The events of the past week have been a sobering reminder of why we want everyone to work safely. Our colleagues at our fellow General Dynamics business unit, Ordinance and Tactical Systems, have suffered a tragic loss this week. The person who lost his life at work was a member of our General Dynamics family. We are keeping his family and all of the GDOTS employees in our thoughts and prayers. We have reached out to offer them our support as a company.
I had already written this blog on the human factors that affect safety when we learned of the tragedy at GDOTS. I had been planning to write a short series of blogs on safety starting with this one. Sadly, recent events have made this an even more important discussion.
So what are “human factors,” how do they affect workplace safety and why do I think it is important for us to focus on them? During my career in aviation, I participated in several human factor training events. They made such a strong impression on me that I want to talk about human factors in the context of our shipbuilding work.
Human factors refer to the environmental, organizational and job circumstances and human characteristics that influence our behavior at work in a way that can affect health and safety. We all want to be safe while we work, and knowing what conditions or factors increase our likelihood of being unsafe can help us avoid injuries.
In the early ‘90s, air-travel regulatory bodies and industry professionals began to focus on the roles these human factors play in aircraft accidents. By the early 2000s, human factor awareness became standard training for all aircraft mechanics like me.
When writing about my work as an aircraft mechanic in past blogs, I have described how airplanes fly when all of the flight-required conditions are correct. If any one of the conditions is not right, then something bad could happen to the aircraft and – most important – to the people on board. If the aircraft is in flight and something is not correct, gravity could take over… I think you understand what happens next.
As a young mechanic, I had to perform my work repairing an aircraft correctly every time. There was no excuse for not fixing the aircraft right the first time. Whether I was working on landing gear, an engine, flight controls, interior components or electrical systems, the margin of error was 0 percent – it had to be right!
I was under significant pressure to make sure that my work was correct no matter what I was doing. I put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure that I didn’t break the “trust” chain. The “trust” chain is really simple – the pilot and passengers trust that the aircraft is airworthy and ready for flight when the mechanic tells them it is. When I was a mechanic, I told them the plane was airworthy by performing maintenance, signing off work orders and sometimes signing off the aircraft log book for the maintenance that I had done.
My performance always had to be good, and so did that of my fellow mechanics. We couldn’t have a bad day, and we couldn’t do bad maintenance. So being aware of the human factors that could make our work less safe for us as employees or for the people flying our aircraft helped us be safer. This model also works for shipbuilding, as we have a highly complex work environment with many hazards. Being aware is essential!
Here at BIW, we are going to focus on 12 Human Factors, and – to drive home how critical they are for our safety – we are going to call them the Deadly Dozen. These 12 factors are:
Situational Awareness: Are you aware of what’s going on around you and the potential hazards of the work you are doing while you are doing it?
Alerting: Are you willing to speak up when necessary – like using your stop work authority if something isn’t right?
Communication: Do you understand your work assignment, your PPE requirements and how it impacts those around you?
Complacency: Will you check and review all the potential hazards of the task and not assume someone else did it for you?
Culture: Do you not only look after your own safety, but also your brothers’ or sisters’ safety?
Norms: Will following the standard practices and procedures keep you safe?
Teamwork: Have you coordinated addressing work hazards with your team and those working around you?
Capability: Are your skills up for the task?
Fit for Duty: Are you physically and mentally well enough to perform your tasks safely?
Pressure: Can you meet your deadlines at the expected level of quality?
Distraction: Are you able to focus on the tasks at hand?
Fatigue: Are you ready and able to perform your work?
These 12 factors and the questions they represent are designed to help you stop and think about each one as you start your shift or critical task. It’s an easy way to evaluate your readiness for work. If you answer “NO” to any one of them, then you should stop what you are doing and reevaluate your working conditions.
Human factors like these have been shown to contribute to accidents of all sorts. For example, what is the law violation called when a person texts and drives? Distracted driving. Distraction is a Deadly Dozen Human Factor. Several of the Deadly Dozen easily come to mind when you think about driving an automobile as well as other equipment.
Going back to my earlier profession, being aware of your surroundings on the flight line as an airplane mechanic is absolutely necessary. Turboprop and jet engines are unforgiving. Unfortunately, many people have been killed by a spinning propeller or a running jet because they forgot where they were and what was happening around them.
This is an important conversation to have in our shipyard. If you analyze our injuries, I’m sure that one of these 12 factors played a part in each accident. We need to keep people safe and reduce our injury rates.
To start this important conversation, I wanted to spend a few minutes to introduce you to the concept of the Deadly Dozen and its origination in human factors. This framework of 12 factors forms a way for us to evaluate ourselves in how we prepare for work as well as a way to help keep our brothers and sisters safe as they conduct their work.
See you on the deckplates!
Safely Execute High-Quality Work
Chuck
President, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works