstration, that it’s “OK” to talk about
safety-related attitudes and behaviors.
Most training focuses on learning how we can interact and
change the behaviors of others. What is needed is training on how
we can observe our own management or leadership styles, and become
aware of how we allow others (or not) to communicate or interact
with ourselves. This is scary for some as it’s safer to focus on
others rather than our selves.
A proactive approach means taking a risk to step out and
allow others to address us or to address someone else’s behavior. Again, we can’t assume that because we are a Star facility that this
is happening at a universal level rather than with a small group of
involved people.
Non-people issues around safety are easier to address. Heightened awareness and practice in necessary communication
(listening and non-judgmental communication skills are included
here), along with the other people skills mentioned previously can
ease this discomfort. A higher level of performance means labor and
management leadership must be willing to hold others, as well as
themselves, accountable for compliance. Knowing what to do does not
mean that people do it. We have found this to be the case over and
over and over again.
All Levels
As we’ve stated, for breakthrough performance, HSE improvement
must impact all levels of an organization. These include:
Achieving long-term change involves a complex array of components
including raising awareness, shifting attitudes and beliefs,
changing behaviors, and correcting workplace conditions. It’s not a one-time “fix,” but rather an ongoing effort that must be
kept alive and lively for every shift, every day. The ‘Law of
Entropy’ states that whatever we don’t put energy into will
eventually break down. Recognizing this, Star Facilities must
continually resource the people, time, and money to continually
improve. This is most likely to occur if it is perceived and
communicated as a value by and to every member of the organization.
Strategies for Creating Breakthroughs in Health, Safety and
Environmental Performance
Developed by Topf Iinitiatives
-
CONTINUALLY assess your
ORGANIZATION's health, SAFETY, and ENVIRONMENTAL CULTURE. IDENTIFY
BARRIERS TO FURTHER IMPROVEMENT. DETERMINE THE GAPS. INVOLVE ALL
LEVELS OF EMPLOYEES TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO RESOLVE THEM.
-
DETERMINE IF HEALTH, SAFETY
AND THE ENVIRONMENT ARE CURRENTLY VIEWED AS INTEGRAL PARTS OF THE
PRODUCTIVITY PROCESS. ARE OTHER REAL TIME PRIORITIES AND BUSINESS
ISSUES INTERFERING WITH INTEGRATING HS&E INTO THE DAILY Routine?
-
ENSURE THAT THE BASICS THAT
ARE IN PLACE, SUCH AS, PROPER PPE AND HS&E PROCEDURES ARE BEING USED
BY ALL EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AND VISITORS.
-
cONTINUALLY EVALUATE AND
DETERMINE EMPLOYEE PERCEPTION OF MANAGEMENT and LABOR’s COMMITMENT
TO HEALTH, SAFETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT. ADDRESS ANY DISCREPENCIES.
-
INCLUDE A CROSS-SECTION OF
ALL LEVELS OF EMPLOYEES IN DETERMINING WHAT HSE CULTURE ENHANCEMENT
AND BEHAVIORAL IMPROVEMENT APPROACH YOU WILL TAKE.
-
CONDUCT ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS
TO INCLUDE AWARENESS, ATTITUDINAL and BEHAVIORAL CAUSES OF INJURIES
and inCIDENTS, AS WELL AS, UNSAFE CONDITIONS AND EQUIPMENT.
-
EDUCATE AND “SELL”
LEADERSHIP ON THE NEED TO IMPLEMENT A BEHAVIORAL PROCESS FOR ALL
EMPLOYEES. encourage them to commit ADEQUATE RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN
YOUR VISION.
-
DON’T FOCUS ON THE NUMBERS. DRIVE OUT FEAR OF REPORTING. FOCUS ON ACTIVITIES AND BEHAVIORS THAT
WILL PREVENT ACCIDENTS, INJURIES AND HEALTH/ENVIRONMENTAL
INCIDENTS. REPORT INCIDENTS IN HUMAN TERMS RATHER THAN NUMERICAL. SHOW CONCERN FOR PEOPLE, AND THE ENVIRONMENT, NOT THE STATS, IF
INCIDENTS DO OCCUR.
-
POSITIVELY REINFORCE
CONSTRUCTIVE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS BY PRAISING THEM INDIVIDUALLY
AND PUBLICLY. REWARD ACCOMPLISHMENT BY INCLUDING HS&E
CONTRIBUTIONS IN PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS.
-
PERIODICALLY ASSESS THE
SYSTEMS and sTRUCTURES THAT SUPPORT HSE PARTICIPATION. ARE THEY
DOING WHAT IS INTENDED? ROTATE LEADERSHIP POSITIONS AND COMMITTEE
MEMBERS. ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO gET INVOLVED BY HAVING THEM UNDERSTAND
THE OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE TO CONTRIBUTE AND MAKE A difference.
-
mandate HS&E BEHAVIORS BE
CONTINUALLY INTEGRATED into THE DAILY ROUTINE. REINFORCE THE NEED
FOR MANAGEMENT AND LABOR LEADERS TO LEAD AND SUPPORT THE EFFORT IN
EVERY SITUATION. DON’T ASSUME IT WILL MAINTAIN A CONSTANT LEVEL OF
IMPORTANCE FOR ALL.
-
INSTILL health, safety
and ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE AS A KEY VALUE. MAKE HSE CONCERNS AND
PERFORMANCE A PART OF ALL BUSINESS CONVERSATIONS.
This article and all of its contents are the sole
property of Topf Initiatives.
Reproduction of any content required the express
permission of Topf Initiatives.
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