Guidance FOR the beginning OHS professional
Safety Reflections by
George Robotham
Foreword
In the last 10 years I have written considerable material and placed it on my web site ohschange.com.au, a number of OHS people in Australia and overseas have indicated the material has been of value. In the last year I have been writing material for the Riskex safety blog which has generated many conversations. Everything I write is grounded in practice and readers seem to recognise and appreciate this. This publication has been prompted by readers and attempts to put a very practical focus on OHS.
Most of the material in this publication is the result of critical reflection on my own practice. With major papers I have quoted references. A small amount of material has been drawn from a variety of other sources where the original source may not have been quoted. I have attempted to reference known, significant sources. In the name of completeness of major papers there is a small amount of repetition in a few areas.
Contents
Introduction 4
Why read this paper? What will I learn? What is in it for me? 4
Lessons learnt from my safety jobs 4
Major safety technical lessons learnt 10
The good, bad and the ugly of George's 38 year safety career 26
Professional associations 00
Why have OHS? 69
30 Sure fire ways to stuff up a safety management system 86
Advice to new OHS people 88
The accidents I have been associated with 93
What is wrong with the way OHS is managed in Australia 104
What is right with the way OHS is managed in Australia 110
What makes a safety management system fly
Geoff McDonald 128
Safety Myths 128
LTIFR 130
Personal Damage Occurrence Investigation Models 130
Analysis of “Accident” experience 131
Access to earthmoving equipment 132
Critical Incident Recall 133
George’s Philosophy on Life, Work and Relationships 134
Background to OHS 140
Behaviour-Based Safety 140
Role of the safety professional 141
Safety incentives 141
Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate 142
Alternatives to the hierarchy of controls 143
Young worker safety 145
Zero harm 146
Commercial Safety Management Systems 148
Major mistakes I have seen made in implementing OHS 149
The toughest safety assignment I have had 150
How to have an effective safety committee 151
Common law 152
Safety Benchmarking 153
OHS tools for managing safety 154
Job Safety Analysis 154
Georges down to earth advice to safety representatives and safety committee members 155
Risk assessment tips 156
Accident investigation 157
Accident investigation summary 163
Auditing OHS systems 164
Non OHS tools for managing safety 165
Safety communications 165
Safety culture 166
How to improve safety culture 166
Interpersonal skills 167
Leadership 176
The things you need to know about health and safety leadership
Leadership quotes 176
Military leaders on leadership 177
OHS Leadership 178
How to be a safety leader 180
References 180
Leadership in safety-Ethics 181
Leadership in safety-Trust 181
Learning 182
Adult learning principles and process
OHS Learning 202
Training and development needs of OHS personnel
Implementation of a learning management system 210
The use of Power-Point presentations 211
Tool box meetings 211
The use of humour 212
Safety Induction 213
Human Resources 213
Job interviews 213
The resume 215
Conclusion 216
Introduction
In nearly 4 decades of involvement in field, corporate, project and consultant OHS roles I have had the opportunity to learn a variety of things. In this publication I have outlined generally 1-2 page thoughts on safety and safety aligned topics, with the aim of providing some brief guidance to the newly developing OHS professional. Where I considered it important I have included major papers on significant topics I believe I cover a fair bit of relevant ground. Whilst there is a smattering of theory in the following, most is based on practical experience. A strong message is that to be effective in OHS you need competency from other areas, as well as your OHS competencies.
Why read this paper? What will I learn? What is in it for me?
This paper will expose you to the sort of learning about OHS you will be unlikely to find in most tertiary OHS qualifications. It is focused on the real world not theory.
Lessons learnt from my safety jobs
In my 38 years in OHS I have helped my employers cope with the aftermath of 13 fatalities, one case of paraplegia, one major stress case and a very serious burns case. Speaking from personal experience the most devastating thing that can happen to a company and its workers is to have an employee killed or seriously injured. The financial and more importantly humanitarian costs are immense. OHS is a joint responsibility of management and employees. My focus is the prevention of permanently life altering person damage.
My first safety related job was in1973 I think as a Training Assistant in the training department of the National Safety Council of Australia. I did all the hack work to organise the various courses and gradually got experience running short training sessions. My 2 bosses were ex-Army, superb trainers and leaders. The Senior Training Officer, Tim Wilson, O.B.E., took me under his wing and tried to teach me about safety and training. Tim was one of the best leaders I have experienced, demanded high standards, showed his appreciation when his standards were met and was passionate about the best interest of his staff. Safety was very much in its infancy in those days and some of the things we taught would be unacceptable now. Much of my later tertiary learning in adult and workplace education was reminiscent of what I learnt with N.S.C.A. N.S.C.A. instilled in me the importance of planning, preparation and rehearsal in training.
In 1975 I moved to the position of Assistant Safety Adviser at Utah Development Company Blackwater open-cut coal mine. It was a very hands on job with lots of training, accident investigation, tool-box talks and safety inspections .A motor vehicle accident occurred where the driver died, I do not want to go into details but it emphasised the importance of the psycho-social side of safety. An employee was crushed between a walking platform and the shoe of a dragline and made a paraplegic; this was my first introduction to the reluctance of manufacturers to change the design of their equipment in the name of safety. I was introduced to the Analysis Reference Tree Trunk method of accident investigation which I still believe is the best despite recent advances.
