• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Safety Risk .net

Humanising Safety and Embracing Real Risk

Discover More on this Site

  • Home
    • About
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact
  • FREE RESOURCES
    • FREE SAFETY eBOOKS
    • FREE DOWNLOADS
    • TOP 50
    • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS
    • Find a Safety Consultant
    • Free Safety Program Documents
    • Psychology Of Safety
    • Safety Ideas That Work
    • HEALTH and SAFETY MANUALS
    • FREE SAFE WORK METHOD STATEMENT RESOURCES
    • Whats New In Safety
    • FUN SAFETY STUFF
    • Health and Safety Training
    • SAFETY COURSES
    • Safety Training Needs Analysis and Matrix
    • Top 20 Safety Books
    • This Toaster Is Hot
    • Free Covid-19 Toolbox Talks
    • Download Page – Please Be Patient With Larger Files…….
    • SAFETY IMAGES, Photos, Unsafe Pictures and Funny Fails
    • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
    • Download Safety Moments from Human Resources Secretariat
  • PSYCHOLOGY OF SAFETY & RISK
    • Safety Psychology Terminology
    • Some Basics on Social Psychology & Risk
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk – Prof Karl E. Weick
    • The Psychology of Leadership in Risk
    • Conducting a Psychology and Culture Safety Walk
    • The Psychology of Conversion – 20 Tips to get Started
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk And Safety
    • Psychology and safety
    • The Psychology of Safety
    • Hot Toaster
    • TALKING RISK VIDEOS
    • WHAT IS SAFETY
    • THE HOT TOASTER
    • THE ZERO HARM DEBATE
    • SEMIOTICS
    • LEADERSHIP
  • Covid-19
    • COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Health and Safety Slogans and Quotes for the Workplace
    • Covid-19 Returning to Work Inductions, Transitioning, Safety Start Up and Re Entry Plans
    • Covid-19 Work from Home Safety Checklists and Risk Assessments
    • The Hierarchy of Control and Covid-19
    • Why Safety Loves Covid-19
    • Covid-19, Cricket and Lessons in Safety
    • The Covid-19 Lesson
    • Safety has this Covid-19 thing sorted
    • The Heart of Wisdom at Covid Time
    • How’s the Hot Desking Going Covid?
    • The Semiotics of COVID-19 and the Social Amplification of Risk
    • Working From Home Health and Safety Tips – Covid-19
    • Covid-19 and the Hierarchy of Control
  • Dr Rob Long Posts
    • Learning Styles Matter
    • There is no HIERARCHY of Controls
    • Scaffolding, Readiness and ZPD in Learning
    • What Can Safety Learn From Playschool?
    • Presentation Tips for Safety People
    • Dialogue Do’s and Don’ts
    • It’s Only a Symbol
    • Ten Cautions About Safety Checklists
    • Zero is Unethical
    • First Report on Zero Survey
    • There is No Objectivity, Deal With it!
  • Quotes & Slogans
    • Researchers Reveal the Top 10 Most Effective Safety Slogans Of All Time
    • When Slogans Don’t Work
    • 77 OF THE MOST CLASSIC, FAMOUS and INFAMOUS SAFETY QUOTES
    • 500 BEST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2020
    • 167 CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
    • COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Health and Safety Slogans and Quotes for the Workplace
    • Safety Acronyms
    • You know Where You Can Stick Your Safety Slogans
    • Sayings, Slogans, Aphorisms and the Discourse of Simple
    • Spanish Safety Slogans – Consignas de seguridad
    • Safety Slogans List
    • Road Safety Slogans
    • How to write your own safety slogans
    • Why Are Safety Slogans Important
    • Safety Slogans Don’t Save Lives
    • 40 Free Safety Slogans For the Workplace
    • Safety Slogans for Work

Investigations and Heuristics

June 19, 2017 by Dr Rob Long 3 Comments

Investigations and Heuristics

imageOne of the traps investigators fall into is thinking that people are the sum of inputs and outputs, that the behaviourist myth is true. Decision making in complex and far more sophisticated than the naïve proposals of the behaviourist worldview. Rewards and punishments are not primarily the cause of behaviours. There are a host of social psychological factors at play that are unseen and unconscious that factor into decisions. An understanding of heuristics and biases are essential if one wishes to be a good investigator. This following blog is a helpful start (https://safetyrisk.net/20-cognitive-biases-that-affect-risk-decision-making/) as is the discussion of general principles in the social psychology of risk (https://safetyrisk.net/understanding-the-social-psychology-of-risk-and-safety/).

