• How You Learned to Cross the Street with a Safety System

Take a minute to understand the concepts behind engaging frontline people in their own safety

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A Safety System in Action

An adult and a child are walking on the sidewalk. They approach an intersection with fast-moving vehicles, a common danger zone.

The adult holds the child’s hand, a precaution known as a safe behavior, or an action meant to prevent human error.

Then the adult begins showing the child the safety margin covering how to cross the street safely. The adult reinforces six safe behaviors for a proper safety margin:

  1. Stop at the curb.
  2. Look both ways for approaching vehicles.
  3. Step of the curb only when traffic is clear.
  4. Stay in the crosswalk for visibility.
  5. Walk across the street looking both ways.
  6. Move quickly to other side.

When they approach the next intersection, the adult makes the safety contact again, holding the child’s hand.

But this time, the adult makes another safety contact, directing the child to verbalize and perform the six safe behaviors as they cross the street safely together.

The adult makes a third safety contact once back on the sidewalk, providing valuable feedback about the child’s performance, so the child can apply it next time.

This is a safety system in action. It engaged the adult and child to think about risk and take action to prevent an injury.

SafeTask® System is a safety system for work tasks that engages frontline people to prevent injuries, just like crossing the street.

What does a Safety System Do?

A Safety System engages frontline people in their own protection. It’s a set of safety processes any organization can add to improve its safety performance. These safety processes proactively influence people’s safety while they work.

Our SafeTask® System users experience many benefits, including low injury rates and tasks performed with well-controlled Severe Injury and Fatality risk. Here’s why.

Situation Awareness is the state of being alert to danger and making a safe decision in response. All safety depends on this cognitive skill. The purpose of a safety system for frontline people is to improve people’s Situation Awareness, which counters risk-taking.

SafeTask® System is a toolkit and training for supervisors. It shows them how to apply a safety system of processes to improve people’s Situation Awareness as they encounter risk and perform work tasks.

A Safety Margin is the protection for a work task. The purpose of a safety system is to provide this protection. Think of a Safety Margin as the insulation for a work task, protecting the individual from danger while performing a work task.

SafeTask® System helps supervisors and frontline people achieve a strong safety margin for every work task.

A Safety Contact is when a safety process touches an individual and reinforces a safe margin. In order for a safety system to engage frontline people, supervisors should make an adequate number of safety contacts with their people every week.

SafeTask® System teaches supervisors a safety system of processes they can apply in different combinations to achieve a high level of safety contacts, engaging people and reinforcing safe margins during work tasks.

A Safe Behavior is when a person takes action to execute a precaution. When frontline people engage in safety and perform their work tasks with a high rate of safe behaviors, the injury risk significantly decreases.

SafeTask® System shows supervisors how to proactively influence and measure safe behaviors when frontline people perform their work tasks. It gives supervisors the ability to take charge of safety for their teams.