First of all, we aren’t here to tell you how to get your people to make fewer mistakes. We would be making false promises and creating an unobtainable reality.
Ever heard of a thing called ‘human error’?
We’re human, and that means we make errors. Nothing will change that.
What we can do, however, is understand why mistakes are made and how we can increase the capacity for them to happen.
If we plan for people to slip up, the impact of any mistake is greatly reduced.
What is human error?
Quite simply it is an unintended or undesired action.
The question we will continue to pose it; undesired by who?
In 2008, NASA defined Human Error as above, but included that is “failure on the part of the human to perform a prescribed action within specified limits of accuracy, sequence, or time”.
A failure to do what was set out for them, and in doing so failing to achieve the desired outcome.
A mistake is actually defined as a type of human error; you made an incorrect judgement about the method to tackle your problem. If you make an error while carrying out the correct method of delivery, this is a slip.
The severity of the consequence is quite often what we focus on, and these can vary dramatically; from a spilt cup of coffee (not quite spilled milk) to Chernobyl. The more severe the consequence, the more focus we put on “whodunnit”.
The Science of Making Mistakes update by Cleartrack Performance
Why do they happen?
The list for why we experience human error is pretty extensive, and some are harder to mediate than others. It could be a lack of knowledge, technical capability, distractions, morale, ability, time, tools, unclear instructions, misunderstandings or stress.
When we are in a state of heightened stress, our brain works differently to when we are calm.
We may be more likely to act rashly, rush what we are doing, respond with emotions rather than logic. We could also be less likely to notice when things are going wrong as we just want to get things done and get out of there.
For those based on site, or at the “sharp end”, these errors can have pretty serious consequences. A rushed risk assessment or mechanical check can result in fatality. But for those based in an office, physical risk is much less; a spilled cup of coffee may leave you with a stained shirt.
The old adage
Control the Controllables
We can’t fix everything, but we can improve our own behaviour and impact.
To increase the capacity for human error, we need to look at where mistakes and slips are happening and why. And to do that, your people need to feel as though they can come forward when they have made an error.
Leadership needs to take responsibility for the pressure they are putting on projects. They also need to understand that while hurrying things along may benefit them, the increased stress levels on site will decrease the space for safe errors to be made.
Like we said, we’re humans so we are going to get things wrong. What we want is for people to be able to get things wrong safely, learn from them, and move forward so that they don’t happen again.