In those days we used to use gangs of ethnic workers for wash plant maintenance shutdowns, most of them were not proper tradesmen or could understand English. We had a lot of problems with these blokes.
In early 1979 I moved to the position of Safety Adviser for the construction and start-up of Utah Development Company Norwich Park mine. It was a big job for one so young and I struggled initially. It was a very production oriented environment and safety was frequently regarded as getting in the way. There were a number of tough minded managers and supervisors and in my inexperience I was often unsuccessful in getting them on side. As the result of serious burns to an electrician we introduced a critical incident recall process in the electrical department. I have written elsewhere about the work that was done but it was extremely successful and I would recommend the technique. I completed the Graduate Diploma in Occupational Hazard Management at Ballarat University. This was to prove to be a personal and professional turning point.
I got the job of organising the state mining rescue competition. I put a lot of work into the planning and it was a big success. I was later to discover the benefits of project planning software to assist in the planning of such events.
I took up a safety training job with another organisation. I learnt that safety is often watered down by industrial relations considerations and public moneys are not always spent as intended. I also discovered the safety materials government regulators produce can leave a fair bit to be desired
Later in 1986 I took up the position of Senior Safety Adviser with Utah, Brisbane corporate office. Utah underwent numerous name changes to become BHP-Coal by the time I left. I learnt, despite sophisticated recruitment and selection procedures, you can end up with some duds working for you. The people at the mines used to refer to those of us in Brisbane office as “Seagulls” They said we would fly up, crap all over them and then fly away. I learnt in a strategic role you had to frequently get out in the field to maintain your perspective. I also learnt that well structured and planned project teams are a great way to drive safety change. I saw the introduction of 18 internal standards of OHS excellence make a big difference. Training in job safety analysis proved to be a good precursor to the development of safe working procedures.
I started my Bachelor of Education (Adult & Workplace Education), it was an excellent course and revolutionised my approach to learning. The importance of action and experiential learning models, learning by doing and making learning interactive was emphasised. I led the introduction of the N.O.S.A. safety management system in the 350 person corporate office. The safety committee developed a simple yet thorough approach and with good leadership it worked well. A 4 hour training course on hazard identification / risk assessment /hazard control that I developed saw widespread adoption.
One thing that came to me was that OHS people need a broad range of skills over and above their OHS technical skills. Attend short course learning on leadership, organisational change, communications skills, interpersonal skills, project management, quality management, basic human resource management, teambuilding, critical thinking and basic marketing.
I saw the outstanding effect on safety that a senior manager designated as the Safety Champion can have. The importance of learning by doing, avoiding lecture style presentations and making training highly interactive was evident.
While with B.H.P. I worked with Professor T.J. Larkin of Harvard University analysing safety communications in the company. There were 3 main messages to come out of this research-
1. Use face-to-face communications,
2. Use the supervisor to communicate and
3. Frame messages relevant to the immediate work area.
In 1994 the Moura disaster occurred with 11 men entombed in the mine. Andrew Hopkins wrote a book called Managing Major Hazards about Moura which I think is essential reading for all OHS personnel. The Moura disaster emphasises the role of safety culture.
BHP Minerals undertook a major safety benchmarking effort after Moura, the report makes great reading. In what was not the best decision BHP Minerals introduced a particular commercial safety management system from overseas worldwide. The commercial system was culturally unsuited to Australia, people reported having difficulty relating to the auditors, the training was hopeless and at the end of the day the system was not all that clever.
In 1996 I took up the position of Workplace Health and Safety Coordinator with the Beaudesert Shire Council. They were a shock to me and I was a shock to them. They had never has a safety person before me and were quiet backward in their safety approach. Some in supervisor and manager positions were very resistant to the needed safety changes. I developed a very basic safety management plan which they committed to after I left. It was not a high performance culture and after working for BHP I did not fit in well with a slow, ponderous organisation. To a certain extent I was suckered into the job by a smooth talking HR Manager who had delusions of grandeur about what I would be able to achieve. I resolved to check out prospective employers more carefully in the future.
In 1997 I took up the position of Principal Consultant Safety Training and Auditing with A.C.I.R.L. I learnt a lot about risk management and how exacting it is to manage safety in underground coal mines. The importance of having detailed hazard management plans and safety management plans was made clear as was the importance of piloting new training programs.
In 1999 I took up the position as WHS Coordinator with the Qld Main Roads Department. The organisation was buried in bureaucracy and paperwork and it was so hard to get anything done, they would not survive in the commercial world. A lot of the supervisors had been there for ages and were very set in their ways. I developed and piloted a risk assessment course with the latest methods. When it got to the supervisors they rejected it because they preferred a superseded method they had been trained in previously. Some of the safety staff left a lot to be desired.
I started out thinking I could make some changes but after a couple of years gave it up as a lost cause. From where I stood it appeared to be an organisation let down by its leadership.
In 2001 my role as OHS Project Manager with Ergon Energy on the “Safety Essentials Management Systems” project saw me leading a team of safety personnel and employees developing control plans and learning programs for 21 high-risk activities which revolutionised the way safety is managed in the business. This was the biggest test of my leadership and teambuilding skills and I learnt a lot from being thrown in the deep end. It was a highly organised project from a project management and change management perspective and I learnt a lot about project planning.