Are you SAFE or are you LUCKY

Complacency, Survivor Syndrome, and Hazard Blindness are some of the leading causes of workplace accidents. They develop when individuals perform the same hazardous task over and over without adequate protection in place, and there are no incidents. This lulls the individual and management into a false sense of being safe. In some cases, it is not simply a matter of indifference, but the hazard is forgotten to exist.

Many factors play into the development of these insidious states of mind. Luck is the leading factor. The individual is lucky enough not to have been harmed by the hazard and begins to believe they have the experience and skill to avoid it. They may become so complacent as to lose sight of or forget about the hazard altogether. The more complacent they become, the closer they move towards running out of luck.

Group habits or “Tribal knowledge” also come into play. Have you ever heard “We have always done it this way” in your organization? If you have, there is definitely a problem. If the phrase is used in response to a question about safety, it is not an answer but an excuse. In these cases, the matter needs to be thoroughly investigated.

Bad habits and attitudes have a way of spreading through an organization. One employee with a negative attitude towards safety and safety policies and procedures can influence the entire workforce. Often newcomers are indoctrinated by the existing staff into their mindset, attitudes, and false sense of security, and that the safety policies and procedures are overbearing or even useless.

So, what do you do? First, you have to accept the possibility that you may have a problem. Then you need to determine what hazards exist in your workplace and evaluate the mitigation and protection methods you have in place, if any. Are they present, adequate, and effective? Are they being used or bypassed? What is the state of your OSHA compliance? Lack of compliance equals major safety issues.

If they are not already in place, develop effective and manageable safety policies and procedures, or review the ones you currently have. Then enforce them equally for everyone and consistently. Do not forget to include an enforcement policy. Standards without any teeth are useless. Safety is a full-time process. Not something to be brought up in the event of an accident or ignored when it is not convenient. Address it now, and you may save a life or your business.

Next is training. Ensure everyone knows what hazards exist in the workplace, the policies and procedures that are in place and why, what they contain, and that they will be strictly enforced. Discuss the concepts of being safe or lucky, complacency, survivor syndrome, and hazard blindness. It would also be wise to include OSHA training and a course in Human Factors. These are investments that will ultimately pay for themselves.

Then monitor your operation for compliance with the policies and procedures, and stay alert for those who may be spreading dissent. One bad apple can spoil the entire lot. Do not allow one or two naysayers to get themselves or someone else injured or killed. Enforce the standards.

It can be difficult to spot Complacency, Survivor Syndrome, and Hazard Blindness when they have already infiltrated an organization. The old ‘can’t see the forest for the trees’ situation, old habits, deeply entrenched beliefs, confirmation bias, and other factors make it difficult to be completely objective. This is why it is so important to arrange for an external audit.

An external auditor is impartial, with no biases, preconceived ideas, loyalties, or hidden agendas. To them, the only thing that matters is the facts. They are not afraid to ruffle a few feathers and will tell you what you need to hear, not what you may want to hear. Their primary focus is to provide their client with as much in-depth and accurate information as possible about the state of their organization’s safety environment, culture, and OSHA compliance.

Apex General Industry Group can help you with all of this. Audits, training, consultation on mitigation and protection best practices, and policy and procedure review or creation. T

We look forward to hearing from you and providing the services you need.