Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
express their newly acquired view in their own words within the teams.
More important is that they demonstrate the vision in their actions
and become a model for the rest of the team. The early adopters get a
role that is slightly comparable with that of the safety buddy. The
focus of the early adopters, however, is on the whole team.
Tip 2: Lip Service Versus Behavioral Commitment
Even monkeys can experience the difference between a behavior with a
real intention behind it and a behavior that can be regarded as fake.
Telling what you are going to do without having any real intention of
doing so yourself might be believed a few times by others but will soon
only be met with skepticism. So maybe there is even repair work from
previous safety campaigns to be done.
If you are attempting to achieve more safety in your organization,
what can you do to stay credible?
Tip 3: Absorption Time
We understand now how behavior from one person can be absorbed
by a group of others, but behavioral patterns will only be strengthened
if they are modeled consequent to their introduction, and for a long
period of time. We also have to realize that we only mirror others if
we can identify with them: We need to appreciate the model and we
need to perceive the mirroring as realistic. To enhance identification
processes, the difference in behavior between the model and the mir-
roring person shouldn
'
t be too big.
Shaping safe behavior will be more effective if this process is
approached stepwise, giving others time to absorb new behaviors one
by one. Think in terms of a stepping-stone approach.
Tip 4: The Dilemma of Enforcing Rules and Regulations Versus
Giving Room for Development of Attitudes on a Personal Level
Inherent to the concept of rules and regulations is the fact that these
have to be followed. There is no room for a personal touch in rules.
A red traffic light means stopping until it becomes green. As soon as
that there is room for another interpretation (for example, red means
stop unless there are no other persons or vehicles approaching), the
whole system behind the rule collapses (in other words, the green light
is not safe anymore). For this reason, we enforce rules: You have to
