Safety Moment - The Power of Weak Signals in Safety Management

1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,760 Music. 2 00:00:15,603 --> 00:00:18,183 Hi everybody and welcome to the Pre-Accident Investigation Safety Moment. 3 00:00:18,283 --> 00:00:21,523 I'm your host, Todd Conklin. So have you ever crossed a street?

4 00:00:21,743 --> 00:00:23,563 I'm sure you have. That's kind of a dumb question. 5 00:00:23,823 --> 00:00:26,943 Have you ever gone to a street corner and pushed the crosswalk button? 6 00:00:27,143 --> 00:00:30,663 Now that button's got a name.

Actually, the official name for that in traffic 7 00:00:30,663 --> 00:00:33,203 safety parlance is a BEG button. 8 00:00:33,383 --> 00:00:37,663 B-E-G button. BEG button. Have you ever crossed a street, pushed that BEG button, 9 00:00:37,743 --> 00:00:41,183 started to cross, and the little indicator on the other side, 10 00:00:41,283 --> 00:00:46,043 the walking man and the stopping man, started flashing well before you could 11 00:00:46,043 --> 00:00:48,043 even get halfway across the street.

12 00:00:48,303 --> 00:00:53,623 In fact, it would be impossible for a normal person walking a normal speed to 13 00:00:53,623 --> 00:00:58,303 ever officially cross the street based upon the timing of that signal. 14 00:00:58,743 --> 00:01:02,083 That problem is called signal strength. 15 00:01:02,243 --> 00:01:06,363 And in human factors, we need to make sure that the signals we send our workers, 16 00:01:06,363 --> 00:01:10,383 in fact, align with the tasks the worker has to do. 17 00:01:10,603 --> 00:01:16,283 One of the ways to identify poor signal strength is to listen for weak signals.

18 00:01:16,423 --> 00:01:23,323 Listen for ways people tell you that the process causes them some kind of operational pain. 19 00:01:23,783 --> 00:01:31,903 Your job, like a doctor, is to go out and diagnose problems before they become events. fence. 20 00:01:32,203 --> 00:01:36,143 And one of the ways to do that, because it's impossible to predict the future, 21 00:01:36,223 --> 00:01:37,743 we can't do that worth a crap.

22 00:01:37,943 --> 00:01:44,263 But one of the ways to do that is to look for weak signals that indicate bad signal strength. 23 00:01:44,763 --> 00:01:49,383 A door that you can't tell if you push or pull is bad signal strength. 24 00:01:49,743 --> 00:01:53,923 A sign, open valve slowly, is bad signal strength. 25 00:01:54,303 --> 00:01:58,963 All of those are weak signals that potentially help us understand that there's 26 00:01:58,963 --> 00:02:03,803 a problem in the system, and if we can identify that problem before it has consequence, 27 00:02:04,203 --> 00:02:08,123 then that allows us the ability to actually make the system stronger.

28 00:02:08,523 --> 00:02:11,683 And when the system's stronger, the system's safer. 29 00:02:12,023 --> 00:02:18,503 Your job as a manager, as a leader in your organization, is to listen to the 30 00:02:18,503 --> 00:02:23,543 workers and ask them where the signal strength is not correct. 31 00:02:23,683 --> 00:02:26,263 Where are those weak signals in the system. 32 00:02:26,663 --> 00:02:32,023 And when they help you identify them, your commitment to them is to make it better.

33 00:02:32,703 --> 00:02:35,423 That's the safety moment for today. I hope you've enjoyed it. 34 00:02:35,603 --> 00:02:37,763 It's the power of weak signals. 35 00:02:38,343 --> 00:02:42,523 Have as much fun as you possibly can.

Learn something new every single day. 36 00:02:42,583 --> 00:02:45,043 And for goodness sakes, be smart. 37 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:55,584 Music.