It is easy to lose track of things in the jungle of safety requirements.
Safety clutter refers to the accumulation of safety procedures, documents, roles, and activities that are performed in the name of safety but do not contribute to operational safety. This not only leads to unnecessary costs and loss of time but also damages acceptance and fosters cynicism.
This article summarizes the key findings of a study by Rae et al. on this topic and provides practical tips on how to reduce safety clutter.
How Does Safety Clutter Arise?
The study identifies three main causes for the emergence of safety clutter:
- Duplication:
Several similar safety measures are carried out in parallel – without any additional safety benefit.
- Generalization:
Safety requirements that make sense in one context are applied to all situations, regardless of their relevance.
- Over-specification:
Good practices are unnecessarily converted into documented processes, making execution more complicated and time-consuming.
Safety clutter is also fueled by the fact that there are many regular or ad-hoc events, such as accidents or audits, that trigger an addition or expansion of safety requirements, but relatively few opportunities to withdraw or reduce them. Furthermore, it is easier – also psychologically – to add safety requirements than to reduce them.
Impact of Safety Clutter
In addition to loss of cost and productivity, safety clutter frustrates employees and impairs the flexibility required in complex work systems. The effects of safety clutter are:
- Confusion and frustration:
Too many rules can lead to confusion and frustration among employees.
- Reduced flexibility:
Too many rules make it difficult to adapt to different work situations.
- Loss of productivity:
Unnecessary safety measures cost time and money.
Recommendations for Reducing Safety Clutter
- Regular review:
It is advisable to regularly review existing safety measures and withdraw those that have no clear safety benefit. It helps to clarify the objective of the activities: Is it safety work, i.e., activities within organizations primarily aimed at managing safety, or the safety of work, which makes a real difference on-site? Rae and Provan divide safety into four areas (see figure):
1. Social safety to promote a safety culture,
2. Demonstrated safety to demonstrate safety to stakeholders,
3. Administrative safety, i.e., the creation of safety rules and processes, and
4. Physical safety, i.e., the actual change of the work environment.
To improve workplace safety, organizations can examine which of the above areas the activities belong to and whether the resources used are being utilized efficiently.
- Employee involvement:
Surveying employees, for example in the form of workshops, to determine which safety measures they consider unnecessary and which they find useful. - Evidence-based approaches:
Managers and safety professionals should develop a reflective and evidence-based approach to their work to avoid unnecessary safety activities.
Good to know
Safety clutter represents a significant challenge to the efficiency and effectiveness of workplace safety measures. Through a conscious and systematic reduction of unnecessary safety activities, companies can not only save costs but also strengthen the trust and personal responsibility of their employees.
Sources:
Rae, A.J., Provan, D.J., Weber, D.E. and Dekker, S.W.A., 2018. Safety Clutter: The accumulation and persistence of ‘safety’ work that does not contribute to operational safety. Safety Science Innovation Lab, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
Rae, A. and Provan, D., 2019. Safety work versus the safety of work. Safety Science, 111, pp. 119-127.
