Pages: 16

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 2

This chapter starts by building the case for organisations to come up with a definition for safety in the context of their operations, and that poorly formed platitude statements around safety can be damaging. The concept of problem solving is used to prompt the reader to develop a definition in response to what the organisation is hoping to solve through safety management, finishing by laying the path for the next two chapters that compare and contrast traditional and contemporary approaches to workplace safety.

Pages: 5

This chapter provides a summary of the traditional approaches to workplace safety, commencing by positioning the objectives of workplace safety as being the prevention of injuries but proposing that safety is more than trying to reduce the number of things going wrong. Risk assessments and incident investigations are used to demonstrate how traditional workplace safety approaches are adopted and highlight some of the traps of traditional approaches. Behavioural-based safety is used to demonstrate that workplace safety extends beyond behaviours, and this chapter concludes with recommendations to identify and apply the positive aspects of traditional workplace safety approaches. A chapter summary is included at the end in bullet point form.

Pages: 7

This chapter provides a summary of the contemporary approaches to workplace safety, commencing by contrasting how contemporary models approach incident investigations and risk assessments. The concept of employing the skills and expertise of the workers to solve safety challenges is highlighted as one of the prominent features of contemporary safety approaches and despite the apparent benefits of contemporary approaches, caution is advised against doing away with traditional approaches altogether. This chapter concludes with summary of bullet points and the first of six micro-projects that feature throughout this book, this one stepping the reader through the task of defining safety in the context of the organisation.

Pages: 26

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 4

This chapter introduces the psychology of safety by focussing on the human condition and how its many features can impact how workers think, feel, and behave in a work context. A definition of the human condition is provided followed by a number of linkages between the human condition and workplace safety. The construct of trust and fear existing on a continuum is discussed, using an example of a safety manager who adopted fear to demonstrate why leading with trust is much more beneficial and constructive. This chapter concludes with a bullet point summary of key points covered.

Pages: 6

This chapter introduces the five major psychology perspectives and briefly relates them to the principles of workplace health and safety. It covers the psychodynamic perspective, the biological perspective, the behavioural perspective, the cognitive perspective, and the humanistic perspective, commencing with a brief introduction of each, followed by linking their principles or key assumptions to workplace health and safety. This chapter ends by recommending safety professionals adopt an eclectic approach to safety models, just as psychologists adopt an eclectic approach to psychology models. A chapter summary is included at the end in bullet point form.

Pages: 4

This chapter commences by introducing two key points that are discussed throughout. The pull for organisations to focus on safety failures rather than successes is emphasised and unpacked, noting the unintended, detrimental messages a failure-focus can send to the organisation’s workforce. The author re-frames safety as a learning opportunity and addresses the stigma surrounding failure, using common standards of perfection such as “zero harm” as examples of unhealthy relationships organisations can hold with failure. A chapter summary is included at the end in bullet point form.

Pages: 10

This chapter discusses how safety is a social construct by acknowledging that workers develop their knowledge of safety in a social context. Social psychology principles are introduced and an argument is formed in favour of including key social psychology principles in health and safety curriculum. The normalisation of unsafe work is discussed, identifying audit findings that promote surface compliance as one potential contributor to the normalisation of at-risk workplace behaviours. Synergies are drawn between safety and workplace cultures in terms of how they are both socially constructed, and the individualism of the people making up the workforce is highlighted as a key consideration for safety professionals. A chapter summary is included at the end in bullet point form followed by the second micro-project focussing on forming a safety coalition within an organisation.

Pages: 45

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 8

This chapter marks the commencement of part 3 of the book, introducing the four steps to humanising safety. An emphasis on getting to know the people within an organisation is themed throughout the chapter, with numerous recommendations provided to the reader on how to strengthen relationships with frontline workers. Building trust, active listening, and seeking to understand what energises employees are introduced as pillars for forming strong workplace relationships. An example is shared by the author on how he has approached the task of strengthening relationships by embedding members of the safety team in operational teams to help understand their work and build bonds. An example is provided of how another safety leader, Josh Bryant, approaches the task of getting to know the workforce. This example is written by Josh Bryant. The chapter concludes with bullet points on key takeaways followed by the third micro-project, stepping the reader through a process of getting to know the people within an organisation.

Pages: 13

This chapter commences by introducing the concept of safety clutter, how it accumulates in an organisation, and what leads to it accumulating in an organisation. It explores the false sense of security that administrative safety documentation often provides, and then offers the reader some simple steps to follow to approach simplifying safety through the reduction of safety clutter. An example is provided by Kym Bancroft covering how she approaches making safety simpler, including details of an instance where she has successfully achieved it within an organisation. The part of this chapter is written by Kym Bancroft. A chapter summary is included at the end in bullet point form and then the fourth micro-project is presented using a step-by-step process for the reader to follow.

Pages: 9

This chapter commences by asking the reader to consider who the customers of their safety programs are and then presents the case for considering end-users, or frontline workers as the customers to safety programs. It then goes on to talk about the competing challenges faced by management and how this can lead to trade-offs through decisions, of which workplace safety can fall victim. This is followed by presenting the case for management to view field visits and frontline conversations as beneficial to managers rather than the workers being the beneficiaries. The benefits of involving end users are shared and connections are highlighted between end user consultation and the success of safety programs. Brad Green shares an example of how to involve end users in the design of safety programs (this section is written by Brad Green) and the chapter concludes with a summary in bullet point form. The fifth micro-project is presented to the reader, laying out a four-step process to involve end users in the design of safety programs.

Pages: 10

This chapter seeks to address the issue of small safety teams having to produce large outputs of work despite their limited resources, by suggesting a crowd sourcing approach to solving safety challenges. This chapter starts by framing the challenges faced by small safety teams and goes on to talk about the benefits of decentralising the decision-making power on safety matters away from a safety team, by giving more say to the workforce. Typical challenges associated with workforce resistance on safety initiatives are acknowledged, with a crowd sourcing approach to solving safety challenges presented as a potential solution. An example is provided on how this approach has worked well in previous workplaces from the perspective of the author, and a case study is shared by Zoe Nation on how she approaches involving end users in problem solving for safety. This example is written by Zoe Nation. A chapter summary is included at the end in bullet point form and the final, sixth micro-project is presented to the reader to help them practice crowd sourcing for solutions within their own organisations.

Pages: 3

This final chapter of this book revisits the opening question to the reader about the thoughts an emotions that present when they hear the term safety, followed by reflections on the importance of adopting an eclectic approach to workplace safety and the intricacies of human beings and how these must be considered in the process of humanising safety. A summary of the six micro-projects is provided and a human-centric safety strategy template is shared for readers to complete and operationalise within their organisations. This chapter concludes by linking an organisations’ safety definition with their principles, desired safety outcomes and safety measures, and a closing note about the importance of harnessing the skills, experience and perspectives of the workforce in delivering positive safety change.