1. Risk Tolerance Factor # 10 Role Models Accepting Risk
Strategies for Understanding and Addressing
Risk Tolerance
Factor # 10 Role Models Accepting Risk
This presentation is 1 of 10 supporting packages for Lowering Risk Tolerance. This and the other 9 packages can be used at safety meetings, special meetings, group discussions etc. to communicate the details on how to address this influencing factor for risk tolerance. The ‘General’ presentation on Risk Tolerance should have already been provided before these individual modules are delivered.
This factor deals with Role Models Accepting Risk.

2. 10 Factors That Influence Risk Tolerance
Overestimating Capability/Experience
Familiarity with the Task
Seriousness of Outcome
Voluntary Actions and Being in Control
Personal Experience with an Outcome
Cost of Non-Compliance
Confidence in the Equipment
Confidence in Protection and Rescue
Potential Profit & Gain from Actions
Role Models Accepting Risk
Factor #10 – The level of risk accepted by our role models and mentors will directly impact the level of risk we as individuals are prepared to accept. The actions and risk acceptance of the role models can impact an entire work group’s acceptance of risk.
The level of risk accepted by our role models and mentors will impact our own level of risk acceptance.

3. Role Models Accepting Risk
A ‘role model’ can include:
A more senior worker
An individual that the work group turns to for the answers
Informal leader in the group
Individual respected by the work group
Individual in a position of authority
To address this risk tolerance factor it is important to know who area the role models for a work group. For the purpose of this risk tolerance factor a ‘role model’ could be:
A senior worker in the group who has been in the position for a long time and is viewed as an individual who ‘knows how things are really done around here’. The position of role model may have evolved purely from time in the position
There is usually an individual or two in any work group who is viewed as the ‘go to person’ when there is an issue or problem. They are the ones seen to have the answers for the tough question and will also be the ‘go to person’ when there is a safety decision to be made ... regardless of authority level.
Every group has an informal leader. This position of leadership may not have been assigned by management but rather has evolved due to the group dynamics. This informal leadership role may be related to seniority or expertise.
Similar to point 3, there may be an individual who has the respect of the group for whatever reason. It may be a cultural or social respect, it may be due to expertise, it may be due to a particular action they are known for.
A person in a position of authority may be viewed as a role model. The supervisors actions and methods may be those adopted by the group. Some cultures naturally view the supervisor as a role model or the supervisor may be viewed as a role model for exhibiting some of the other characteristics addresses above.
It is important that we know who are the role models for a work group whether the status is assigned or naturally evolved. For the purpose of addressing risk tolerance, we must understand the risk tolerance of the individuals assigned as mentors to new workers. In a 2008 safety perception survey conducted in our company, there were two questions asked that show why we must be very selective with choosing mentors for newer workers. The first question asked was “Are experienced workers chosen to mentor new workers?” More than 90% of workers answered ...yes. The second question asked was “Are safe workers chosen to mentor new workers?” The positive answers were less than 60%. This shows that experienced mentors are not always the best safety role models.

4. Role Models Accepting Risk
A role model’s behaviour and the way they do a task will be viewed by others as the acceptable way of doing it.
The role model’s method will often be viewed as the method that has an acceptable level of risk.
“I didn’t know how it was done around here so I just watched my mentor”
This risk tolerance factor impacts safety on two levels.
First, the way a role model conducts themselves and does a task can be viewed as the way the task should be done with no thought and no conscious decision made about the risk. It is just ‘accepted’ as the ‘norm’ and not questioned. This can happen over time and leads to ‘erosion of standards’ (see EMFOS –Module 5 Managing Personnel Performance Issues for details on Erosion of Standards). The actions of the role model become the group ‘norm’ and ‘the way it is done around here’ with no thought to the risk associated with it.
Second, even in those situations where the risk of doing a task may be questionable, once a role model has done the task in that particular manner and no incident has occurred, that now becomes the accepted level of risk. The justification is “If he or she can do it that way and no incident occurred, the rest of us can do it that way and will not have an incident either”. There may have been no incident from ‘luck’, slightly different circumstances or the causal factors just have not yet lined up. (See EMFOS Module 1 for an explanation of the Safety Filters model of incident causation).
“It didn’t seem like the safe way but that’s the way he does it so I assume he is doing it the way that is the safest”

5. Role Models Accepting Risk
Strategies for addressing situations where role models accept a higher level of risk:
Know who the role models are in the group:
Assess the group dynamics to identify the informal role models
Identify those who have formal roles as group leaders
Assess the risk acceptance of senior workers
Assign mentors that have a proven record of low risk tolerance
If we are going to address this risk tolerance factor, the first step is to know who the role models are in the work group. To do this a supervisor needs to know his or her workers. They need to be able to assess the work group and determine who in the group sets the standards. The person with the formal authority in the group may not be the role model and this difference must be identified.
The mentor assigned to train a new worker must be a safe worker as well as an experienced worker. The new work (a truck driver shown in the bottom photo) needs to be trained by a mentor that will demonstrate the safe and low risk methods for doing a job, a task, operating equipment, etc.

6. Role Models Accepting Risk
Strategies for addressing situations where role models accept a higher level of risk:
3. Identify situations where ‘Erosion of Standards’ has occurred.
Immediately address situations where the role models have taken unacceptable risks.
Reinforce the behaviour of role models when it demonstrates the correct and safe practices.
3) Erosion of standards is the slow creep over time where a standard becomes ‘loose’ or ‘watered down’ and is no longer being followed as prescribed. This can happen on simple things like how hand tools are used and cared for or it can be a complex technical procedure where short cuts are gradually introduced over time and then become the norm. Behaviour observations using the procedure, standard or JSA as the touchstone can help identify where the common practice has drifted from the standard.
4) Behaviour observations should be conducted on all workers ...including the experienced and senior workers, to determine if short cuts have been introduced to the task over time. The observation process allows for the immediate feedback on the process.
5) Use Behaviour observations to reinforce when the role models and mentors are demonstrating the lower risk methods for doing a task or job.

7. Exercise and Discussion on “Role Models Accepting Risk”
Have you every experienced a situation where you have seen a more senior worker engaged in a task that you thought was being done unsafely?
How would you address that situation? Would it be an easy discussion to have? Why? Why not?
Can you identify a standard in our work place where you believe we are not following the standard as it was prescribed?
What safety processes or tools are at our disposal to help us approach others and address situations where we believe a role model or mentor is accepting risks that may be too high.
The intent of this slide is to generate a group discussion on very specific issues in this work place where this Risk Tolerance Factors may be an issue. Action items to address these should be documented with responsibilities and timing defined.
What are we going to do about these?

8. Stop and Think ...
Am I setting the right example as a role model and mentor in my work group?