Training Reviews
Training 1 - SafeStart™ Program
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Primedia Workplace Learning |
Safe
working procedures, engineering solutions and workplace ergonomics can reduce or
eliminate the risk of accidents on the job. However all the systems and controls
account for nothing when employees do not subscribe to safe behaviour patterns.
The SafeStart™ program introduces us to four states that contribute to four
critical errors that in turn directly impacts on every accident that has ever
happened. So what are they?
States:
Rushing, frustration, fatigue and complacency,
Critical
Errors: Eyes
not on task, mind not on task, being in the line of fire and loss of
balance/
traction/ grip.
It
is not a complicated science, just common sense. It’s something we teach our
children, maybe not using those particular words. We teach them to look and
listen before crossing the road, …that hot things can burn and …to walk not
run, etc. These are simple, straightforward messages that we expect them to
carry with them through their lives.
Aren’t
they?
Well
they must be since what we are teaching our children is only repeating what our
parents taught us. Somehow we have failed to transfer this simple message into
the world of work. It gets lost in our haste to produce hazard identification
and risk assessment programs. The result: a complex analysis of risk and a
seemingly unlimited list of safety controls.
Well
all of that is about to change! The
SafeStart™ program, developed by Larry Wilson and marketed by Primedia
Workplace Learning, is about keeping hazards in mind and in sight both at work
and away from work. Adopting a no-nonsense style the program; consisting of a
series of workbooks, backed by video learning, and a handy pocket-sized prompt
card, speaks to the individual learner, with the minimum of jargon. Even the
most hardened of safety professional has something to learn with this program.
The
SafeStart™ program does not set out to be the entire safety program for the
workplace, rather it sets out to awaken an attitude and develop a positive
safety approach to everyday working and living. The thinking behind it is that
with a heightened awareness of the behaviours needed to protect themselves and
their work colleagues the employee will be better equipped to respond to hazard
specific training.
Nobody
deliberately sets out to make mistakes or to make bad decisions that result in
an accident or injury. These actions usually happen because we are distracted,
in a hurry, impatient or just complacent about the degree of risk. It is here
that the SafeStart™ program comes in helping to identify the critical states
that lead to errors that lead eventually to accidents. Through the examination
of other people’s behaviour patterns the learner is drawn to examine their own
and through the use of everyday recognisable examples the message starts to sink
in.
The
message is uncomplicated and constant throughout the program, reinforced through
repetition. A simple rule for teaching programs of this nature is that on
completion of the program the learner must be able to explain it to a child.
This program is developed following this rule. If I have one concern it is that
the extent of repetition could be overdone, resulting in rejection of the
message and the continuance of negative safety behaviour. The good trainer or
supervisor will know when the message has been received and guard against this.
The
SafeStart™ program comprises five ‘self-study’ units that introduce the
concept, focus more fully on specific aspects before pulling it all together in
the final unit. The five units are;
Unit
1.
Introduction and Overview
Unit
2.
Eyes on Task, Mind on Task
They
are best presented at weekly safety team meetings, lasting approximately 60 to
90 minutes each. Although designed for team participation they are written in
such a way that they could be studied individually, on an ‘self-learning’
program.
The
advantage of following the safety team approach is that work colleagues develop
together, learning from the material, the team leader and each other. The
spin-off is that the positive safety attitude the company desires will settle in
more readily if the entire group learns together. The lesson plans, included in
the program, provide an excellent aid for the most inexperienced team leader to
develop and run a training session. The more experienced team leader/ trainer
will have their own ideas on how to run a safety program, however I would
suggest they would not go far away from the model produced in the SafeStart™
program.
Ciaran
McAleenan
MPhil CEng MICE CMIOSH and Professional Member of ASSE
Engineering Partner -
Expert Ease
International