“We often hear: “We have to change people’s behavior”. However, behavior is not only the result of an operator’s personality or training. The characteristics of the situations in which a human being is placed make certain types of behavior more likely. Some operating situations can have characteristics that increase the probability of undesirable human behavior.
Human behavior cannot be anticipated mechanically, because different individuals can behave differently in the same situation. But it is predictable in terms of probabilities: some situations tend to favor certain types of behavior. If these types of behavior are not desirable from a safety perspective, the only way significantly to reduce their probability of occurring is to alter the characteristics of the situation. These characteristics can be local (design of a workstation, tools, a procedure) or much broader in scope (company purchasing policy, disciplinary policy, training programs).”
The ICSI “Safety Culture” working group (2017). Safety Culture: from Understanding to Action. Issue 2018-01 of the Cahiers de la Sécurité Industrielle collection, Institut pour une Culture de Sécurité Industrielle (ICSI), Toulouse, France.
