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Enhancing Safety Outcomes
with an Observations Program
Enhancing Safety Outcomes
with an Observations Program
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
► What is an Observations Program?
► Why have one?
► What’s wrong with existing approaches?
► How can we do better?
► What are the benefits?
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
What is an
Observations Program?
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Behaviour-based Safety Observations Programs are a
type of Behaviour-based Safety
tool.
Behaviour-based Safety
concepts originated with the
work of Herbert William
Heinrich in the 1930s.
Although his work has recently
been scrutinised, two concepts
continue to be useful:
• The Incident Triangle
• Incidents are often the
result of human behaviour
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
The Incident Triangle
A useful framework for
describing and categorizing the
consequences of a particular
incident.
Moving towards the top of the
triangle, the number of
incidents decreases but their
severity increases.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Objectives An observations program is designed to do two things:
1. Capture data from the bottom of the Incident Triangle
(Identify and document uncontrolled hazards.)
2. Encourage key behaviours: identifying workplace hazards and having
conversations about safety with coworkers
Record, learn,
and act here.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
A Typical Program A typical observations program:
Document the result on
paper cards.
Cards collected weekly.
Data entered manually into
database.
Data analysed for trends monthly.
Have a safety conversation.
Observe an unsafe act or
condition.
Trends inform management
action.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Why have one?
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Prevent Incidents
Every sound HSE management system includes a process to investigate
incidents and their causes. Incident reports only deal with situations after they
have occurred and the costs have been incurred. In addition, incident
investigation cannot help companies learn from situations in which no
reportable incident has occurred.
Unsafe acts and conditions (uncontrolled hazards) have the potential to cause
incidents in the future. Recording, learning from, and acting upon workplace
hazard observations can therefore help prevent serious incidents from
occurring.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Promote Positive Conversations
An effective safety conversation is a two-way discussion that provides both
participants with a better understanding of:
• The work being done and the controls that are in place
• Developing and implementing any additional controls that may be required
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
They Work
“Up to 5 years of injury data from 73 companies, drawn from a target
population of 229 companies who implemented behavior-based safety,
were examined. Comparisons of pre- to post-initiative incident levels
across groups revealed a significant decrease in incidents following the
behavior-based safety implementation. Effect sizes were estimated
from the average percentage reduction from baseline. The average
reduction from baseline amounted to 26% in the first year increasing to
69% by the fifth.”
Krause, T.R., Seymour, K.J., Sloat, K.C.M. Long-term evaluation of a
behavior-based method for improving safety performance: a meta-
analysis of 73 interrupted time series replications. Safety Science.
32(1), 1-18.
“Data that span 20 years are presented to show the long-term impact
on recordable incidents, lost-time cases, and direct costs of injuries.
The implementation was associated with an 81% decrease in
recordable incidents, a 79% decrease in lost-time cases, and a 97%
savings in annual workers' compensation costs over an eight-year
period. An interview with the vice president of the refinery is presented
to highlight the process's influence on the refinery's safety culture.”
Myers, W.V., McSween, R.E., Medina, R.E., Rost, K., Alvero, A.M. The
implementation and maintenance of a behavioral safety process in a
petroleum refinery. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management. 30(4), 285-307.
Several studies have demonstrated that behaviour-based safety programs,
including observations programs, can reduce incidents and associated
costs.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
What’s wrong with
existing approaches?
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Delay Between
Observation and Action
A recorded observation of an unsafe act or condition is of little benefit
without action to prevent the potentially dangerous incidents it may cause.
In a typical paper-based observation system, there is a substantial delay
between the time an observation is made in the field and the time that an
appropriate individual can act on that information.
This lack of immediacy opens a window during which the unsafe act or
condition, despite being identified, could result in an incident with
consequences to the organisation.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Duplication of effort
Data from cards must be
transferred manually to a database
or spreadsheet, resulting in lost
time and extra expense.
