«You cannot do Security only from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Security is done from the moment you wake up in the morning, until you go to sleep, you really believe that Security is life. " Ariana rivas
Security management: role-based or habit-based?
When talking about Programs or Systems of Health and Safety at Work, the idea is usually associated with the generation of manuals, guidelines, regulations and the like that, after being documented, give the sensation to those who develop them of having “everything under control”; however, there is nothing further from the truth.
In this sense, even when more and more efforts are directed and invested in the implementation of these methods, it is more common to find “paper systems” which are characterized by being detached from the human capital for which they were conceived. Thus, we speak of work procedures that are not very accessible, clear or adapted to the process; of norms that seem directed to only a group of people and that very few fulfill; from training programs closer to "master classes" in which there is no true feedback that allows to improve management and as you are, a myriad of weaknesses that, documented, look very good, but in the organization they do not become tangible.
However, the problem is not in the Program, System or in the Technical Security Standard itself, on the contrary, the different methodologies designed are intended to serve as a guide for organizations in favor of their optimization. Weakness often occurs when not everyone involved is practically and effectively involved.
In this context, we must consider before starting any process of change or improvement in the field of Occupational Health and Safety, that there is a need to break many paradigms and to cope with the fact that people are getting involved, who, like everyone else, we already bring from home certain kinds of habits, customs and beliefs. Thus, understanding a habit as a repetitive behavior, often in a "mechanical" way, it is not possible to think that those who usually walk writing text messages on their cell phones when they move freely on the street, will easily stop when they you move within the company just because someone or something tells you "not to."
Hence, organizational preventive management starts from the habits that are brought from the family and social environment, which are modified in turn during the different learning processes - formal or not - throughout life. This is when it is suggested that examining these beliefs and behaviors is what will allow what is documented to be increasingly adapted to the reality of the environment.
Scope and impact
The Occupational Health and Safety Management is the responsibility of all the members of the organization… Why? Simple, otherwise there will always be someone who gets sick or has an accident due to their own or someone else's cause. However, the most common slippage is to see Preventive Management as the sole and exclusive responsibility of a person or figure, which is usually known as "he or those of Security". Thus, it seems that prevention and control issues are basically a group of norms, rules and procedures that, "must be followed" or the other extreme, you have to beg someone to want to comply.
Therefore, when it comes to Preventive Management, it is sought to integrate the safety culture into each of the stages of the production process and engage them in such a way that each of those involved is capable not only of identifying an opportunity for improvement but also of implement it and make it sustainable over time.
In this way, the implications it has on the quality, productivity of a product or a service is evidenced when, due to an incident, accident or occupational disease, work processes are successively altered.
Effective Management: Where to Start?
When a manager fosters a functional climate with cohesive work teams, he immediately improves the quality and productivity of the organization.
On several occasions we have emphasized that managers should focus on optimizing interpersonal relationships within work teams, including themselves as part of the group. He must understand that he cannot generate changes or improvements in the groups if he does not participate in them, for this he must develop empathy skills that generate a climate of respect, trust and commitment on the part of all members.
As Covey presents in his world-renowned book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Management, to get the best out of its team, has to promote the individual development of each member, that is, ensure that each one of these achieves erect habits oriented to Preventive Management.
For this reason, the Management in conjunction with the Occupational Health and Safety Services (jointly or not), should not only promote, but also participate in activities where the process of developing healthy habits begins with the concept of "Safety outside of Work", that is, go back to basics, analyze what each person does in their daily routine. Hence, investigating through work sessions or workshops, how each of the people safeguards their integrity and that of their loved ones in their family and social life, will allow not only to know the behavior that is already internalized, but in the end, It is the one that is transferred to the productive environment, but will also lay the foundations to design the strategies that are truly adapted to the group of collaborators.
In this vein, for example, in the chemical sector, developing in a person the habit of reading the labels of the cleaning products that they have at home and following the instructions for use considering the precautions, will allow extrapolating these cares at the time to handle materials considered dangerous at an industrial level.
On the other hand, the implementation of various activities, theoretical, practical and experiential, beyond classroom activities, will allow the formation of comprehensive care structures so required in the workplace, regardless of the productive process that is carried out. cape.
Definitely, with the creation of the multiplier effect, it will facilitate that this knowledge acquired in a systematic way can reach the social environment of each member of the organization and with this to the communities in which they live, collaborating directly to the sustainable development of a country.
In conclusion, the security precepts are so broad that the systematic participation of all is necessary and for this, understanding the origin of organizational behavior in prevention matters is much more congruent when it is known how we handle security in non-security aspects. related to our workplace.
Bibliographic references
- United Nations Association in Venezuela - ANUV (2008). Diploma in Emotional Intelligence, United Nations Association in Venezuela - ANUV (2007). Diploma in Sustainable Development.Covey, S. (1997). The seven habits of highly effective people. Ediciones Paido Iberica, SA.Rivas (2012). Emotional intelligence and organizational climate. Online document.
