A monthly resource for members of IMEA’s Safety, Education & Training program.

December 2018
BATTLING SAFETY
COMPLACENCY IN THE
WORKPLACE
One of the biggest problems faced
As we near the end of another year, we’ve seen the
in the midst of completing day to
number of major injuries and fatalities climb higher and
day tasks on the job is
complacency. Employees become
higher. That also means the number of minor injuries IMEA Board &
accustomed to doing things in a
and near misses has climbed higher and higher. Why? Staff Would Like
certain way or tasks flowing a
Ask yourself this question, How many times have I been To Wish You &
hurt when I was thinking about what I was doing and Yours A Very
certain way and grow oblivious to
the risk of what I was doing at the exact instant when I
the hazards that may be ever Merry Christmas
got hurt?
present around them. This type
If you’re like most people, the answer is zero or very
& A Happy New
of state of mind can affect many
close to it! To give you an example: 1,270 Linemen Year 2019~
things including productivity,
were surveyed and asked that same question and out
quality and safety.
of 1,270 linemen asked, only - 2 instances out of 1,270
careers. Or, given that the average age was 40–45,
Safety complacency in the
that’s only 2 instances in 50,000 years.
workplace can be a literal killer on
So, for all intensive purposes you can probably count
the job. All too often workers do
on complacency being a contributing factor (major or
not realize how complacent they
minor) in virtually every acute injury you and your
actually have become until they
employees have ever experienced on or off the job.
have a near miss or close call;
So, complacency leading to mind not on task is huge.
such events tend to jumpstart
But how do you fight it? All utilities are aware of the
hearts and refocus proper
problems complacency causes but the strategies they
attention, at least for a little
adopt to fight it are questionable in some cases and
while, to the importance of tasks
laughable in others. We tell our employees not to
at hand. With complacency there
become complacent, was the answer a supervisor gave
is a sense of numbness that
me when I asked him about it. He might as well have
develops to hazards. Employers
said, “Try not to get any older while you’re at it.”
should be on guard to the onset of
complacency in the workplace.
Follow, Page 2
Complacency: Safety's Worst Enemy
Safety has many enemies - budget, schedule, regulatory That’s not to say that complacency isn’t a
ignorance and leadership indifference, to name a few – so problem in other industries. Take the worker
maybe saying complacency is its worst enemy is a bit of on a manufacturing floor for example. He or
hyperbole. Then again, maybe it’s not. she has inspected this same piece of equipment
Each of the examples I mentioned is lacking one key ingredient every single day for the last five years. There
that sets complacency apart from the rest: a false sense of has never been a problem. The worker decides
security. When money, time, or enforcement becomes an to blow off an inspection and get right to work.
obstacle to safety, the workforce will usually know this. If they Then another. Soon, he or she is only inspecting
continue to do their job, it is probably with added measures of every other day. Maybe even less frequently.
precaution. And, while heightened awareness alone does not
make for satisfactory protection, it is better than nothing. Then something happens.
Similarly, if a worker is not aware of safety regulations, it does
not mean that he or she does not know how to work safely, it It could be a fire. It could be somebody getting
just means that they are not aware of the government’s injured because a machine guard was missing.
specific requirements. That worker will most likely know or at It could be any number of things, but whatever
least feel that something is unsafe and try to protect himself or those things are, they were brought on by
herself in some way. I’m not saying that the solutions they complacency.
choose will be perfect, or even very good, but awareness will
always increase your odds of working without incident. Tips for employers to curb
What is Complacency? complacency on the job are:
Then there’s complacency. Complacency occurs when you’ve
➢ Share the Mission— Remind employees of
been doing something one way for so long without incident
the company’s purpose and goals so they
that you assume there can never be an incident. Whatever it is
maintain a connection to the larger missions
that you’re doing must be effective because, until now, there
and emphasize that their behaviors have an
have been no issues. It’s the classic “I’ve been doing it this way
impact.
for 20 years, and nothing has ever happened to me”
➢ Avoid Routines—Repetition can be related to
Syndrome. This frustrates safety professionals because we
complacency, if possible change up some of
know that nothing ever happens to anybody – until it does. In
the tasks required to add variety to an
other words, every single person that has ever been injured or
employee’s job.
killed on the job could have said – until that point – that this is
➢ Encourage Observation - Have employees
the way I've always done it and nothing has ever happened to
briefly stop work and observe the actions of
me.
other as they work, observing others raises
one’s own awareness as well as the
A Deadly False Sense of Security
awareness of co-workers
➢ Correct Poor Performance—
A false sense of security does not go well in any industry, but it
Mentoring programs and coaching help
could be most dangerous in construction where things are
employees identify and change troubled
constantly changing. The environment you are working in
practices and potential problems.
today could be a completely different environment than the
one you worked in yesterday. A new excavation could have
Bringing in someone from outside the utility
opened up next to you or a crane pick could be going on
industry can often help, because they'll more
above you. Electrical equipment that was not energized
easily notice things that your in-house staff
yesterday might be energized today. That perimeter cable that
who work there every day may miss. To
was nice and taut yesterday, might have been loosened for
schedule an appointment with our IMEA staff
some reason since then and left that way.
please contact Duane Richardson at
duane@[Link].
In a constantly changing environment, extra vigilance is
needed, but workers still become complacent. Inspections fail
to happen and workers walk or move equipment without
looking where they’re going, to the point where, from a safety
standpoint, they seem to be sleepwalking through the job.