To create effective safety controls, understand human factors and keep it simple!
Being in multiple industries for several years, I have seen a common area of failure in risk management due to complexity. It seems we forget what we are trying to protect/prevent and thereby we build layers of complex controls, many which have no real connection to the risk we first set out to control.
Precious energy is wasted on some layers which when looked at closely actually have little effect on prevention of the key risk. Think of it like putting a steering wheel & gear box lock and prevention signs on your car to prevent your teenager from using it – all the while leaving the keys on the kitchen counter. What are you trying to prevent? The joy ride down the neighborhood? Or simple access to the car and the many risk that can occur once this is gained? If you adequately control the access to the interior, then you may not need to worry about all the locks and signs.
One cause of complexity in safe systems of work seems to be we lose sight of what is the risk. Often enough this loss of sight is because we do not really focus and put enough of our energy in phase one of risk management – what is the risk? Naturally, we then fail to identify and grasp the human limitation aspect. How often do you see in an investigation, “the operator failed to follow the procedures”, so let me challenge you, did they fail? Or was it just going to happen at some point?
As managers it is critical to continue learning and increasing our awareness about human interaction with the risk area. A manager can significantly increase the diligence at the very start of the risk assessment, seek to clearly understand what they are trying to prevent, who they are trying to protect and what is the simplest solution to control at source. In Occupational Safety, it’s really about your people, so think in a caring manner about the limitations, remove complexity and keep it simple. Go out during the late-night shifts and see whether it’s a workable control when fatigue has entered the picture. Make all attempts to eliminate at the earliest stages. i.e. remove energy, then simple lock out tags out process.
Approach risk assessment with an open mind, ready to learn and as much as possible, go to the place of the risk with the actual operators and considering all factors which can affect the operator from executing the safe system of work. Be open to challenge and change, if added factors are introduced later which can affect the control of the critical risk then stop, think and act on it.
Keep it simple!