We make most of our decisions each day through heuristics, this is how we become fast and efficient in decision making. When we first learn anything we are slow and build up heuristics through experience. Our experience gives us thousands of mental short cuts, we learn fast and frugal ways of decision making and this is what heuristics is all about. You can learn more about heuristics here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heuristic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lg7G8TMe_A

Why should investigators know about heuristics? Because this is where most decisions come from. Wouldn’t it be interesting if one of the questions considered by investigators was: what heuristics were nomalised in this place? Was this event created, not by a person’s non-compliance but, between a learned heuristic and a change in context? Could it be that a mismatch between heuristic and turbulence in organisations and context, often set in motion a disconnect and harmful event?

You see, we want people to work in a fast and frugal way. Noone wants a worker who is not quick and efficient. The last things we want on our work team is a majority of beginners who are yet to ‘learn the ropes’. Yet under a behaviourist paradigm and determinist worldview, accidents must have a cause and if we can learn that cause we can stop accidents. If one accepts the erroneous assumptions of behaviourism and determinism such thinking make sense. The trouble is that doesn’t take into account that most decisions are made in a non-conscious way. I explain this in the video Understanding the Unconscious:

https://vimeo.com/135536440

Have you ever found your self on a Sunday driving the route to work? That’s your heuristic making decisions. Have you found your self in a habit or an addiction that is hard to break? That’s heuristics in action. Have you discovered that something you have been doing for years under the belief it was efficient was actually not? Like the way you stack the dishwasher or clean the car. That is heuristics in action.

The when we get to work we might find someone over time has learned that a crane on the red line is OK, it doesn’t topple over indeed, there is a few tonne of ‘give’ left. We know that when the light on the car flashes that we are out of petrol we have 50kms left in the tank. These are heuristics. Then when the wind increases undetectably the crane topples over and we run out of gas.

Here are some practical things investigators can do to accommodate heuristic thinking in investigations:

1. Stop thinking in the endless nonsense of ‘root cause’. Greg and I speak about this as part of our Ricky Conversations video series on The Law and The Social Psychology of Risk: https://vimeo.com/167228715

2. Try to understand the context of an incident, what culture has been normalized on site prior to the incident. The culture cloud will help you identify cultural factors at work in organisations: https://vimeo.com/118458068

3. Try to seek out what by-products and trade-offs have been normalized on site that have been established heuristically: https://vimeo.com/118458068

4. Change your questioning away from an imbalance in focus to a triarchic balance exploring the event through workspace, headspace and groupspace factors: https://vimeo.com/143710374

5. Look at how the measures of risk and safety create sub-cultures that mitigate against safety eg. was ‘tick and flick’ a contributor to decision making? https://vimeo.com/81377521

6. Was homeostasis a part of how decisions were being made: https://vimeo.com/124011109

7. What decision making was not written down but was implicit and tacit on site: https://vimeo.com/154685030

If these heuristic questions were considered more in investigations then there would be very different findings than the common behaviourist and determinist methods in vogue at present. There will be no change in the safety blame game without a significant shift in ideology and discourse. This requires much more than just a few additions of positive psychology to an inquiry method but rather a whole new way of seeking out learning and helping in investigations.

If you want to learn more about the Social Psychology of Risk approach to investigations you can enroll in the SEEK Program coming up on 5,6,7 July in Canberra (http://cllr.com.au/product/seek-the-social-psyvhology-of-event-investigations-unit-2/).

