Human factors and human performance are crucial to occupational safety in most industries, but few are more disastrous than in the construction industry. These concepts focus on how some factors are correlated with individual behaviors and interactions in the workplace. Understanding these elements can help leaders improve productivity, safety and decision -making and create a support environment that fosters better global performance.
Understand human factors in industry
Human factors describe how people interact with their workplace, and how these factors can influence and affect their general health and safety. Examples of human factors are the environment, organizational and labor factors, and human and individual characteristics. These factors focus on the reason people take the options they take and how the connection between the work, the individual and the organization make up the decisions.
Understanding the design and structure of a work, including workload, the nature of the tasks involved, the processes, the environment and the general balance, plays a role in the safety of the workplace. Individual factors are based on the person and who they are, their personality, the set of skills, the perception of risk, the attitude and more. Some of these are fixed attributes, while others may be flexible to change, but they are all useful for understanding how an individual interacts with their role effectively. Organizational factors focus on work patterns, culture, communication, leadership and more. These factors within an organization, especially in an industry such as construction, can play a critical role in the formation of behaviors. When in alignment, the work, the individual and the organization work together to succeed and security.
The 5 principles of human performance and their role in safety
According to Todd Conklin, there are 5 principles of human performance that move as fundamental blocks of human performance. Each principle plays a role in understanding performance, what are the driving forces of performance and how they make the difference in the influence of behavior.
A fundamental principle for understanding performance is the concept that even the best people make mistakes. Errors are not exclusive and are not intentional. Exploring the details behind an error and what changes in the procedures is important to avoid future errors. When an error occurs, instead of blaming an employee or group of employees for this error, dip -in the factors that caused the incident and how to avoid future incidents. An environment where deliberate learning is the norm is also a vital component of improvement. When an incident occurs, what happened again was analyzed and why it would help teams to predict possible incidents to prevent future incidents. Finally, as a leader in an organization, it is essential to understand that your response matters. Taking advantage of a collaborative approach that focuses on correcting mistakes instead of blaming can generate a sense of confidence and accountability between all levels of the team. This does not mean that mistakes are not properly addressed, but that there is a balance in the approach that will help to influence future actions.
Working towards a safer industry together
Encouraging a culture that prioritizes a better understanding of why people make the decisions they make and how we can influence better options is essential for workplace safety in the construction industry. It is essential to recognize the interconnection of people, our work environments and our role in improving performance and safety.
Construction Safety Week, the annual initiative of the National Week, will take place on May 5-9 with the subject All together, Focusing on how teams can plan, own and gather. To view and download planning and safety resources available, visit https://www.constructionsafetyweek.com/plan-for-safety-week/resources/.
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