Prioritizing Safety: A Path to Operational Success

By: Deryck Hart (May 29th, 2024)

My Safety Motivation: The Inspiration of Paul ONeill

My journey into prioritizing safety is deeply inspired by the 1987 story of Paul O'Neill, the former CEO of Alcoa. O'Neill's approach to leadership is often cited as a transformative example of how prioritizing safety can drive broader organizational success. In his famous speech to Alcoa shareholders, O'Neill declared, "Our safety record is better than yours, and I want to go for zero injuries." This bold commitment to zero injuries was not just a slogan but a core value permeating every aspect of Alcoa's operations. Shareholders wondered why he had omitted to talk about improving profits, especially considering the dire straits of the organization. O'Neill understood that a focus on safety would not only protect employees but also enhance productivity, quality, and overall company performance.

“If we bring our injury rates down, it won’t be because of cheerleading or the nonsense you sometimes hear from other CEOs. It will be because the individuals at this company have agreed to become part of something important: They’ve devoted themselves to creating a habit of excellence. Safety will be an indicator that we’re making progress in changing our habits across the entire institution. That’s how we should be judged.” (O’Neil, 1987)

O’Neill’s unwavering dedication to safety created a culture where every employee felt valued and responsible for their own and their colleagues' well-being. This cultural shift led to remarkable improvements in safety metrics and business outcomes, demonstrating that safety and operational excellence are intrinsically linked. Inspired by O'Neill's vision, I have made it my mission to embed a culture of safety within the organizations I work with, ensuring that every employee returns home safely every day.

Cultural Change and Finding a Common Enemy

Implementing new Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) often meets with resistance. Employees might argue that they already feel safe, regardless of their actual safety record. For instance, I have encountered individuals who resist wearing safety gear such as glasses, gloves, helmets, and earplugs, despite having suffered past injuries like missing fingers, loss of eyesight, or hearing damage. This trend is a cognitive bias referred to as “normalization of deviance,” the tendency over time to accept anomalies—particularly risky ones—as normal. Please think of the growing comfort a worker might feel using a ladder with a broken rung; the more times he climbs the dangerous ladder without incident, the safer he feels it is.

This resistance highlights a critical misunderstanding: the aim of introducing new safety measures is not to negate past performance but to foster a culture of safety and continuous improvement. When staff complain that finding one observation per month is too demanding, it reflects a deeper cultural issue. Safety should be a common enemy that unites all employees to benefit themselves, their families, peers, contractors, customers, and suppliers. The basic investment of time in safety observations is a fundamental step in changing the culture and building the habit of continuous improvement. Encouraging proactive safety observations helps to create a shared commitment to safety and lays the groundwork for more time-consuming improvement efforts like Problem-Solving Events or Kaizens.

'...Safety is a precursor to 5s & Continuous improvement. It is the litmus test of a facility's ability for 100% engagement in Lean initiatives. I am not referring to the amazing facilities that execute regular Kaizens with the same 20% of staff, 80% of the time. I am talking about the deeper sociological dynamics of holistic engagement and readiness. If a facility (Business Unit, Division, etc.) cannot afford the time to spend 5 minutes per month, per employee to care for the safety of all staff and against the common enemy of Employee Injury, then how can a facility anticipate that they will have holistic engagement CI that require multiple hours/days to implement and more to sustain?' (D.Hart, 2024)

The Psychology of Routinization and Habit Formation

Creating a culture of safety relies heavily on the psychology of routinization and habit formation. According to the research of Carol Heimer and others, routinization involves regular, predictable actions that become second nature over time. In the workplace, habits formed through consistent, repeated actions—such as daily safety checks or monthly hazard observations—are more likely to be sustained compared to those introduced at irregular intervals.

Heimer's work emphasizes the importance of comparison and routine in creating habits. Regular cadence intervals, such as daily or monthly safety checks, help to embed these actions into the daily workflow, making them a natural part of the job. On the other hand, irregular intervals, such as three times a year, fail to establish a consistent pattern, making it harder for employees to adopt these practices as habits. Therefore, implementing regular safety routines is crucial for building a strong safety culture.

Focusing on Leading Indicators and the Bottom of the Safety Pyramid

The safety pyramid traditionally (Heinrich Model, 1931/ Bird Model, 1969) focused on lagging indicators such as fatalities, lost time injuries, and near misses as the foundation. However, modern safety management (ConocoPhillips Marine, 2003) emphasizes the importance of leading indicators and the proactive elements at the newer base of the pyramid; The modern pyramid includes Hazard IDs/Observations as a critical component.

