The Brain-Centric Reliability™ System (BCR): A New Way to Understand and Use the Brain in Workplace Safety
A New Way to Understand and Use the Brain in Workplace Safety
Advances in how we understand the human brain have created new dimensions to workplace safety. Optimized right and the brain can be a catalyst for creating a world-class culture. When leadership understands how the brain operates they can adopt brain-centric protections related to human performance reliability including tools, technology, and key skills training.
A reason why leadership should focus on the brain is because it has become evident human factor play a significant role in serious injuries and fatalities.
- According to U.S. Bureau of Labor data, 71 percent of SIF events are directly connected to breakdowns in life-saving rules or processes and the low quality of pre-task risk assessments.
- DEKRA OSR findings show that Brain-Centered Hazards (precursors to performance error) commonly contribute to more than 80 percent of incidents and near misses.
The DEKRA OSR Brain-Centric Reliability™ System (BCR™ System) and its suite of interventions help an organization identify and address gaps related to human error.
SIFs result from a system that fails to address the natural infallibility of human behavior. To understand how human factors play a role in exposure requires going beyond just focusing on individual employees. Instead, through the BCR™ System, organizations can examine all aspects of the workplace and its processes when creating strategies designed to protect workers.
The Advantage of DEKRA OSR’s BCR™ System:
- It adds protective value to existing work processes by design.
- It offers sustainably safe and in-control operations.
- It transfers expertise to client SMEs.
- There is a reduction in performance variability across levels.
- The sustainability is embedded for continuity of change.
- Services are available globally for scalable intervention.
- BCR™ fits within existing systems and processes.
- Operationalizes human performance capabilities with leaders through frontline employees.
- DEKRA OSR has a proven track record of injury reduction, values-based decision-making, and building skills in human performance reliability.
What is the Focus?
The Brain-Centric Reliability™ System (BCR) focuses on three areas within an organization:
- Values-Based Alignment and Decision-Making. The organization prioritizes decisions to better ensure leaders, teams, and individuals make aligned and safe decisions when it really counts
- System Enhancement. The organization builds in defenses to guard against the Brain-Centered Hazards, which are pre-cursors to Human Performance Error. (Examples of these defenses: SOPs, Job Briefings and Event Learning/investigations that improve human performance reliability.)
- Skills to Improve Human Performance Reliability. Building leader, individual and team human performance capabilities for critical error reduction is key given that many people believe these errors only happen to “other people” and not themselves. Therefore they don’t make full use of existing performance tools like Take 5s, Stop Work, JSAs, and Job Briefings.
How Does it Work?
The BCR™ System is a suite of interventions organized in three categories: Organizational alignment, system enhancement, and skills to improve human performance reliability. Additionally, customized human performance improvement projects are welcomed within this system.
Organizational Alignment
Alignment to Guide Values-Based Decision Making- This intervention focuses on decision science and related system integration for improved decision quality and outcomes.
Understanding Brain-Centered Hazards™-This intervention allows executives and senior leaders to align their thinking on how human performance errors occur, and how to incorporate a brain-centric focus to safe operations as they look through the lens of human performance reliability.
Controlling Brain-Centered Hazards™- Supervisors and line managers learn practical application of human performance improvement actions to better support their teams for right-first-time performance.
System Enhancement:
Brain-Aligned SOPs™ Consultation- Internal SMEs focused on Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) development receive brief training on the principles of brain-alignment. They then practice applying brain-aligned design principles to improve selected sample SOPs or critical work documents. This consultation can make other tools, such as Checklists or Toolbox Talks, more reliable.
Brain-Activating Job Safety Briefings Consultation- This intervention improves reliability through pre-start optimization. Existing safety enabling processes like Job Briefings, JSAs, Safety Meetings, and Town Halls, are selected for review by internal SMEs as the team learns to address Brain-Centered Hazards.
Brain-Activating Job Training™ Consultation- This consultation improves the company or site’s approach to training and imparts capabilities for internal SMEs to design training that incorporates the neuroscience of learning and memory. It teaches neuro-facilitation skills as well, for strong science-based engagement and retention of training content.
Event Learning Consultation- This intervention shifts an organization’s role from “investigation” to “event learning” through the integration of human performance lines of inquiry that informs effective collaborative learning and action planning.
Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS)- DEKRA OSR’s world-class FRMS helps client organizations reduce fatigue risk at a customized pace and scope.
Human Machine Interface (HMI) Consultation- This consultation gives internal SMEs capabilities to address latent conditions regarding how employees interact with machinery or other technology. This work also includes the identification of relevant Brain-Centered Hazards within targeted critical work areas and allows the organization to better design work environments that allow employees to be safe and perform optimally.
Skills to Improve Human Performance Reliability:
The Making Safe Decisions® Approach- Four modules of human performance skills enhancement gives the workforce an opportunity to share in a common understanding of how to reduce their risk for error within critically important tasks. It also provides an understanding of the human brain as it relates to work tasks and allows employees to plan for reliability and to foster improved situational awareness and decision making.
Exposure Based Safety™ System (Human Performance Upgrade)- DEKRA OSR’s behavioral observation process is validated by Cambridge University as an effective exposure reduction intervention. Additional technology improvements have led to the creation of EBS™ including real-time exposure control tracking and related report out dashboards
Building Shiftwork Vitality™ Training- This brief training focuses on fatigue risk management. It also shows how sleep hygiene, the neuroscience of sleep, dietary choices and digestion, and shiftwork guidance will optimize performance results every day.