health & safety
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Ensure worker involvement in any changes to procedures in order to increase their acceptance Improve planning for all jobs, ensuring the necessary resources of workers, equipment and time are sufficiently allocated Encourage the reporting of any problems (e.g. job pressures, equipment malfunction etc.) through open communication with a ‘no blame’ culture. Encourage the reporting of violations. Provide training for abnormal and emergency situations, addressing these through training needs analysis Always think about the possibility of violations when carrying out risk assessments, bearing in mind that risk assessments often assume everyone is fully vigilant and co-operative Strive to eliminate reasons to cut corners, by setting realistic workloads and targets Try to reduce time pressures on workers to act quickly in unusual situations Identify any work activity on your site where rule breaking has become the norm
While we may successfully decrease the opportunities for violations, identifying people’s motivations can sometimes be extremely difficult. Sometimes workers will go to great lengths to conceal pertinent factors or circumstances, whether they are airline pilots, commercial vehicle drivers, contracts managers, supervisors, or operatives. Sometimes these factors or circumstances may be very personal, embarrassing or impacting on their loved ones. Acquiring the trust of your workforce can take considerable sustained effort and time. Where rule breaking has become the norm, it is crucial to establish why rule breaking is considered by some as acceptable. If the rule in question is legislative (or within an ACOP) then an appropriate form of discipline may become necessary. If the rule being violated is just an in-house procedure
or preference, it may be that the rule is unnecessary or burdensome, and that worker involvement and consultation may result in company procedures that are not only more acceptable to employees, but are also more manageable and effective. Another significant factor in the planning of work revolves around the plan of work itself. Authors of plans of work need to ensure that these are suitable and sufficient for the task, and that the information and instruction included within them are relevant to the proposed works. Any irrelevant material should be avoided, not only because it is irrelevant, but because it encourages site teams to start picking and choosing what to comply with and what to ignore. Once a culture of picking and choosing begins to develop, the next step is a rise in human errors and violations, and ultimately the loss of future business and company reputation. There is no quick fix to eliminating violations, but competent managers will find ways to identify potential violations and reduce the likelihood of their occurrence. Remember, they are most likely to occur if workers have the capability, opportunity and motivation to do so. Conversely, if workers have the capability, opportunity and motivation to comply with well written and relevant procedures, and well planned and resourced jobs, compliance is more likely to become second nature to them.
ARCA can help you with your independent audit requirements, competency assessment and management reviews. For further details and discussion of your requirements, call us on 01283 566467.
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