Rail Professional Magazine (September 2021) Article: Risk it?…. or play it safe?
For over 30 years, the OPC has offered services to the rail industry. Its psychologists have a special interest in understanding why railway employees make errors and why they’re involved in safety incidents.
Risk anticipation is a common Non-Technical Skill (NTS) shortcoming, as evidenced by hundreds of Post-Incident Assessments (PIA) and development plans completed by OPC psychologists with rail employees in a variety of roles:
- Train Drivers,
- Conductors,
- Signallers, and
- Track Workers.
The Rail Professional magazine article published in September 2021, shares some of the insights learned from hundreds of PIAs and how better risk recognition, anticipation, and response could enhance safety performance.
OPC psychologists believe there are 3 different categorizations of risks in a safety-critical role:
| Personal risks: | Health and well-being issues like depression or anxiety or a bereavement. |
| Work risks: | Tiredness, shift patterns or disrupted routines e.g., a new stopping pattern. |
| Environmental risks: | Weather conditions e.g., heavy rain, snow, or low-light times. |
The article shares detail around 4 key insights from PIAs, that contribute to a good personal risk strategy.
- Planning for risks
- Undertaking dynamic risk assessments
- Recognising accumulating risks
- Different personal profiles around risk.
The article proposes some helpful initiatives for anticipating and managing risk better. Including promoting good personal risk management habits. A recommendation of immediate corrective action for risky behaviours. Post-incident re-training and risk reporting, as self-reporting or through whistle-blowing.
Alongside PIAs, the OPC offers an NTS development programme all about the NTS of risk awareness and risk management to support employees and managers. The OPC also recommends incorporating the Risk Anticipation & Time Focus Questionnaire (RTQ) as part of a talent acquisition process.
“The NTS of Risk Anticipation and Management are crucial for strong safety performance. An employee proactively anticipating, planning, and responding to risks is much less likely to have a safety incident. It’s important to recognise even small risks and their potential to accumulate. Planning for risks is planning for safety!”
Laura Hedley, Senior Occupational Psychologist, The OPC
If you'd like to read the article in full, click here.
If you think the friendly OPC team can help you with the NTS of risk anticipation or the recruitment and development of your safety-critical roles, then please contact us.