Andrew Barrett: Chief Connector, Safety on Tap

1. DECLUTTERING
HEALTH AND SAFETY

3. SAFETY CLUTTER DEFINED
“The accumulation and persistence of
‘safety’ work that does not contribute to
operational safety”
Rae, A. J., Provan, D. J., Weber, D. E., & Dekker, S. W. A. (2018). Safety Clutter: The accumulation
and persistence of ‘safety’ work that does not contribute to operational safety. Policy and
Practice in Health and Safety, 1-18

4. IN THE NAME
OF SAFETY
Rae, A. J. & Provan, D. J. (2018). Safety work versus the
safety of work. Safety Science

5. PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

6. FEARS/BARRIERS/OBJECTIONS
Most frequently cited:
Demonstrating compliance to some other party
Losing data/information/knowledge
Causing harm by removing something important
Barrett, A (2019)

7. WE ARE
EMOTIONAL:
DISREGARD
HELPLESS
CLUTTER IS
DANGEROUS:
ERODES TRUST
INHUMAN
BUT
Barrett, A (2019)

8. SAFETY CLUTTER SCORECARD INSIGHT
13%
70%
Provan, D & Barrett, A (2019)

9. BENIGN OR MALIGNANT?
Safety Clutter in organisations has the following consequences:
1.Damages employee ownership of safety (e.g. company requirements vs supporting work)
2.Creates the problem of in-differentiation (e.g. between necessary and unnecessary activity)
3.Bad for adaptability (e.g. flexibility to perform work in multiple ways and sequences)
4.Erodes trust (e.g. excessive checking and reporting shifts focus from safety to compliance)
5.Creates additional trade-offs between safety and productivity (e.g. time and resources)

10. SAFETY
CLUTTER
SCORECARD
INSIGHTS
Management safety tours or site leadership visits for safety
Management safety meetings
Contractor safety pre-qualification
Safety incident investigations
Safety audits
Safety alerts and bulletins
Safety performance reporting, injury rate reporting
Safety stand-downs, safety moments, or dedicated safety time out
Safety committee meetings
Safety behavioural observations or safety conversations
Standard Operating Procedures, Job Safety Analysis, Work Method Statements
Permit to Work System
Life-saving Rules, Cardinal Rules
Personal Risk Assessments, Take 5, Start Cards, etc
Site hazard logs, site risk registers
Site safety induction training
Toolbox talks, pre-start meetings, general worker safety meetings
Site Safety Inspections, Site safety walks, hazards hunts

11. SAFETY
CLUTTER
SCORECARD
INSIGHTS
Management safety tours or site leadership visits for safety
Management safety meetings
Contractor safety pre-qualification
Safety incident investigations
Safety audits
Safety alerts and bulletins
Safety performance reporting, injury rate reporting
Safety stand-downs, safety moments, or dedicated safety time out
Safety committee meetings
Safety behavioural observations or safety conversations
Standard Operating Procedures, Job Safety Analysis, Work Method Statements
Permit to Work System
Life-saving Rules, Cardinal Rules
Personal Risk Assessments, Take 5, Start Cards, etc
Site hazard logs, site risk registers
Site safety induction training
Toolbox talks, pre-start meetings, general worker safety meetings
Site Safety Inspections, Site safety walks, hazards hunts
#1

12. SAFETY
CLUTTER
SCORECARD
INSIGHTS
Management safety tours or site leadership visits for safety
Management safety meetings
Contractor safety pre-qualification
Safety incident investigations
Safety audits
Safety alerts and bulletins
Safety performance reporting, injury rate reporting
Safety stand-downs, safety moments, or dedicated safety time out
Safety committee meetings
Safety behavioural observations or safety conversations
Standard Operating Procedures, Job Safety Analysis, Work Method Statements
Permit to Work System
Life-saving Rules, Cardinal Rules
Personal Risk Assessments, Take 5, Start Cards, etc
Site hazard logs, site risk registers
Site safety induction training
Toolbox talks, pre-start meetings, general worker safety meetings
Site Safety Inspections, Site safety walks, hazards hunts

13. SAFETY
CLUTTER
SCORECARD
INSIGHTS
Management safety tours or site leadership visits for safety
Management safety meetings
Contractor safety pre-qualification
Safety incident investigations
Safety audits
Safety alerts and bulletins
Safety performance reporting, injury rate reporting
Safety stand-downs, safety moments, or dedicated safety time out
Safety committee meetings
Safety behavioural observations or safety conversations
Standard Operating Procedures, Job Safety Analysis, Work Method Statements
Permit to Work System
Life-saving Rules, Cardinal Rules
Personal Risk Assessments, Take 5, Start Cards, etc
Site hazard logs, site risk registers
Site safety induction training
Toolbox talks, pre-start meetings, general worker safety meetings
Site Safety Inspections, Site safety walks, hazards hunts

14. SAFETY CLUTTER OR NOT?
1. Contribution: How much safety value does it add?
2. Confidence: How do we know that (evidence or belief)?
3. Consensus: To what extent do stakeholders involved agree?

15. EXPLAINING SAFETY CLUTTER (3 C’s)
1. Clutter by Duplication: Two or more activities that
fulfill the same function
2. Clutter by Generalisation: Requirements standardised
across organisations
3. Clutter by Over-specification: Unnecessary translation of
practice into documentation

16. TACKLING SAFETY CLUTTER
Clutter removal requires an ‘evidence-based’ approach … so should adding safety
work.
What else should we do:
1. Start having conversations about safety clutter
2. Find the low hanging fruit, based on the 3 C’s
3. Conduct a controlled safety clutter removal trial
4. Redefine the role of safety professionals
More than 180 people have done the Safety Clutter Scorecard. Have you?