In this episode, I speak with Andy Kerr (Director, HSE at ALECTRA Utilities) about Culture in the High Risk Sector. Andy is one of the best Subject Matter Experts I know in Health and Safety. He was involved in one of the first Arc Flash Risk Assessments for the Utility Industry in 2002, worked for the legacy E*USA, and is now at ALECTRA. We discuss the items of human behaviour not written in regulations, policies, or rules.
Andy reviews the pride of the trade, and how good culture happens when no one is looking. The concerning issue is that pride sometimes gets in the way of people wanting to ensure they are not viewed as making a mistake. Andy brings his experiences from professional motorsports to provide an analogy for us to consider, in communicating when things happen or when they're not perfect.
The industry culture, the organizational culture, the trades culture, the fear of embarrassment, or fear of discipline tend to result in these incidents going unreported. In the eyes of the participant – nothing happened.
Andy and I talk about Zero, or relentlessly pursuing to zero. How it is a great statement for a banner to go on your safety tag line. We get honest about zero. Andy wants to make our listeners think about how to pursue beyond zero.
Key Takeaways from our discussion:- Great Culture discusses the mistakes and near hits for learning and not for punishment. Good Health and Safety is non-reprimand.
- Great Culture works at Health and Safety every day. It is not something that happens by itself.
- Great Culture celebrates accomplishments.
- Great Culture does not look through the lens of Management, Union, or Tradesperson. They look through the lens of human exposed to hazards wanting humans to go home safe at the end of the day.
- We can always do Better.
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DGG5Advising.com or on LinkedIn at
Dean G. Gatien.