This is essentially a duplication of
effort, as individuals in the field
have already recorded the details
of observations.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Culture of Compliance
Workers rarely receive feedback regarding their
observations and the associated actions taken.
As a result, many organisations suffer from a ‘culture of
compliance’, in which employees submit observations
because they are required to do so, not because they
are personally invested in the outcomes.
Such observations frequently reflect a focus on meeting
a quota, rather than on identifying true unsafe acts and
conditions and on having quality safety conversations.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
One-way Communication In a typical paper-based observations program, information flows from
isolated individuals in the field to a central location.
This concentrates critical safety information in the hands of a few who are
often unable to act in a timely and effective manner to control a myriad of
hazards identified in geographically separated sites.
An uncontrolled hazard identified in one location by one individual may
expose others at that site to risk. It is inefficient to send information about
that hazard to a single individual in another location and to wait for
resolution. A better solution would inform others exposed to the risk about
the hazard as well.
Field staff fill out paper
cards.
Cards collected weekly.
Data entered manually into
database.
Data analysed for trends monthly.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
How can we do
better?
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Intelligent use of New
Technology
Web, cloud, and mobile technologies have matured to the
point where they can be used to deliver robust tools for
managing HSE risk.
Synaptor Observations leverages these technologies to
deliver a radically innovative approach to conducting
observations in the workplace.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Observations via Mobile App
Individuals in the field use a mobile
application to make observations
using a simple step-wise process.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Secure Database
Observations are synced to your
secure database in the cloud.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Communication to the Field
Team members are notified that a
new observation has been made at
their site.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Manage and Report
Supervisors can manage and
report on live observations data
using the Synaptor web application.
For example, after taking action to
control a hazard, they can mark the
corresponding observation as
closed-out.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Close the Loop
Status updates to observations are
communicated to devices in the field.
Team members can use a mobile
app to see live, interactive maps of
the observations made on their sites.
Observations are colour-coded
according to status, providing
powerful insight about a site at a
glance.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
What are the
Benefits?
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Safety Leadership
Demonstrate safety
leadership to clients and
regulators: live reports and
statistics indicate a robust
system for identifying
workplace hazards and
consultation with the
workforce.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Manage in the Field
Get supervisors back into the field
where they can make a difference:
live reports on observations data
are available on any internet-
connected device.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Reduce Paperwork and Costs
Reduce the HSE paperwork
burden: observations are
automatically synced to a secure
database.
Save money and eliminate
inefficiencies by entering data once
– in the field.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Manage Risk in Real Time
Manage site risks in real time: data
from the field is available to
supervisors and management
moments after being submitted.
The average time from making an
observation in the field until an
organisation acts on that
information is cut from weeks to mere seconds.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Eliminate ‘Culture of Compliance’
Updates to observations are visible on
mobile devices immediately. For example,
when a supervisor takes action to close
out an observation, this is clear to the
individual who submitted it.
As a result, individuals are more likely to
value their contribution and submit quality
observations.
All members of a team are also
automatically notified when a new
observation has been made on their site.
This keeps the team informed about the
risks to which they may be exposed as
they are identified.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Send Site-specific Notifications
Automatically communicate site-specific
safety information to teams in the field:
team members are notified when a new
observation has been made at their site.
Site-specific information can also be
pushed to individuals as they approach
the site.
For example, an individual approaching
an LNG plant could be automatically
sent this: “Welcome to XYZ LNG Plant.
Please register with reception. There
are no drills planned for today. The site
safety officer is Dave Smith and his
number is 0404 0000.”
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
Benefit from Rich Data Geo-tagging and Maps: Synaptor
Observations automatically records the
location where an observation was made.
Synaptor Observations uses this location
data to show users live, interactive maps
of observations made on their sites. An
entire workforce can familiarise
themselves with site hazards before
carrying out work.
Photos: Observations in the Synaptor
system can include photos. Photos add
significant explanatory power to textual
descriptions, and help field staff and
supervisors alike appreciate the risks on a
site.
www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012
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