How can organizations effectively use High Reliability Teams to promote safety? High Reliability Teams have the ability to promote safety through task-relevant knowledge, high levels of communication, and adapting to the environment. Such teams are effective, social in nature and feature team members with high task interdependency and shared, common values. High Reliability Teams can promote safety at the workplace.
This CQ Dossier focuses on what constitutes an effective safety climate and how to improve workplace safety in general. Recent disasters such as the Grenfell Tower Fire incident illustrate the importance of safety in the work environment. At the Grenfell Tower, people escaped using a single staircase and while more than 65 people were rescued, an estimated 71 people died and countless others were injured. We draw on theory and research to describe how organizational practices can increase the level of workplace safety.
In two sessions, we interviewed Eric Barends, the Managing Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management (CEBMa). Eric is based in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and advises management teams and boards of companies and non-profit organizations on evidence-based management and development. In this first session Eric discusses the foundation of evidence-based management and its benefits in business.
In investigating accidents, most professionals determine that many of the reasons why they occur is due to human error. However, research shows that most accidents occur due to a failure in systems rather than people (Reason, 1990). This CQ Dossier describes how the utilization of a systems approach can reduce workplace accidents.
