Safety management, local contexts and human diversity

There seems to be a growing realization within safety management that traditional approaches—focused on linear cause analysis and strict compliance—may no longer be sufficient for addressing the complex challenges faced by organizations today. A philosophical text that has been illuminating for me here is the "differend" by Jean-François Lyotard. A differend occurs when two parties are in conflict but lack a common framework for resolving their dispute justly. Each side holds a legitimate perspective, but applying one set of rules to both can result in unfairness and harm.

Workplace safety has more than one legitimate perspective: both the prescriptive and descriptive aspects of work are relevant. A differend can arise when universal safety rules are applied to diverse work environments without considering their specific needs and contexts. This can lead to several practical issues:

1. Standardized protocols might not address unique risks present in specific workplaces. For example, a factory and an office have different safety concerns, and applying the same rules to both can lead to overlooked hazards in each setting.

2. Workers might have the best understanding of the specific dangers they face. Rigid adherence to universal rules can dismiss or undervalue their insights and experiences, leading to less effective safety measures.

3. When accidents occur, proving what happened can be challenging, especially if there are no surviving witnesses or if testimonies are dismissed because they don't fit the expected narrative. This can result in a lack of accountability and continued unsafe conditions.

To address these issues, we can focus on managing current organizational risks rather than strictly adhering to ideal rules and standards. Support the business in dealing with present challenges and acknowledge that all operations involve constant trade-offs. Train employees at different organizational levels to understand and handle these trade-offs effectively, providing them with the language and strategies for decision-making. Understand how teams adapt to pressures and challenges, focus on how work is adapting, and identify short- and long-term risks and acceptable limits for adaptations.

We can incorporate local contexts and human diversity into safety practices by:

1. Actively listening to employees to understand their specific concerns and insights. Their firsthand experience can help identify unique risks and develop work processes that are productive, reliable, and safe.

2. Creating flexible guidelines that can be tailored to different environments. Providing ‘freedom within a frame’ ensures relevant guidance while allowing workers to adapt their specific work methods.

3. Establishing reporting systems that seriously consider worker testimonies, even when they don't fit standard narratives. This helps in accurately identifying and addressing workplace issues.

4. Expanding our safety strategies to include macro-level considerations, involving government, regulators, and industry associations.

5. Defining acceptable standards by identifying predictable hazards and conditions. Determine which standards can be relaxed and which must be strictly enforced even under adverse conditions. 

6. Investigate degraded operations, effective strategies, and improvements for handling known uncertainties. Recognize that systems are imperfect and risks can't be fully eliminated. Aim to improve coping mechanisms through well-researched, deployable strategies, acknowledging the growing complexity and degradation in systems.

By recognizing and addressing the differends in safety management, we might create more effective, inclusive, and fair safety practices that reflect the diverse realities of different work environments.

Sources:

Amalberti, R., Vincent, C. (2019), Managing risk in hazardous conditions: improvisation is not enough, BMJ Quality and Safety, Volume 29, Issue 1.

Lyotard, J.F. (1988), The Differend – Phrases in Dispute, Manchester University Press. The quote in the meme is on page 10.