Issue link: https://industrialmanagement.epubxp.com/i/285723
march/april 2014 13 Despite great progress in workplace safety and a steady reduction in injury rates over the past few decades, we are seeing an alarming trend across many industries. As outlined by Fred Manuele last year in "Preventing Serious Injuries and Fatalities," while minor injury rates have continued to decrease since 2006, serious injuries and fatalities have plateaued. These findings are contrary to what we would expect based on the traditional theory that reductions in exposures and minor injuries lead to similar reductions in serious injuries and fatalities. Thus, advances in engineering, systems, training and processes should have led to significant improvements in both metrics. However, is it possible that these tradi- tional approaches have taken us as far as we can go? Is there a missing piece that could help organizations close the gap in reaching their goal of zero incidents? Most organizations focus on reducing workplace injuries and fatalities by improving safety training programs, providing safe working conditions and implementing clear policies and procedures. While these approaches are important, their effectiveness relies on the assumption that all individuals are inher- ently and equally safe, and that training, environmental factors and policies will lead to everyone working safely. However, research tells us that this is not the case. Certain individuals are more likely to expose themselves and others to risk and to engage in at-risk behaviors. This should come as no surprise. We see individual differences in ability, attitude and performance everywhere, whether it's work, sports or family. More importantly, nearly a century of published research from the field of industrial and organizational psychology documents widespread differences in individual characteristics, from personality traits to attitudes to physical and mental abilities and aptitudes. This is why not everyone can be a successful salesperson, mainte- nance technician or professional athlete. The same principle applies to safe behavior in the workplace. Why would we expect every employee to respond equally well to training courses, perceive the same level of risk across situations, or react to policies and procedures in the same manner? Yet organizations largely overlook the vital role of the individual when they train everyone in the same way and when they hire new employees without screening for risk propensity. Are there individual characteristics that predispose someone to avoid risk and work in a safer manner? The answer is yes, and we can refer to these character- istics as "safety DNA." Safety DNA Safety DNA refers to individual traits, abilities and attitudes strongly associated with personal exposure and injury risk. In a sense, the emergence of safety DNA simply confirms what we have known intuitively for a long time – certain individuals are more prone to at-risk behavior and injuries than others. Researchers long have sought to discover the psychological traits related to injury likelihood. Up until recently, it was thought that we could not really predict safe behavior using measures of psychological traits. However, a growing body of evidence shows that certain characteristics consistently predict safety outcomes. The challenge has been to integrate this research, which has focused on multiple factors and different methodologies, into a coherent model. Over the past five years, researchers at Select International have put all of these elements together into a set of four personal-level factors that lie behind nearly all safety incidents and injuries. The following four factors constitute the 4 Factor S.A.F.E. Model. 1. Stays in control: This first factor relates personal and emotional control. People who are high on this factor believe that they possess a high level of control over the things that happen to them. They think that their actions can have an effect on their current situation. In addition, these individuals can stay in control of their emotions and remain calm and collected during challenging Certain individuals are more prone to at-risk behavior and injuries than others. IM MarApr 2014.indd 13 3/24/14 12:13 PM