Save Lives by Addressing Systemic Root Causes

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlighted a troubling trend on our nation’s airport tarmacs. Safety incidents among ground crew workers are on the rise. The article starts by describing…

Common Leadership Errors: Failing to Create Sustainability

Common Leadership Errors: Failing to Create Sustainability Organizations are constantly evolving to keep up with a changing world. This evolution can include refinements to strategy, systems,…

When Safety Systems Work Well

I recently had the opportunity to do an assessment with a company that is a safety culture exemplar. At ADI, we work with a lot of companies that have sophisticated safety management systems, but…

Two Truths about Performance Improvement

When it comes to influencing behavior in organizations, there are two truths that need to be considered. These truths relate to two major aspects of the organizational culture: the systems operating…

Surveillance for Amazon Drivers? Keys to Monitoring Driving Safety

Five U.S. Senators wrote to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on March 3, 2021 to express their concerns about surveillance cameras with tracking software being installed in some delivery vans operated by…

Adding Infection Control Behaviors into Behavioral Safety Systems: Beyond COVID-19

During this phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, have repeatedly advocated behavior change as mitigating steps to…

Safety Rewards Can Be Dangerous

I just finished reading an ISHN article on safety incentives and the value of a gift card reward system to promote safety. To say that I didn't like it is an understatement. It reminds me of the many…

Measuring Performance: Necessary but Insufficient

“What gets measured,  gets done.” If this saying is true, then why are so many people overweight? I have been recording my weight daily for over 35 years and as I am writing this, I am 4.5…

Is “Deskilling” a Threat to Safety in Your Workplace?

Maybe you’ve heard the term de-skilling. It refers to the loss of knowledge or skills on the part of a person as a result of technology doing more of the work for them.  In work environments…

Electronic Performance Monitoring: When Good Intentions Turn to Digital Hammers

Electronic performance monitoring tools (let’s call them EPMs) are becoming more prevalent in the workplace.  The transportation sector seems to be leading the pack at the moment.  Dr. Ron…

OSHA Memo Warning about Improper Use of Safety Incentives and Discipline

Managing consequences such as incentives and punishment are thorny issues in safety. ADI has long held that monetary bonuses based on injury counts/rates are problematic for a number of reasons…

Personal Responsibility Within a Behavioral Approach

We have received much positive feedback on our book Safe by Accident and we are delighted that so many people find it helpful.  There is one issue that some people are struggling with so we want…

Creating a Culture of Safe Habits Begins with Identifying the Best Pinpoints: Hazard-driven Behavior Pinpointing in BBS

All of the talk lately has been focused on ‘what went wrong’ to create what turned out to be disastrous work environments in the case of BP’s Deepwater Horizon well explosion in the Gulf and the…