The Safety of Work Ep.11 How are trade off decisions made between production and safety?
Jan 26, 2020
This discussion delves into the tangled trade-offs between safety and production in high-risk industries, particularly fishing. It examines how decision-making is influenced by operational goals and risk management. The importance of resilience over traditional safety measures is emphasized, along with the impact of performance-based payment systems. The need for effective simulation training in skill development and risk management is also highlighted, showcasing both its advantages and the challenges faced in implementation.
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Goal Conflict and Safety Boundaries
- Goal conflicts arise because safety boundaries are unclear, unlike cost or quality boundaries.
- This makes it easy to compromise safety under pressure from more concrete operational goals.
Production vs. Safety Trade-offs
- A lone worker lifting heavy equipment may call for help, increasing costs but avoiding a potential incident.
- NASA's Challenger postponement demonstrates the fuzzy boundary between cost and safety trade-offs.
Sea Fishing as a High-Risk Industry
- Researchers chose sea fishing for their study due to its high-risk nature, exemplified by the Torrey Canyon incident.
- The Torrey Canyon captain risked grounding his tanker to save time, highlighting the production-safety conflict.