  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
  • More about Rob
Dr Rob Long

Dr Rob Long

Expert in Social Psychology, Principal & Trainer at Human Dymensions
Dr Rob Long

Latest posts by Dr Rob Long (see all)

  • Memorials and Monuments, A Lesson in What is NOT Said - January 27, 2021
  • Intuition and Safety - January 24, 2021
  • The Linguistics of Zero - January 24, 2021
  • You Can’t Believe in Zero and Learning at The Same Time - January 21, 2021
  • Poisoning the Professional Waterhole - January 21, 2021
Dr Rob Long
PhD., MEd., MOH., BEd., BTh., Dip T., Dip Min., Cert IV TAA, MRMIA Rob is the founder of Human Dymensions and has extensive experience, qualifications and expertise across a range of sectors including government, education, corporate, industry and community sectors over 30 years. Rob has worked at all levels of the education and training sector including serving on various post graduate executive, post graduate supervision, post graduate course design and implementation programs.

Please share our posts

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Investigation, Robert Long, Social Psychology of Risk Tagged With: heuristics

Reader Interactions

Do you have any thoughts? Please share them below Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

How we pay for the high cost of running of this site – try it for free on your site

Visit Count – Started Jan 2015

  • 21,355,793 Visitors

Never miss a post - Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address and join over 30,000 other discerning safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Please take our 2 minute zero survey

Recent Comments

  • Bernard Corden on Memorials and Monuments, A Lesson in What is NOT Said
  • Rob Long on Memorials and Monuments, A Lesson in What is NOT Said
  • Rob Long on Memorials and Monuments, A Lesson in What is NOT Said
  • Frank Garrett on Memorials and Monuments, A Lesson in What is NOT Said
  • Wynand on Memorials and Monuments, A Lesson in What is NOT Said
  • Kenny on How To Write a Safety Report
  • Rob Long on Fire Pit Safety
  • Rob Long on Intuition and Safety
  • Serge Massicotte on Fire Pit Safety
  • Bernard Corden on Intuition and Safety

FREE eBOOK DOWNLOADS

Featured Downloads

  • WHS-Legislation-A-to-Z-2012.doc (57612 downloads)
  • SAFETY-SLOGANS-LIST.doc (6610 downloads)
  • UV_Risk_Assessment_Checklist-1.doc (879 downloads)
  • Workplace Checklist Covid-19 (6790 downloads)
  • Electrical Equipment Risk Assessment (493 downloads)
  • Real-Risk-Free-Copy.pdf (5543 downloads)
  • Abdukadirov_UnintendedConsequences_v11.pdf (866 downloads)
  • Vehicle Visual Inspection (7467 downloads)
  • Europe-SPoR-Workshop-Flyer.pdf (196 downloads)
  • Active Living at Work (13810 downloads)
  • Understanding-the-Social-psychology-of-Risk-and-Safety-3.docx (3066 downloads)
  • Accident-Incident-Investigation-eBook-Rev1.pdf (7407 downloads)
  • Zero-to-HRO-15-March-2017 (1535 downloads)
  • What_it_means_to_be_an_OHS_professional (7601 downloads)
  • SAFETY-SLOGANS-LIST.docx (54590 downloads)

Recent Posts

  • Happy New Year for 2021 and Theme
  • Memorials and Monuments, A Lesson in What is NOT Said
  • Intuition and Safety
  • The Linguistics of Zero
  • You Can’t Believe in Zero and Learning at The Same Time
  • Poisoning the Professional Waterhole
  • Zero Vision Creates Mindless Gobbledygook
  • The Seduction of Slogans in Safety
  • Certificate, Diploma and Masters Studies in SPoR
  • Measurement Anxiety in Safety

