I suspect you've completed behavioural safety training at some time
The successful (American as it happens) "Safestart" programme used in industry teaches principles that your post instantly reminded me of.
I’d not heard of the safe start approach but a quick read over the four core constituents are entirely complimentary to all this. I like the sentiments. Thanks for sharing this.
At risk of boring you; the medical profession has become invested in human factors in recent years. This has been helped by the aviation industry in particular but also in F1 racing where the focus is on both safety and performance and how teams can achieve both. Malcolm Gladwell talks about this in his book ‘Outliers’ in a more generic sense and Atul Gawande talks about human factors in healthcare.
Theatres (or operating rooms for USA) and the intensive care unit are natural starting points for transferred learning from these industries due to the sensitivity of the work but it has found its way into pretty much all disciplines within medicine. The work of Martin Bromiley (himself a pilot) has been central to this, inspired sadly by the tragic case of his wife.
When I was working a surgical job it was standard practice to take a pause before inducting the patient or lifting a scalpel. Anyone could initiate it which meant that the practice transcended heirarchy. In the delivery suite there were signs on the door prompting a ‘second look’ (less well known but equally as applicable) - infering that a single clinician - again regardless of role - who is working for long periods alone with the same clinical task can become blinded to subtle changes in a CTG or loose sight of a small but meaningful change in the patient’s condition. A second look welcomed colleagues to ask about these things in a gentle but direct way. There was no blame but instead there was a shared focus on safety. In the ED resuscitation rooms a similar practice was taken and it would often be the healthcare assistant / auxiliary nurse who initiated it again transcending hierarchy. In ITU during resuscitation there was a calm, considered approach to the scenario which was essentially the team’s attitude as a whole rather than one person. I’ve had student nurses speak up with a concern and have seen them listened too by the team as a whole. I've seen the opposite too. Gladwell talks about this in terms of direct V mitigated speech patterns as well as the concept of a ‘sterile cockpit’ during the critical phases of flight (as I understand it - take off and landing).
Nowadays (promisingly) undergraduates are being taught complimentary soft skills to help prepare them for the workplace. There has been a shift from the medical curriculum being fact based to being more about how knowledge can be applied in a safe and optimised way. The fundamental point here is entraining an attitude that wants to maintain safety rather than the archaic attitude that the most senior clinician is right. This sadly has led to multiple failures.
Far from being a well meaning sentiment these practices have led to an enduring shift in how safety and time-critical practices are implemented. Such things are now written into national and local guidelines as well as shaping basic mandated training irrespective of job role.
This is a paradigm shift from the times where individuals have tried in vain to change the attitude of healthcare as an industry. When Lister tried to get physicians to wash their hands c.1860 he was met with indignance. Semmelweis tried a similar approach and was actually ahead of Lister in suggesting mandated hand washing. He was dismissed from his job even when the rate of death from puerperal fever (a major cause of maternal / neonatal mortality) fell from 20% to less than 1%
TLR - It’s the same when working alone in a workshop. Being mindful of one’s own limitations and frame of mind is as important / more important as knowing how to turn the blasted machine on. In being mindful we’re exercising the cumulative practices of the most forward thinking industries and creating a safe environment in which to enjoy our hobbies. All these practices can be applied to the home workshop!
Sorry for the long post.
Further Reading if interested!
Martin Bromiley
'The Story of Elaine Bromiley'
Atul Gawande
'On Washing Hands'
Atul Gawande
'Slow Ideas'
Malcolm Gladwell
'Outliers'
