October 2023CONSTRUCTIONTECHREVIEW.COM8IN MYOPINIONBy Brian Larue, Regional Environment Health Safety Manager, Blattner CompanyUNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIORS ­ AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT TO WORKPLACE SAFETYWhat is Psychosocial Safety?Psychosocial safety uses elements of psychology and sociology to better understand and manage the human dimensions of safety. Psychological attitudes influence how people feel about their place within the group or team; it is a place where they can speak up, offer ideas, and ask questions without fear of being punished or embarrassed.Perceptions of psychological safety are strongly related to learning behaviors, such as information sharing, asking for help, and experimenting, as well as employee satisfaction.Things that may help to cultivate psychological safety include support from your colleagues and a clear understanding of your job responsibilities. Psychological safety may help to create an environment conducive to learning and is strongly associated with role clarity and peer support.Compliance versus Behavior Based SafetyThis is a good time to mention a little about the enforcement side. It has made a difference. A significant drop in workplace fatalities occurred in the wake of OSHA and MSHA. However, there is only so much enforcement can do - as fatality numbers stagnate, it is important to incorporate more behavioral and psychological elements into our approach. Figure 1`2 Factor' Safety ProcessThe enforcement bubble is self-explanatory. The psychological bubble requires a little bit of discussion:· Science ­ explaining the `how and why· Education ­ best practices, hazard identification· Sales ­ selling employees on intrinsic worth· Behavior ­ setting the example, recognizing the positive·Communication ­ clear understanding of roles, receptive to feedbackOur Thinking Toward Normalized Deviations In safety, we consider normalized deviations to be those behaviors that, although considered unsafe, become part of the culture because there has never been a negative consequence. Such deviations are not confined to company culture; individuals, particularly leaders, can fall prey to a normalized mentality when production and schedule serve as primary motivators. Because the means justify the means, leaders may overlook unsafe behaviors or conditions in the mistaken belief nothing has ever happened before. Culture of Risk Tolerance and AcceptanceAs adults, employees will make the choice themselves whether a hazard exists and establish personal parameters on their acceptable levels of risk. For example, linemen or steel erectors understand the inherent risk associated with their primary work tasks (live lines, working at heights). Therefore, they work within established protocols (clearances, fall protection plans) and rarely deviate. In teaching new employees, they meticulously insist on adherence to these procedures, understanding that there are few second chances in getting it wrong. However, once back on the ground, operating a loader or manually handling material appears risk-free. I have worked on transmission and distribution projects that (fortunately) experienced zero incidents associated with energized work; these same projects did suffer significant injuries performing `routine' or `low-risk' activities. Why did this happen? No one wanted to get hurt; they just let their guard down the minute they finished the `dangerous work' and were simply cleaning up or moving equipment on the ground.
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