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… Safety in the News: Why We Are Still "Safe by Accident" Two recent articles, one in USA Today and another in the Wall Street Journal are once again illustrating unfortunate examples of organizations (and industries) that are at risk for being safe by accident. Oil giant BP reported in the Wall Street Journal that it is "ensuring that lessons learned from the Gulf …
… in response to incidents rather than for planned, measured preventative activities Overusing discipline in response to accidents, incidents and near misses Using incentives based on incident rate or lack of accidents Relying on training, … knowingly or unknowingly gamble with safety. Read more about building strong safety leadership in our upcoming book, Safe By Accident? Take the Luck out of Safety - Leadership Practices that Build a Sustainable Safety Culture . Aubrey Daniels and I deliver a practical approach to ensuring your organization is safe, not by luck, but by design. Get your copy of Safe By Accident? … In a recent NY Times article the chairman of a government panel …
… of which affect the safety of workers and/or the American public. Recent events include the Upper Big Branch mining accident in West Virginia, the BP Oil Spill , and, most recently, the GlaxoSmithKline product contamination settlement … “Why don’t organizations create the kind of culture that doesn’t need whistleblowers?” In our just released book, Safe by Accident? Take the Luck out of Safety - Leadership Practices that Build a Sustainable Safety Culture , Judy Agnew and I … at risk. Organizations that create workplaces where employees feel safe to report problems will find that they are safe by design - no whistleblowers necessary. We highly recommend Safe by Accident? for anyone in a leadership role with the …
… Improving Post-Accident Behavior Predictability is one word you could use to describe an organizations reaction after an accident. It is quite common for organizations to jump to some kind of response after an incident or accident has occurred. But do they always do the right thing? In the latest video blog, Dr. Judy Agnew examines what …
… I say “a kiss” or “she kissed me,” certain images are conjured up. What is conjured, however, may vary hugely. A kiss given by a grandparent to grandchild is quite different from the torrid kiss depicted in a romantic love story at the movies. They … in the absence of considering the circumstances surrounding the response. The circumstances are everything. Fibbing by a child to avoid punishment is very different from a child telling that same fib to save his brother from retribution by … and the potential consequences of the response, it is difficult to impossible to know how to handle the situation. If an accident at work occurs because a worker was negligent it calls for different remediation than if the accident occurred …
… near my home in West Virginia to Baltimore derailed. Two young women - college students – were tragically killed in the accident. The girls were sitting on the overpass above the main street in Ellicott City around midnight when cars on the … the train or the coal existing (Aristotle’s material cause). Nor could the deaths have happened without there being an accident (his formal cause). Indeed, death is the ultimate outcome to which all living matter is destined (his final cause). … the environment arranged to optimize safe behavior? Any or all of these circumstances potentially could be what caused the accident. In assigning cause, it is often the case that it is easiest to assign it to the person who has been injured, …
… to express their concerns about surveillance cameras with tracking software being installed in some delivery vans operated by contractors. The Senators were concerned about privacy and potentially harmful unintended side effects on driving … to several transportation industry clients. We have seen some fear and active opposition to such monitoring systems by drivers in the early stages of implementation. As I pointed out in a previous blog post , the fear was largely based on … speeding, hard braking, and location via GPS tracking, and cameras can show what the drivers did leading up to a vehicle accident. Typically, when an accident or driver error occurs, the system “flags” the event and notifies a series of people …
… that are worthy of executive and management attention. Their first point is one we write about in our upcoming book Safe By Accident? , that creating a truly safe workplace requires developing a culture where all employees are willing to speak up, … that are worthy of executive and management attention. Their first point is one we write about in our upcoming book Safe By Accident? , that creating a truly safe workplace requires developing a culture where all employees are willing to speak …
… Ask Aubrey: Dead Man Question Question: In your recent article for Business Week, you state "A million hours without an accident, a reduction in errors, or perfect attendance can all be accomplished by a corpse. This doesn't qualify as valuable behavior and deserves no celebration." I will agree with the attendance issue. … errors is a huge benefit and saves the company hordes of cash. These are signs of real progress and cannot be accomplished by a corpse. Please clarify. — Dave M. Aubrey's Answer: Thank you for your comment because it raises a point of …
… you’re going to do something, do it! It is essential in building trust. For more on creating a safety culture, read Safe by Accident? … Does your relationship with your boss or your employees have any effect on how safe the environment is? My … you’re going to do something, do it! It is essential in building trust. For more on creating a safety culture, read Safe by Accident? … Relationships & Safety: Is There a Link? …
… 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 … and the concept of personal responsibility for safety. The question is: if at-risk behavior is found to be influenced by management-controlled organizational systems, does that let the frontline performer off the hook? To some extent this is …
… they look like, from every angle, because they are constantly looking at pictures of themselves (selfies and pictures taken by their friends). It’s a form of constant self-assessment. This realization got me thinking about safety culture … of this when an executive of a large transportation company said to me, “What I want to know is how do we prevent an accident like the one we just had where a guy got hurt because he wasn’t wearing his hard hat, and that was the only time he … checklists, and procedures are all antecedents. They are important because they set people up to do the right things, but by themselves, they don’t lead to persistent behavior (safe habits). If you want to truly understand why at-risk behavior is …
… on the job and putting swimmers at risk. The article identifies many instances this past summer where swimmers were rescued by other swimmers or in some cases drowned while the lifeguard was busy thumbing away on his/her phone. Of course technology … summer and never see a person in danger of drowning. In other words, the primary reason for having the job doesn’t occur. By our very nature, our behavior, goes to the most reinforcing part of the environment. When a lifeguard goes for long … to catch. My co-author and I spell out the science and technology behind this approach in our forthcoming book Safe by Accident . Because texting by lifeguards is just now being reported and because efforts to deal effectively with it have …
… found its way into the University Archives. The bible apparently remained unopened until one day recently when quite by accident a postdoctoral fellow involved with the twins project looking for something else in the Archives happened upon it. … the cover. Further into the bible, on the page recording births and deaths, there was a stunning revelation, later verified by the Twins Project staff. The world can now know that B. F. Skinner’s mother gave birth to identical twin boys on March …
… the blank). It is a fact of life that distractions on the road are increasing and all of them increase the likelihood of an accident. I believe that everyone who drives should keep his/her eyes on the road at all times and not attend to anything in … forgot when talking in the restaurant. Employees at ADI responded to the NTSB’s recent national plea to ban cell phone use by making a pledge to stop using the phone while driving. It is a worthy goal. Only a week later, and none has been able to … The press release about "banning all cell phones" gives the appearance of taking the problem serious. Second, the statement by the chairman, Deborah Hersman that "We’re not here to win a popularity contest" makes it sound even more serious. Tough …