Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Question: How can you measure safety indicators in a way that is
realistic, acceptable, and affordable?
Suggestion: Combine the measures via a weighted score into a
Safety Index.
Tip 2: Safety Inspections
Many organizations have something like a daily inspection round, and
in many cases safety is one of the items that is inspected. As soon as
employees have finished their induction phase, they can be qualified
for doing safety inspections.
Tips:
Involve as many employees as possible to do safety inspections.
It helps to call attention to safety in a positive way.
Compare the safety reports of different safety inspectors so that they
learn from each other how to investigate safety.
Use the night shift for technical safety inspections. It keeps the
inspectors awake and alert and contributes to safety awareness.
Tip 3: Bonus: Not a Financial Reinforcer for Safety
Bonuses are introduced for stimulating employees to do the right
things and to spend extra effort on these right things. Money enhances
extrinsic motivation. Unfortunately, it also kills intrinsic motivation
and cooperation. It is wise to reconsider a bonus system for safety
behavior. Within the theory of Brain Based Safety, a bonus for safety
is like cursing in church. It shows no respect for physical integrity and
it denies fundamental laws of behavior. If one really wants a bonus
system, it is wise to organize it for targets in which no mutual coopera-
tion is needed and which demand external motivation.
Never position safety management and safety behavior as an item
that is done to please an employer, but frame it as care for employees.
By the way, a positive effect of the introduction of an individual
bonus system on the performance of an organization never has been
proven. The positive effect of incidental individual progress is compen-
sated by the negative effect of a loss of cooperation. Bonuses only
have an effect on the production within simple tasks that involve a lot
of repetition.