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Re: Safety Culture

Douglas Minnema said the following:

>     Why does a worker violate a procedure rather than stop work when he/she 
>     perceives a problem?  Often the answer is that the worker thought that 
>     he/she knew the work better than the procedure writer, and either had no 
>     confidence in the procedure or believed that his/her way was better.

This is a very real cause, and, has happened many times. Back in my 
power reactor days, this has happened many times. Technicians "think" 
that they know what the procedure says, and therefore do not refer to 
them when performing a task. Maintenance workers do not look at the 
Plant Work Order and inadvertently take out the wrong valve, or 
worse, the right valve but on the wrong reactor unit. An operator 
tags out the wrong system. And worse yet, inadvertently trips a unit 
off line. Why? For the very reason Douglas points out.

I'll interject another reason as to why a worker violates a 
procedure. It is a way, in their own mind, of getting back at their 
employer. The individual believes that it may cause the employer 
regulatory discomfort, media attention and in many cases, financial 
interruptions. It is their was of flailing at a system that they 
believe that does not, for all practical purposes, care one damn 
thing about the staff. They believe that management considers staff a 
liability, and a commodity that can be cut. Don't think this is the 
case? Then I suggest that you haven't been out in the field or in the 
trenches, and talking to these individuals. They are there, and, they 
are great in numbers.

------------------
Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3149
  
mailto:sandyfl@ix.netcom.com
mailto:sperle@icnpharm.com

Personal Homepage:
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"The object of opening the mind, as of opening 
the mouth, is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -