High hazard activities rely on rules, procedures and standards to specify ‘safe operation’. While these standards are usually written by experts, they may not universally apply to every situation or operational context. A recent review of over 160 serious incidents across multiple industry sectors identified that 49% of control failures involved intentional ‘workarounds’. This is not to suggest that workers are defiantly flouting rules or expectations; in fact, often workaround behaviours can be linked back to operational leadership and organisational factors.
Operational leaders set the tone and help shape the environment within which critical controls are managed. They act as role models, define what’s expected and influence behaviours and attitudes through their actions and words.
In this webinar we explored:
- The psychology of risk, risk taking and risk management
- Strategies for leaders to promote, influence and reinforce the importance of critical control management
- The benefits of examining the ways your work is affected by latent operational and corporate influences.
