Same thinking = same problem = same results A need for new ... behavioural safety Charles... ·...

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Same thinking = same problem = same results

A need for new thinking?

Charles Shoesmith

PsychaLogica Ltd

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Who we are

• PsychaLogica

• Charles Shoesmith

Consultancy specialising in behavioural approaches to performance improvement

Chartered Psychologist / Chartered Scientist with extensive experience in human factors and behavioural approaches to safety improvement

www.psychalogica.com

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Unsafe acts associated with many accidents

Behavioural

Safety

“observe, challenge, record”

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Fatalities

Serious incidents

Minor incidents

Near misses

Unsafe acts

Technology, infrastructure

etc Systems,

processes, controls

Behaviour

Bird / Heinrich / Bradley

The behavioural logic

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Behavioural Safety A

ccid

en

t ra

te

• Has BS made a significant

difference?

• Does the benefit outweigh

the cost?

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Piper Alpha

Texas City

Deepwater Horizon

Same old problem?

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The Behavioural Trap?

Observe what is easy to observe

Satisfied that we are reducing risk.

Behaviour? We have it covered!!!

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Attribution Theory

The problem is attributed to be a worker behaviour problem

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BBS Limitations

• By nature reactive

• Over simplistic

• Seductive

• Data creates over-confidence

• It’s a “process”

• Reinforces “bad behaviour” syndrome

• Need to maintain momentum

• Ignores thinking

• Takes focus off leadership / supervision

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The behavioural journey

How far have we got?

0

10

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The behavioural journey

How far have we got?

0

10

A long way to go!

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A Historical View

Now Then Future

Behavioural Safety ???

Is it time to move on?

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Moving our thinking on

From Chris Argyris

Current thinking

Deeper thinking, challenging the

assumptions upon which our theories

are based

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Moving our thinking on

From Chris Argyris

Current thinking

Deeper thinking, challenging the

assumptions upon which our theories

are based

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Fatalities

Serious incidents

Minor incidents

Near misses

Unsafe acts

Technology, infrastructure

etc Systems,

processes, controls

Behaviour

Bird / Heinrich / Bradley

Passed their sell

by date?

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Situation / context

Fatalities

Serious incidents

Minor incidents

Near misses

Unsafe acts

Bird / Heinrich

Has served to

reinforce focus on

unsafe acts

But … a serious

omission?

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Bradley Curve

Technology, infrastructure etc

Systems, processes, controls

Behaviour

Need for an integrated approach!

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“All accidents are preventable”

Random errors

Systemic errors

R B Whittingham

Challenge the rhetoric?

“Safety is our number 1 priority”

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“We think there is something like the cause of a

mishap … and if we look in the rubble hard enough, we

will find it there. The reality is there is no such thing as

the cause, or primary cause or root cause. Cause is

something we construct, not find.” Sidney Dekker

The Root Cause fallacy?

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Changing workplace?

Safety improvement

Increasing complexity

Increased and more complex risk exposure

“Behavioural Safety”

doesn’t fit the changing

pattern of work?

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Behavioural

Safety

Human

Factors

We have to do more than

just change the label

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Human

Factors?

How we behave

and why

• Errors • Violations • PSFs

How we explain how we behave

• The theories we hold • Human bias

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Human Factors

Levels of Analysis

“Down and in”

Reductionist

“Up and out”

Systemic

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Safety Survey 1

Which are you?

1 I have sado-masochistic tendencies – love pain, enjoy getting

hurt, get a kick out of inflicting it on others

2 I think a bit of pain and minor injury is tolerable, a bit of blood

is acceptable, but I think it is really important to do all I can to

avoid serious incidents

3 I don’t want to get hurt or injured in any way if I can help it – or

to be responsible for someone else getting hurt

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Safety Survey 2

Which are you?

1 I am a safety liability – make lots of mistakes, take all sorts

of risks, think rules are to be broken, I’m not interested in

how others behave

2 I am fairly normal, make occasional mistakes, can be

tempted to take some short cuts, may not always challenge

unsafe behaviour

3 I am perfect – never make mistakes, never tempted to take

short cuts, always follows the rules, always challenge

unsafe behaviour

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Safety Survey Result

2 I am fairly normal, make occasional mistakes, can be

tempted to take some short cuts, may not always challenge

unsafe behaviour

3 I don’t want to get hurt or injured in any way if I can help it – or

to be responsible for someone else getting hurt

Explain?

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Remedies

Our conclusions

Our thinking

Our model

Beliefs

Assumptions

A need for new

thinking?

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Assumption 1

The workforce are not as focused on safety as us managers

Assumption 2

The workforce are as focused on safety as us managers –

their apparent lack of engagement is a product of how we

manage safety

The second assumption leads to a

different approach!

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“… you will need to shift your

paradigm if you want to make real

progress on safety …” Woods et al

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More Important Considerations?

• Active safety leadership

• Real supervision

• Safety by design

• Valid learning

• Dynamic risk assessment / situational

awareness

• True engagement

BUT – if it’s working for you, it’s a useful tool.

However recognise it’s limitations

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• Need to think more systemically about why

things happen

• Need to think beyond the obvious

• Need to surface the propensity for bias in how

we think and explain events

• Need to recognise the problem of hindsight bias

• Need to surface and challenge our current

beliefs and assumptions – change the prevailing

“behavioural model”

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Behavioural

Safety?

Too simple a solution

for an increasingly

complex problem!

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• Simple

• Behavioural

• The obvious

• Critical

• Reactive

• Count incidents

• Personal beliefs

• Safety perfection

Old thinking

• Complex

• Systemic

• Less obvious

• Empathetic

• Proactive

• Measure risk

• Science

• Safety vulnerability

New thinking

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