You Can Be Safe With High Turnover
I was at a client site the other day, and our discussion turned to the perceived barriers to achieving strong safety performance. High turnover was seen as a barrier to safe operations.
It's not.
Let's look at one organization that does this particularly well...The US Navy. There's a quote going around attributed to a senior navy officer:
"...shrink San Francisco Airport to only one short runway and one ramp and one gate. Make planes take off and land at the same time, at half the present time interval, rock the runway from side to side, and require that everyone who leaves in the morning returns that same day. Make sure the equipment is so close to the edge of the envelope that it's fragile. Then turn on the radar to avoid detection, impose strict controls on radios, fuel the aircraft in place with their engines running, put an enemy in the air, and scatter live bombs and rockets around. Now wet the whole thing down with sea water and oil, and man it with 20-year-olds, half of whom have never seen an airplane up-close. Oh, and by the way, try not to kill anyone' *
Every day, the Navy takes folks who are 'green' and finds ways to keep them (and their high priced and hazardous equipment) safe.
What’s the Navy’s secret? There is no secret. They instill in their culture elements that keep people and assets safe. I believe there are four things they do that keep new recruits (read hires) safe.
- Rigorous Training
- Inspection
- Joint Accountability for Safety
- Competent Leaders
Rigorous Training
Beyond basic training, naval recruits are taught not only how to work the machine but how the machine works. Talk to anyone on a submarine, particularly nuclear, and they will tell you the rigor of the training they received. Not only on the job that they perform, but the systems that interact with it.
Inspection
Inspection sets the standard for what employees should expect and the level of performance required. It’s no wonder the armed forces pay attention to the way a person looks in uniform, it sets the standard that details matter.
Joint Accountability
There’s a story that if a mechanic on a flight deck can’t locate a bolt, the entire deck shuts down. Every person on the ship searches for that bolt until it is found. An errant bolt poses a risk for aircraft and personal. It must not enter the jet intakes or a deadly hazard could be realized. So, everyone makes sure it doesn’t happen. All parts are accounted for.
Competent Leaders
Leaders actually understand the work they are managing. They know the process and the system. Sticking with the Navy theme, Admiral Rickover (1900-1986 -- founder of the nuclear Navy) once said "Properly running a sophisticated technical program requires a fundamental understanding of and commitment to the technical aspects of the job and a willingness to pay infinite attention to the technical details. I might add infinite personal attention. This can only be done by one who understands the details and their implications.”
Implications for Industry
If you have a safety 'issue' with new hires, look internally and see how you answer these six questions:
- How often do we send people to the floor without proper training?
- How often do we teach people a component of work to perform but miss the ‘big picture?’
- Are we inspecting and auditing the right things at the right frequency to be clear on what’s really important?
- Do we set up teams to care for one another, act and intervene?
- Do we make it easy for new hires to be identified (green hats, vests) so it sends the message that it’s OK to tell me I’m doing something unsafe (or safely!)?
- Do leaders understand the technical aspects of a job well enough to manage them?
By the way, if you can answer those six questions confidently and positively, my guess is you will reduce your turnover problem along the way!
Source:
Sr. Director Operations | Sr. Director Operational Excellence | Sr. Director Transformation VP Operations | VP Operational Excellence | VP Transformation Lean Six Sigma BB | Lean Six Sigma MBB
8 年Excellent article, Larry. As a former U.S. Air Force Officer I can tell you that the same principles apply in my service. From enlisted basic training (~35,000 trainees /yr) to Undergraduate Pilot Training (thousands of new trainees annually, tens of millions of $s, high op-tempo) to base flight operations around the world (personnel coming and going daily, high risk even in peacetime), USAF safety culture must be robust against its own operational pace, inherent risks and a population that changes every day. Accountability is clear and placed squarely on the shoulders of officers and senior enlisted leadership; the four principles you laid out above are baked into all AF daily / monthly / quarterly plans, and are prominent additions to their individual performance evaluations.
Learning & Development Analyst at US Foods
8 年Number 5 is an interesting one. This makes me wonder if people are not inclined to let others who aren't new know when they are doing something unsafe.
Sr. Principal Consultant - Process Safety Eng. & Risk Mgmt., Technical Safety Engineering Authority, Results-Driven Sr Executive - Managing Risk & Improving Performance
8 年Great Post, I agree if a disciplined order following organization can be built in civilian space, high safety performance would be maintained, not an issue...