Footer

AUTHORS

  • Alan Quilley
    • Heinrich–Industrial Accident Prevention
    • The Problem With ZERO Goals and Results
  • Bernard Corden
    • AHH$ Covid$afe Chri$tma$ New$letter
    • Paradise by the dashboard light
  • Bill Sims
    • Employee Engagement: Chocolate, Vanilla, or Strawberry?
    • Injury Hiding-How do you stop it?
  • Craig Clancy
    • Task Based vs Activity Based Safe Work Method Statements
    • Safety And Tender Submissions
  • Daniel Kirk
    • It’s easy being wise after the event.
    • A Positive Safety Story
  • Dave Whitefield
    • Safety is about…
    • Safety and Compliance
  • Dennis Millard
    • Are You Risk Intelligent?
    • Honey they get me! They get me at work!
  • Drewie
    • Downturn Doin’ Your Head In? Let’s Chat….
    • How was your break?
  • Gabrielle Carlton
    • All Care and No Care!
    • You Are Not Alone!
  • George Robotham
    • How to Give an Unforgettable Safety Presentation
    • How To Write a Safety Report
  • Goran Prvulovic
    • Safety Manager – an Ultimate Scapegoat
    • HSE Performance – Back to Basics
  • James Ellis
    • In search of plan B in workers’ recovery
    • What and how should we measure to support recovery from injury?
  • James Parkinson
    • To laugh or not to laugh
    • People and Safety
  • John Toomey
    • Who is Responsible for This?
    • Who Are Your People?
  • Karl Cameron
    • Abby Normal Safety
    • The Right Thing
  • Ken Roberts
    • Safety Legislation Is Our Biggest Accident?
    • HSE Trip Down Memory Lane
  • Mark Perrett
    • Psychology of Persuasion: Top 5 influencing skills for getting what you want
  • Mark Taylor
    • Build a Psychologically Safe Workplace by Taking Risks and Analysing Failures
    • Enculturing Safety
  • Max Geyer
    • WHS Legislation is NOT about Safety it’s about Culture
    • Due Diligence Is Not Just Ticking Boxes!
  • Matt Thorne
    • It was the SIA until someone wanted to swing from the Chandelier
    • Common Sense is Remarkably Uncommon
  • Peter Ribbe
    • Is there “Common Sense” in safety?
    • Who wants to be a safety professional?
  • Phil LaDuke
    • Hey Idiots, You’re Worried About the Wrong Things
    • Misleading Indicators
  • Admin
    • Happy New Year for 2021 and Theme
    • Certificate, Diploma and Masters Studies in SPoR
  • Dr Rob Long
    • Memorials and Monuments, A Lesson in What is NOT Said
    • Intuition and Safety
  • Rob Sams
    • I’m just not that into safety anymore
    • Social ‘Resiliencing’
  • Barry Spud
    • Barry Spud’s Hazard Control Tips
    • Researchers Reveal the Top 10 Most Effective Safety Slogans Of All Time
  • Sheri Suckling
    • How Can I Get the Boss to Listen?
  • Safety Nerd
    • The Block isn’t portraying safety as it should be
    • Toolbox Talk Show–PPE
  • Wynand Serfontein
    • Why The Problem With Learning Is Unlearning
    • I DON’T KNOW
  • Zoe Koskinas
    • Why is fallibility so challenging in the workplace?

FEATURED POSTS

safety first

What If I Valued People And Not Safety?

Face-to-Face Safety

cut finger

Confirmity in Conformity

The Reason Safety Has Gone So Crazy

The Real Barriers to Safety

Safety Aphorisms and Platitudes

Predictably Arational, Safety as a Superstition

Censorship and Taboos in Safety

C. G. Jung on Risk and Safety

Binary Opposites and Safety Goal Strategy

Is Risk and Safety Perfectionism a Disorder?

Keep Discovering

Safety as a Knowledge Culture

Four Indicators of Toxic Safety Culture

Psychometric Testing and Safety

The Human Race…

Process driven or People driven? What’s your Focus?

The Quantitative and Qualitative Divide in Safety

Living In Glass Houses

Safety Gives Me the Right over Other Rights

More Posts from this Category

Paperwork

https://vimeo.com/162034157?loop=0

Due Diligence

https://vimeo.com/162493843?loop=0

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.