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march/april 2014 15 percent) of the OSHA recordable injuries involved individuals in the high risk group. The study also looked more closely at incident involvement. Safety incidents do not always result in an injury, as is the case with near misses. To examine how risk scores related to incident severity, the researchers also examined incident involvement within each risk category. Results showed that when high risk individuals were involved, nearly half of the time (46 percent) it resulted in an OSHA recordable incident. This compared to 28 percent for those in the medium risk group and only 4 percent for those in the low risk group, as illustrated in Figure 2. These results indicate that individuals with a certain safety DNA profile are significantly more at risk of not only being injured on the job, but of suffering a serious, OSHA recordable injury. Despite having similar levels of experience and having gone through the same training and certifica- tions, certain individuals simply display a higher probability of getting injured, and that likelihood can be tied to their safety DNA profile. Using safety DNA to improve your organization Knowing the key psychological factors that underlie safe behavior and having the methodology to measure these factors provide new information that allows organizations to be more proactive about safety. As safety profes- sionals seek to identify new leading indicators (e.g., total hazards identified) of safety and rely less on lagging indicators (e.g., incident rates), under- standing an individual's psychological safety DNA can provide a powerful leading indicator of potential exposure. For example, individuals who score very low on one or more of the four factors described earlier are more likely than others to place themselves in danger by making poor decisions under pressure, failing to notice hazards, ignoring a safety rule or taking unnecessary risks on the job. A validated measure of their psychological safety DNA can predict this type of at-risk behavior before it occurs, providing an opportunity to avoid an incident. In the context of organizations, this can be accomplished by incorpo- rating this methodology into one of two processes: developing the current workforce and recruiting and selecting employees. When organizations provide training, it often consists of classroom-style instruction that gives all participants the same content. Obviously, classes or workshops offer a valuable type of learning experience and can be effective, but their success depends on the assumption that all individuals will interpret and react to the experience in the same manner. Research suggests that personal factors such as learning styles or personality traits significantly influence training success across different individuals. Safety-based training also assumes that participants do not differ greatly in terms of their safety DNA traits. Employees who have low trait levels of caution might understand and retain all of the information in a training session about wearing personal protective equipment, but they are less likely to perceive the risk of not wearing their gear. Therefore, these people might not apply the training knowledge consis- tently. This is one reason why classroom safety training often has mixed results. One way to address this issue is to make safety training more personal and applicable to the individual. By giving people new insights about themselves, they can understand why they engage in certain behaviors. When it comes to safety, we all have certain blind spots that can put us at risk. A person has a blind spot when they lack adequate insight about themselves with respect to a trait or ability related to safety. For example, people might think they are aware and possess an excellent memory. However, their actual behavior (e.g., failing to notice signs, forget- fulness) might not be congruent with how they see themselves in this area. As a result, they may believe they are safe drivers and can work safely in a high hazard environment full of suspended loads and moving equipment. But in real life, they fail to notice many potential hazards and frequently put themselves at risk without knowing it. These individuals have blind spots related to the awareness of surroundings factor. In an environment wrought with hazards, it only would be a matter of time before they are involved in a safety incident. Unfortunately, most employees lack in-depth insight into their safety DNA and do not know what their personal blind spots are. This need not be the case. By using a validated assessment that measures safety DNA and coupling it with an individual feedback and coaching process, organizations can address this critical gap. This process can empower employees with information about their psychological makeup, information that can help them understand risky situa- tions and develop behaviors that can help them overcome or counteract their safety blind spots. For example, that same individual who Make safety training more personal and applicable to the individual. HIGHER RISK = SERIOUS PAIN Figure 2. Percentage of incidents resulting in serious injury by safety risk score. Employees with higher risk scores were more likely to be involved in serious injuries. IM MarApr 2014.indd 15 3/24/14 12:13 PM