HUMAN FACTORS

Human error is an action or decision which was not intended, where a violation is a deliberate deviation from a rule or procedure! Firearm use requires an operator to carryout a number of procedures and drills, in a correct sequence to ensure that their actions do not cause harm to others.

UK Health and Safety Executive - Human Factors

It is important to be aware that human failure is not random; understanding why errors occur and the different factors which make them worse will help your organisation develop more effective controls. In order to avoid accidents and ill-health, workplaces need to manage human failure as robustly as the technical and engineering measures they use for that purpose.

Understanding human factors and how poor workplace cultures influence behaviour.

FACETS Model

FAMILIARITY: People undertaking routine or familiar tasks will make riskier decisions than those that are unfamiliar with the role.

ACCEPTANCE: Wanting to fit in to a workplace environment and culture, even if that means not following best practice guidelines.

CONSISTENCY: Becoming task-focused by being highly committed to an objective, or goal. Having a “Failure is not an Option” mentality.

EXPERT HALO: New staff are more likely to follow a de facto leader into a dangerous situation, rather than if they made a conscious decision themselves.

TRADITIONAL-BASED PRACTICE: Objective standards and best practice training may have not yet been introduced into the workplace. So junior staff members could be fooled into thinking that everything is okay because they have been told “It’s always been done that way”, or “We have done it like that for 20 years” without understanding the true risks.

SILENCE: A workplace culture that doesn’t empower individuals to speak out about safety concerns. Each employee should have the ability to call a “time out or stop work” if they believe an accident is about to, or have the potential to occur.

Can you recognise how some of the above may influence the

behaviour of your firearm handling employees?

How to reduce Human Factor accidents

Risk Assessments of individual tasks.

Professional Training for your staff promoting best practice and defining RED FLAG (dangerous) behaviour.

Group/Team Briefings - EXAMPLE of a two minute team brief for a hazardous task.

  • What we are going to do (objective, targets, timings, communications)?

  • Who is going to do certain roles?

  • What additional equipment do we need to carry out the task?

  • What is the decision-making points where the plan may change?

  • What can go wrong?

  • What is the emergency action and communication plan?

  • Empower everyone to contribute and if required call a “stop work”.

Task Review with HOT and COLD debriefs learning from previous events.