SafetyInsights.org

This study explored factors supporting anaesthetists and nurses in managing complex everyday situations. Cognitive task analysis was used with healthcare personnel following interviews. Providing background: ·         Over decades “the field of safety research has shifted focus from analysing adverse events and errors to understanding how teams and organizations can perform critical tasks and keep processes… Continue reading Exploring everyday work as a dynamic non‑event and adaptations to manage safety in intraoperative anaesthesia care: an interview study

Can excessive focus on procedural compliance hamper our ability to learn from major incidents? Yes, according to a 2014 study which evaluated the fallout from the 2011 Wivenhoe Dam flood event. Maslen and Hayes unpack the resultant Commission of Inquiry. While preventing a downstream flood was seen to be unavoidable, and hence, the on-duty engineers… Continue reading Investigations driving fear and lack of learning following major incidents

Does exposure to uncheckable witness opinions and speculations and background info prior to the investigation bias the subsequent causal judgements from investigators? A new study suggests yes. This study to be summarised soon experimentally evaluated the effects of providing background info and ‘uncheckable’ content (speculations, opinions, or judgements like ‘they’re lazy or reckless’ or work/drive… Continue reading Biasing background info and judgemental speculations bias subsequent investigator judgements

This explored the relationship between individual & system-level variables on procedure use & departure. Individual factors included attitude towards utility of procedures & rule compliance. System factors included procedure quality, perception of procedure change process & safety climate. The analysis was framed via the model 1 / model 2 concept (for a great discussion see… Continue reading Beyond human error: An empirical study of the safety Model 1 and Model 2 approaches for predicting worker’s behaviors and outcomes with procedures

Not much to say here – a couple of extracts that I found interesting around developing ‘ideal’ rule systems. Lots to be said here – there’s volumes of books, journal articles and specialised fields/teams that develop rules, but the attached provide a few summarised points. Images 1 & 2 come from Hale et al. 2003.… Continue reading Ingredients for ideal rule systems and some pitfalls to avoid

This paper interviewed 23 safety professionals from 17 companies, and evaluated JHA documents, surrounding the obstacles and solutions to implementing Job Hazard Analysis/Job Safety Analysis (JHA) in construction. Providing background: Results Overall, obstacles to JHA effectiveness were found to include: The authors discussed several means for improving the process, including use of visual aids, rotating… Continue reading Obstacles and Solutions to Implementing Job Hazard Analysis in Construction: A Case Study

What is the connection between ISO certified systems, like 18001, and symbolic ‘paper systems’? Quite a bit, according to a 2017 study. This study compared 18001 certified to non-certified companies on a range of factors. I’m not summarising it since you can read the full report (link in comments). Some key findings are in the… Continue reading Diagnosis of poor safety culture as a major shortcoming in OHSAS 18001-certified companies

Can stakeholder pressures encourage greenwashing in the adoption of environmental management systems (EMS) and practices? Perhaps so, finds a 2018 paper. I haven’t posted much on environmental science/management, so found this pretty interesting. They undertook a literature review and surveyed 232 Enviro Managers from European companies. Note – corporate greening is the pursuit and adoption… Continue reading Internalization of Environmental Practices and Institutional Complexity: Can Stakeholders Pressures Encourage Greenwashing?

This study evaluated the impact of narrative/story-based approaches to safety messages; e.g. injury stories on actual safety behaviour versus mechanistic instructions without use of anecdotes and ‘traditional abstract safety messages’. Providing background: ·         They aptly ask whether people pay attention to safety and health messages? For one, despite warnings not to hold children in your… Continue reading Using stories to battle unintentional injuries: Narratives in safety and health communication

A study to be posted soon evaluated everyday work via cognitive task analysis to map the factors that enabled surgical staff to navigate complex work and situations. Firstly they note that many official processes and protocols “reflect the work methods intended to meet the demands at the frontline (WAI – work as imagined). However, because… Continue reading Safety as a dynamic non-event and exploring everyday work