By Steven Geigle, CSHM - August 2006

I found this information while surfing the Department of Energy's website. Heads up: You, too, can find just about anything by "googling" .gov websites. You can adapt this information to help train change agents (safety committees, safety managers, etc) how to develop and deploy (D&D) effective safety management programs. So, read on!

In many cases, implementing organizations will find that the desired safety management system will require changes to existing employee values and behaviors. Desired values and behaviors are driven by the safety management system principles and functions. Changes in values can not be dictated and, if possible, can only be brought about by concerted effort directed toward changing behaviors. To the extent possible, leaders should involve workers in both formulation and implementation of the desired changes. To change behaviors, and ultimately values, it is necessary to do the following:

Clearly define the desired behaviors in terms that the target audience can fully understand and appreciate.
Establish consensus among the senior leadership regarding the desired behaviors and obtain their commitment to support the desired changes.
Identify any actions or changes on the part of senior leadership to achieve the desired behaviors and obtain their buy-in to these actions.
Identify existing organizational processes and behaviors that may be counter to the desired behaviors and develop actions to align existing processes and behaviors with new desired behaviors; take actions to eliminate or minimize the influence of forces that may be restraining achievement of the desired behaviors.
Clearly communicate the desired behaviors to the target audience, and provide training as needed for the audience to master the desired behaviors.
Encourage employees to ask questions to clarify intentions, and provide feedback and suggestions on achieving the desired behaviors. Be open to potential adjustments in expectations as a result of employee involvement and feedback.
Working with members of the target audience, develop the necessary tools and supporting structures and processes, so that the desired behaviors can be consistently performed.
Provide consistent, visible senior leadership attention and focus on new desired behaviors.
Align rewards and incentives programs with desired behaviors.
Provide positive reinforcement to employees performing desired behaviors, and not to employees who are not performing the desired behaviors.
Monitor performance and continue to provide direct, timely and specific feedback to employees regarding their behaviors.
Periodically evaluate progress toward institutionalizing the desired behaviors and take actions necessary to continue progress.
Communicate and train all new members, especially new leaders, on the desired behaviors, their objectives and bases.
Reiterate and repeat the steps above, as needed, for at least 5-7 years until the newly desired behaviors are well ingrained and institutionalized.

Principles of Adult Learning: Tips for Trainers

I ran across this information on adult learning principles in NIOSH Circular 9463. Safety trainers need to be familiar with and take advantage of adult learning principles to make sure training is most effective and also to conform to ANSI/AIHA Z490.1-2001, Criteria for Accepted practices in Safety, Health, and Environmental Training.

It is very important to understand and integrate the principles of adult learning in training the nation's workforce. In order to implement more effective and efficient methods, attention must be given to the worker population itself, and how it is that these individuals learn and respond to information. This includes, not only specific information on how adults learn, but also more recent research on the most effective teaching methods for different age groups. The adult population is evolving.

Age, ethnicity, culture, and social climate all influence the changing workforce
These changes require new ways of thinking about safety training

Traditional training is less and less effective for today's workers.

Most training is still done in lecture format
Lectures are not appropriate for adult learners today
Adults are more likely to forget lecture material than material gained through experience

Training should be headed in new directions.

Personal experience, group support, and mentoring are preferred over lectures
Group experiences are useful, in that they allow learners to assist each other in understanding material
Learners want to know how what they learn will be applied to workplace