Safety Systems

Why are effective safety systems important?

Safety systems help to educate, clarify roles and responsibilities, and address a wide range of safety issues. These systems are more proactive and preventative than traditional safety management. Plus they encourage engagement at all levels. But is it enough?

Organizations often have all the necessary safety tools and processes. The problem occurs when they don’t use them consistently. Pre-task risk assessments, for example, can only prevent incidents if employees actually do them and do them well.

How does ADI improve safety systems?

With the science of behavior as our guide, ADI works with clients to uncover the root causes of variance in their safety systems (see overview). We then develop evidence-based strategies to ensure consistent application and impact. 

We often help clients modify their tools to make them more behaviorally sound and user-friendly. Other times, we find that our client’s safety tools are well-designed, but the management systems do not support using them consistently. 

At ADI, we know that the key to improved safety performance is better behavior management. Frontline employees and leaders typically do what makes sense to them based on the work environment. Effective safety management must acknowledge and manage workplace antecedents and consequences from all sources, especially those embedded in organizational systems. ADI helps our clients refine their systems to encourage (prompt and reinforce) employees’ reliable use of them. This often starts by removing time and effort barriers to using the systems. We then ensure consistent positive reinforcement for using the systems as intended. By helping employees at all levels see the positive outcomes of consistently using safety tools and processes, we ensure that our clients’ systems continue to work as intended.

What impact might you see by improving your safety systems? 

Here are examples of how our process can improve your impact:

• Tools such as equipment safety checklists and pre-task risk assessments are completed thoughtfully and thoroughly
• Processes such as pre-shift safety meetings result in engaging, meaningful conversations about the work ahead and how best to do that work safely
• Senior leader safety tours lead to positive interactions that leave employees feeling listened to and encouraged
• Peer observation systems encourage meaningful feedback on behaviors that truly impact safety
• Near miss reporting systems provide a truthful picture of risk and lead to organizational learning

Safety systems are all about behavior—they are about identifying all the things that need to be done to make the workplace as safe as possible. Ensuring all those behaviors occur reliably requires a deliberate, systematic process. If you struggle to get the results you expect from your safety management system, ADI’s behavioral approach will help.