I recall speaking to a supervisor who was struggling to incorporate their inspection activities, and that of their team, into a regular routine. He was explaining that when they completed the risk-based inspections the site was more organised, planning and work scheduling was smoother and in general, it improved effectiveness and efficiency of the team.
His issue was when chasing an aggressive schedule, often there are many variables that are tightly coupled and it takes a great deal of adaptability and response to keep the team on track. As ensuring that these variables (such as spoil delivery, managerial management, plant hire etc) are a full-time job in itself often safety activities were lost in the changes of the day. This presents a downward spiral that safety activities are only completed when the team has excess capacity or when something external prompts them (ie end of month bears down and targets need to be met) rather than when they need them most when activity is high and focus is narrowed.
He asked if I had a simple way they could improve. Key here was;
- The supervisor recognised the issue and asked for a solution
- He didn’t want war and peace or a strategic framework to implement
- He didn’t want a deeply referenced answer with underpinning behavioural psychology to support it
- He wanted something that he and their team could use
So I deferred the discussion about the full integration of safety activities into all work tasks and gave them a simple step forward.
“Cowboy time”
What is cowboy time? It’s 0950h. Think ten to ten to ten, ten ten, ten to ten to ten, ten ten in the tune of Bonanza (google it for those who don’t recognise it without the visual reference). I’ve probably lost you right now I’m guessing. No, I haven’t lost the plot.
I a
sked the supervisor and his leading hand to place into their phones an alarm for 0950h each day. At this time the team would reflect, “Is anything we are doing currently (active condition) or have done (latent condition) that upon reflection makes us look like cowboys to others and ourselves and may cause harm?
It’s simple, it’s catchy, it’s regular and it sticks (bet you will never look at 0950h again and not sing the tune to Bonanza). Importantly it’s not perfect but it’s a start towards being better and another step along the curve.
So if there is something which you are trying to change about yourself and build a habit, why not try cowboy time for yourself?
Ten to ten to ten, ten ten, ten to ten to ten, ten ten….
Reframe my Safety Brain 