Why Safety Timeout isn’t working and how to make it effective

 

There have been 25 workplace deaths in 2022 so far, higher than the 23 workplace deaths recorded in the first-half of 2021. This month, our regulators had called for a STO again which is not the first. STO is not a new concept. LTA introduced it to their contractors in 2013. STOs were also called for in 2015 and 2020 for workplaces.

Safety Time Out (STO) is a planned event whereby organizations take time off from their daily work routine to take stock of and review workplace safety and health (WSH) systems and work practices to ensure that control measures are in place and are effective.

In a typical STO, top management and management teams take the lead to review work practices, processes, risk assessments and should follow a typical 5M-Model to review their current status (also read my previous article on management of change):

1)   Man-assess who is competent for the job, who is not. Who is new and need close supervision and guidance and who is not mentally well to perform the  task?

2)   Machine-assess what physical machineries and equipment are needed for the job/task to be done. Assess their fitness for use, checking their service, maintenance records, etc.

3)   Method-assess current work practices, processes are in compliance to work procedures. Review learning points from past incidents and accidents and what are to be improved.

4)  Material-assess what control measures are in place when handling, moving and storing hazardous, toxic materials and dangerous substances. Review the effectiveness of control measures and personal protective equipment (PPE).

5)   Mother nature-this not only includes weather elements but also the surrounding work environment where many work activities (compatible and incompatible) are happening simultaneously in small and restricted work areas.

The question to ask is: why isn’t STO working?

Firstly, STO is voluntary, not mandatory. It involves the temporary suspension of all or part of an organization’s operations to review procedures and address WSH concerns in the workplace. How many organizations are really doing this especially in current time where many are trying to catch up on lost time caused by the pandemic? How many organizations could afford the time to do STO?

Secondly, STO is just a recommendation, not a legal requirement under the framework of the WSH Act. Organizations are encouraged to do it but regulators cannot enforce it. There is also no requirement to maintain evidence or records of STOs. Only safety-focused organizations would do these ‘time-outs” at their workplaces with top management and management participations. Others would just leave it to their WSH teams to do it who are also assigned other responsibilities and duties due to the current manpower crunch. Can they do it effectively with their minds on other aspects of their jobs?   

­­The next question to ask is: how to make STO more effective?

The easiest way is to make STO mandatory or as part of the WSH legal framework.

Just look at our 30-years efforts and campaigning that had failed to encourage people to return their trays and crockeries after use at public food centres. Legislation solved it immediately overnight! (also read my article: Problem solving: the Poka Yoke Way).  

Next, organizations should incorporate STOs inside their daily pre-shift briefings or toolbox meetings. The concept is the same and should be done daily before commencement of work activities. Everyone involved takes a moment to review what needs to be done in the shift, what are the high-risk activities and hazards likely to encounter and what are the control measures in place. Use the 5M-model for these reviews and encourage everyone to ask questions to resolve ambiguities and to clear uncertainties or doubts. When a large workforce is involved, STOs and briefings can be done in separate groups and work areas specific. Top management and management team must “walk the talk” and assist the WSH team in such activities and to show commitments towards safety-focused culture.

Peter Drucker said: “management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Top management and leaders must change their mindsets and start doing the right things. If they keep doing the same things, they are likely to get the same results!

Risk Management: Whose responsibility is it?

 

In every big piece of machinery and equipment, there is always a kill-switch or an emergency switch to stop them from causing serious incidents and accidents during abnormal operations that would have also caused serious injuries if not stopped on time. In many engineering and manufacturing processes, it’s often not so straight-forward. While many industrial accidents were resulted from a combination of factors or a series of events that had happened at the same time, really, whose responsibility is it to prevent workplace accidents or scams?

ISO45001:2018 Standard states that: An organization is responsible for the occupational health and safety of workers and others who can be affected by its activities. This responsibility includes promoting and protecting their physical and mental health.

This management’s responsibility is not new!

Every workers are to be trained to perform the various tasks and made aware of hazards, OHS risks and actions that have potential implications and consequences. That’s what are documented inside organizations’ risk assessments in ‘ideal stage: weather, environment, co-workers, equipment, etc.). More often than not, what’s on papers never tally with actual situations on the ground.

It is imperative that Organization’s management must therefore ensure that their workers are a thinking workforce, equipped with risk management tools and methods who can stop to think and to assess the situation and make judgment call before the next course of actions.

The key to preventing workplace accidents are: STOP-THINK-DO.

However, two key contraries to this is: time-starved and a disrupted mind!

When someone is hard-pressed for time or in a panic-mode or the mind is constantly interrupted, nobody could remember to think before action. There is a very old Chinese wisdom: 三思而后行，meaning to think thrice before any action is still very relevant today to prevent workplace accidents and scams. Contrary to this is of course human behaviour that comes into the picture. This psychological aspect is again another complex issue that affects everybody’s mindset in our constantly-connected society.