PhilosopherPilot
Well-Known Member
It's not "my" just culture. I've been through a lot of safety training, and I know a great deal about contemporary safety philosophy, but I certainly didn't invent the concepts. I support these views, and see it as a moral imperative to get guys like you to come into the 21st century. People smarter than you have developed this way of looking at human error. Chances are the company you fly for has an ASAP program, and has a just culture posture. Why? Because that's how Safety is done these days. It's safer than the traditional "punish and blame" method.
Copied below are the definitions of error, at risk, and reckless behavior. Notice that reckless requires the intent to do something dangerous. Sure, the legal definition is behind the times. Big surprise. But no one in a safety position will subscribe to such antiquated ways of thinking about human error and risk.
Human error:
Humans are not perfect, so any system we create should expect errors to occur and account for them as a normal part of the process. A slip, a lapse, a mistake can happen to the best of us, so human error, rather than being a punishable action, becomes an opportunity to learn and to improve our systems. Any system that is one failure away from harm, be it human error or equipment failure, is vulnerable.
At-risk behavior:
Sometimes people get complacent and start to drift away from the rules (like driving a few MPH over the speed limit, for example); they begin to engage in at-risk behavior, placing themselves and others at risk. They could be trying to accomplish more than they normally could, or they could be telling themselves that “it can’t happen to me.” Simply put, they do not perceive the risk, or have temporarily forgotten it. In this case coaching and education are the answer, a reminder of the risks that may have been forgotten or mistakenly justified.
Reckless behavior:
In very rare occasions, though, people engage in reckless behavior, choosing knowingly to place themselves or others in harm’s way. They see the risk, and they understand the harm that can be done. They simply choose to place their own self-interest above the rest of the system. The individual(s) responsible for these choices obviously need to be subject to disciplinary action.
Copied below are the definitions of error, at risk, and reckless behavior. Notice that reckless requires the intent to do something dangerous. Sure, the legal definition is behind the times. Big surprise. But no one in a safety position will subscribe to such antiquated ways of thinking about human error and risk.
Human error:
Humans are not perfect, so any system we create should expect errors to occur and account for them as a normal part of the process. A slip, a lapse, a mistake can happen to the best of us, so human error, rather than being a punishable action, becomes an opportunity to learn and to improve our systems. Any system that is one failure away from harm, be it human error or equipment failure, is vulnerable.
At-risk behavior:
Sometimes people get complacent and start to drift away from the rules (like driving a few MPH over the speed limit, for example); they begin to engage in at-risk behavior, placing themselves and others at risk. They could be trying to accomplish more than they normally could, or they could be telling themselves that “it can’t happen to me.” Simply put, they do not perceive the risk, or have temporarily forgotten it. In this case coaching and education are the answer, a reminder of the risks that may have been forgotten or mistakenly justified.
Reckless behavior:
In very rare occasions, though, people engage in reckless behavior, choosing knowingly to place themselves or others in harm’s way. They see the risk, and they understand the harm that can be done. They simply choose to place their own self-interest above the rest of the system. The individual(s) responsible for these choices obviously need to be subject to disciplinary action.
