Lesson three, influencing your team to always perform safety checks. So what I'm going to do now is look at each one of the examples that I showed you in the previous slides, and talk about how we can influence people's behavior in each one of those. Now, hopefully, you've got some of your own observable behaviors that you jotted down in the exercise to think about and what you'll need to do then is take the principles that I've shown you from these examples and apply them to those observable behaviors too. So the first one we're going to look at is members of your team carrying out safety checks, even when they're busy. So for me, that's one of the things that I'm looking for. If I want to identify if we've got a safety culture or not, do I see my team Members carrying out safety checks, regardless of how busy they are.

So how do you influence members of your team to carry out safety checks, even when they're busy? What do you need to do to influence them to do those things? I'm going to list them first, and then we're going to go through them in a lot more detail. So listing them. One way to influence members to do safety checks, even when they're busy is to ensure you have clear standard operating procedures. Secondly, make sure people are trained in that procedure.

Thirdly, budget time for it. Ensure the equipment is always there have no negative consequences for doing the safety checks. In other words, not being told off for starting late or not getting the work done due to safety have positive consequences for doing it. feeding back when you observe them doing a safety check. So we're going to have a look at each one of these now in more detail. Firstly have a standard operating procedure that documents very clearly, in simple, straightforward language, what safety checks are required and how to do them, then you might have a checklist something like this, which the individual the operator fills out every time they do a safety check, and it's a tick box exercise, but it's the most basic level of control.

So make sure that you have standard operating procedures that include not only how to do a safety check, but also how often and the way that it's signed off and so on, and so have a procedure or a process, have it formalized to make sure that everybody knows that that's what the standard operating procedure is for safety checks, of course have that standard operating procedure near where it's needed. So not in a drawer somewhere in the health and safety offices office, but actually on the machine near the equipment near the lorry near the truck, whatever it is that you're asking somebody to do that safety check on, make sure that the form is close at hand. So they're going to do it. So simple really have a standard operating procedure. So ask yourself, do I have that for all of the pieces of equipment or activities that a safety check is required?

Now if you don't, then probably pause this video straightaway and go and get that sorted out. So if we've got a standard operating procedure, we need to make sure that people are trained In how to do that procedure, and that's often a big mistake managers make. So they will spend time getting a standard operating procedure. From now on, I'm going to call that an SLP. So they'll spend a lot of time getting an SLP done. And it'll have all the right things it needs to to make sure it's legally compliant.

But then they perhaps forget to train it out properly. So it needs to be trained. That training that's going to be delivered, needs to be well prepared, delivered by a qualified competent trainer, using the methods shown clearly in the standard operating procedure or a process. That training also needs to include hands on practice, so that the individual actually does it not just watching somebody else do it and you really need to have some form of assessment, following that training, to make sure that the individual can do it. Another way to make sure that you influence members of your team to carry out safety checks, even when busy is to budget time for it. So again, this is something that we often forget to do.

So if we require people to do a safety check every day, every week, every two hours, whatever the requirement is, then we need to understand that that's part of the working day. And that needs to be budgeted for. Is it in the plan? Is it in the daily schedule? the very least is it understood, that check is going to take X amount of minutes to do therefore, we have to acknowledge that during that safety check, no other productive work will be happening. That's just common sense.

If we don't include that, if we don't budget it, then we're really setting up people to have to make a really difficult decision. And that decision is do I get finished? Or do I do the safety check? Why set people up for that difficult decision? Make sure that the time is allowed. Make sure that that time allowed is appropriate.

So if we think the safety check takes 10 minutes, does it really take 10 minutes? If actually, it takes 20 minutes, then why are we only allowing 10 minutes? Now these are sounding like obvious things to say. But they don't always happen in the workplace. So there's a kind of hidden bit of time that's not really accounted for, but it's an activity that has to be done. People are either doing it and then having to catch up on other things or they're just cutting corners and not doing it because they needs to get finished on time.

This is a recipe for disaster if we do that. So we want to safety culture, we need to make sure that we have the time and that the operators have the time to do those safety checks. Another seemingly obvious thing is to ensure that the equipment is always there going to need to do that safety check. So whatever that equipment might be, we need to think what does the person need to do that check. So they might need a tool in order to check something they might need some protective equipment to do that check. So what do they need?

And how do I make sure that it's there? How do I make sure that there's a process to replenish it? How do I make sure it's always there at hand, the person doesn't have to go looking for it. Another area we mentioned was not having any negative consequences for doing the safety check. So if we on the one hand, we're saying you must do the same To check, but on the other hand, were turning people off. If we see them not being productive, because they're doing a safety check, clearly that's a mixed message, it's going to create a problem.

So wouldn't want to be telling people off disciplining them either formally or informally for starting lights or not getting work completed, if it's because of safety checks, and that's where the budgeting of the time is so important. Now, clearly, that can't be an excuse for everything, you know, I had to do my safety checks. Therefore, I've done nothing all day. Clearly, that's when knowing how long the safety check takes budgeting time for it, ensuring that people have what they need in order to do it. So there's no delays. That's where that comes into.

But if they are doing those things properly, we cannot be giving people negative consequences for doing what they should be doing. And a very simple thumbs up Weldon positive conflict lenses for doing the safety checks. actually taking the time to feed back to somebody when you observe them doing a safety check. Now that safety check might be just seen as it's every day is what we should be doing as part of their job. But it's worth every now and again, just going with one of your team members and giving them some positive feedback about the safety check. You know, I was just watching you there, Bob.

And I like the way you paid real attention to that safety check. Nice job. Just as hopefully would giving people positive feedback on a job well done. Giving people positive feedback for a safety check Well done, is going to reinforce that behavior that you're looking for. So on the other hand, we have to think about when safety checks are not carried out, maybe this term too Of Love might be worth considering. So really what we're saying here is we can't tolerate Failure to follow safety procedures.

So if a safety check needs to be done every day before we start, then we can't just walk by if we see people not doing that safety check, no matter how busy they are. And we're not talking about bullying. Here. I'm talking about bullying people into submission. But if we are taking those safety checks seriously, then we have to make it clear that we're serious when we say you need to do the safety check. And if you continue to not comply with that requirement, obviously then there are some consequences.

So this can be a tricky balance. But we need to be able to demonstrate that with serious when we talk about sticking to the rules when it comes to say To checks. So I recommend at this point having a clear understanding both yourself and making sure that others in the workplace understand what are relatively minor versus serious violations. So for relatively minor infractions, we might be having quite discussion with them. serious violations need to be dealt with in a much more serious way. So what does serious mean?

Or serious could mean repeatedly relatively minor issues, or a single potentially catastrophic violation? So I think it's important for people to understand the difference between those two minor and serious Sometimes, though, a what seems a relatively minor issue could be seen as a serious one if they continually violate that rule. Now again, this is a balance. We're trying to get But we need to demonstrate that we are willing to take action when somebody is not doing what they need to do, such as their safety checks. Ultimately, though, serious infringement have to lead to the prospect of disciplinary action, or even dismissal if that behavior continues. And that's why it's important that everybody understands what serious violation is.

Or if it's a constant minor violation, that they have sufficient warnings so that they know that they are starting to go down a road that could be very serious for them. So this is not done in a bullying way. But it's done in a very clear, serious, professional way to make sure they know the importance of those safety checks. So how else can you influence members of your team to carry out safety checks even when they're busy? One way is to do random checks and observations. So actually shedule it in your calendar to do a random check.

So don't tell people you're going to do it. Let them know that at some point you, you're going to be doing random checks. But decide that, you know, Tuesday morning 10 o'clock, I'm just going to do a few checks to make sure that people are doing those safety checks that they should be. Another way to help encourage and influence team members to do safety checks is to create an intervention culture. Now, we're going to talk more about this later. But it basically means that people are looking out for each other and intervening when they see something of danger, but we'll talk about that.

More later on.