Behavioural Safety Seminar
New seminar in behavioural safety outlines a fully integrated approach to health and safety
Pivotal Performance's new approach to behavioural safety was launched in partnership with PsychaLogica on the 8th June 2006 to a number of senior health and safety professionals from across the UK.
The seminar, held at the Institute of Directors in London, was well attended with guests coming from a wide range of industries including construction, retail, travel, FMCG, utilities and government agencies.
A high proportion of health and safety accidents are caused by unsafe behaviour and many organisations believe the solution to accidents is to add more systems, more procedures and more paperwork. Whilst it is vital to have sound processes in place, Pivotal Performance suggest that there should be an equally strong emphasis on organisational behaviour.
Designed to improve the safe operation of organisations by growing a culture of accountability, responsibility and promoting continuous improvement, the new approach called Safe Organisation aims to grow safety performance from 'Good to Better' through behavioural change.
Guest speakers on the day included Charles Shoesmith from PsychaLogica and Jane Gillham Director of Management Development, at Pivotal Performance, who gave a thorough insight into the new approach. Examples of behavioural safety in practice were also provided by Ian Burke, Group Safety Manager, Nestlé UK Ltd and Shaun Davis, Health & Safety Director, Rok Group.
Shaun Davis, Group Health and Safety Director at Rok commented on the day. "It was encouraging to see so many senior colleagues at the event. This clearly indicates that behavioural safety is now higher on the director's agenda than 3 years ago. The attendees took an active interest in the day and I received a lot of feedback on how beneficial it was for them to hear the practical solutions rather than just the theories."
Although the concept of behavioural safety is not new, the Safe Organisation approach works on the basis that behaviour is a complex problem and therefore needs a multidisciplinary approach.
The integrated response incorporates 5 strategies
- Culture and Organisational Learning
- Supervision/Coaching
- Safety Performance Management
- Employee Involvement and Teamwork
- Safety Leadership
Charles Shoesmith, Managing Director at PsychaLogica commented "'Achieving an accident and injury free organisation makes good business sense, reflects strong ethics but is a tough challenge. Removing error and eliminating unnecessary risk taking is far from simple. What is required is the development of a behavioural strategy that serves to promote a strong "we always do it this way" culture. Behavioural safety is not a programme or an initiative - such interventions come and go and fail to achieve sustained change. What is required is an holistic approach to the problem - a concerted and coherent strategy which has its roots in psychological theory. If we are to make a difference, we need to understand the problem we are dealing with.'"
Pivotal and PsychaLogica work with organisations to continuously improve their safe operation and grow a culture of accountability and responsibility. Previous clients have been able to reduce the number of reported accidents, encourage the reporting of near misses and ensure that the organisation learns from mistakes. They have also succeeded in bringing Health and Safety on to the agenda at senior level and helped build a culture of responsibility for Health and Safety.
If you would like more information about the new approach to behavioural safety and how Pivotal can help your organisation please call 0870 600 3113 or email safeorganisation@pivotal-performance.com.