Organizational disasters rarely have a single cause. Instead, they are initiated by the unexpected interaction of multiple small, often seemingly unimportant, human errors, technological failures, or bad business decisions. These latent errors combine with enabling conditions to produce a significant failure. Latent errors often exist for long periods before they combine with enabling conditions to produce a significant failure.

Near misses, although still considered lagging indicators, highlight situations where an incident could have resulted in injury but did not. “Most people think of near misses as harrowing close calls that could have been a lot worse—when a firefighter escapes a burning building moments before it collapses.” Observations, on the other hand, are proactive measures where employees identify and report unsafe behaviours or conditions before they lead to incidents. By focusing on these leading indicators, organizations can spend more time addressing safety measures, ultimately reducing the occurrence of serious incidents higher up the pyramid.

What is Next: 80/20 Pareto Charts, Visual Management, and Closure Rates

Once a culture of safety reporting has been established, the next step is to enhance the effectiveness of safety KPIs and observations through advanced tools and techniques.

Visual Management

Visual management is a powerful tool for making safety observations and reporting visible to all employees. This can include posting photos of unsafe conditions or behaviours and using visual metrics to track the status of safety issues. Weekly stand-up HSE meetings can be used to triage issues based on risk and severity and to review the actions required to close each topic. Implementing a Green/Yellow/Red metric system can highlight the length of time an issue remains open, encouraging prompt resolution.

Common Focal Points

The focus should be on areas of high pressure to meet performance goals such as tight schedules, cost, or production targets. When people make decisions under pressure they tend to rely on heuristics, or rules of thumb, and thus are more easily influenced by biases. Additional focal points include:

1. Human Error

Human error is a significant contributor to workplace safety incidents. This can encompass a wide range of behaviours, including:

• Distractions: Employees may become distracted by personal issues, technology, or other activities, leading to mistakes or accidents.

• Fatigue: Tired Workers are more likely to make errors. Long hours, insufficient rest, and demanding workloads can all contribute to fatigue.

• Complacency: Over time, employees may become too comfortable and overlook safety protocols, especially if they have performed the task many times without incident.

• Risk-taking Behavior: Some employees may take shortcuts or engage in risky behaviours to save time or effort, which can lead to accidents.

2. Inadequate Training

Proper training is crucial for maintaining workplace safety. Inadequate training can lead to incidents for several reasons:

• Lack of Knowledge: Employees may not be fully aware of the safety procedures and protocols they must follow.

• Improper Use of Equipment: Without proper training, workers may misuse tools and machinery, leading to accidents and injuries.

• Insufficient Emergency Preparedness: Employees who are not trained on how to handle emergencies, such as fires or chemical spills, may not respond appropriately, exacerbating the situation.

3. Poor Workplace Conditions

The physical environment of the workplace plays a significant role in safety. Poor conditions can include:

• Hazardous Work Environments: This includes workplaces with inadequate lighting, poor ventilation, slippery floors, or cluttered workspaces that can lead to slips, trips, and falls.

• Faulty Equipment: Equipment that is not maintained properly or is outdated can malfunction, causing accidents.

• Lack of Safety Measures: This encompasses the absence of necessary safety measures such as guardrails, warning signs, personal protective equipment (PPE), and emergency exits.

Addressing these key areas through comprehensive training programs, vigilant maintenance of workplace conditions, and fostering a culture of safety can significantly reduce the occurrence of workplace safety incidents.

Pareto 80/20 Analysis

Pareto analysis, or the 80/20 rule, can help prioritize safety issues by focusing on the most frequently observed problems. This ensures that time and resources are invested where they will have the greatest impact. While addressing high-priority triage issues swiftly is important, Pareto analysis helps identify and eliminate recurring problems, contributing to long-term safety improvements.

Leadership Engagement

Leadership engagement is crucial for sustaining a strong safety culture. Monthly HSE meetings prepared and hosted by site leadership teams can ensure accountability and active involvement. Leaders should be able to speak about the biggest safety issues and demonstrate their commitment to supporting change. This engagement prevents the responsibility for safety from being pushed solely onto Joint Health and Safety Committees (JHSC) and HSE Managers/Coordinators, fostering a culture of shared responsibility.

In conclusion, creating a culture of safety requires a multifaceted approach that includes inspiration, cultural change, habit formation, proactive safety measures, and continuous improvement. By following the example of leaders like Paul O'Neill, we can embed safety as a core value within our organizations, ensuring the well-being of all employees and driving overall success.