One of the discussions we have frequently at Safety Leadership courses is about the impossibility of supervisors to be permanently present to supervise the way operators work and ensure that everyone returns home healthy.

Occupational safety in companies that have extensive production areas requires the existence of “a culture of several safety eyes”. This is the culture of mutual care, the culture in which employees do not stop at identifying and reporting dangerous conditions and behaviors, but also intervene to stop them.

What is and why is the Authority to Stop Work useful.

Frontline workers are the employees with the most experience and expertise in the work environment. They are often the first to notice potential risks or unsafe working conditions before they lead to accidents, sometimes fatal.

According to statistics provided by the Labor Inspectorate of Romania, in the first 9 months of 2023, 3361 accidents with temporary incapacity for work and 43 accidents resulting in death at work occurred in Romania.

Perhaps many of these accidents could have been prevented if workers had used authority to stop dangerous work and their managers had supported them.

The Stop Work Authority (SWA) is an internal policy by which organizations increase occupational safety and protect the well-being of employees and the company.

It entered Romania through international companies, following the legal norms of the USA and Canada and the policy mentioned in the OSHA 1926.1418 standard.

Law Romanian provides that:

“the state of serious and imminent danger of injury may be ascertained by any worker of the enterprise and/or establishment, worker of the external prevention and protection service with which the enterprise and/or unit has concluded a contract, as well as by labor inspectors. “‘He must immediately inform the employer and/or designated workers of any work situation which they have reasonable grounds for considering to be a danger to the safety and health of workers, as well as of any shortcomings in protection systems;” (L 319.2006, Art. 23, paragraph d.)

However, the law is vague and does not mention specifically who in the organization has the authority to stop work or equipment, nor whether this person is protected from possible negative consequences:

“Upon finding the state of serious and imminent danger of injury, the following security measures will be taken immediately: … ”(GD 1425).

SWA policy allows workers to manage occupational safety in real time, in all unsafe or dangerous work situations with a high risk of accident. It is a practical approach, without discussion, without expectation and with immediate measures.

The Stop Work Authority helps prevent losses, protects people, equipment, and the environment, increases profitability and social impact, and improves a company’s reputation.

Concretely, employees at all levels of management are given the responsibility, power, and obligation to stop work when they see an imminent danger that may harm them or their colleagues or cause damage to the environment or equipment.

This empowerment encourages a sense of responsibility and cultivates a culture where safety is everyone’s concern, not just the responsibility of the direct boss or EHS department.

When employees are empowered with the Authority to Stop Work, they are more likely to assume their own safety and the safety of colleagues. Its application develops a pro-active mentality in terms of early identification of hazards, encourages employees to continuously assess risks and immediately take the necessary preventive measures.

The implementation of SWA fosters a culture of trust and collaboration that develops the psychological safety necessary for them to report safety issues without fear of retaliation or negative consequences.

The Stop Work Authority provides an opportunity to thoroughly investigate identified issues and implement necessary control measures. At the same time, it facilitates organizational learning and continuous improvement.

When and how to use the Authority to Stop Work

For example, below we have listed some examples of practical situations in which workers are encouraged to use the Stop Work Authority to prevent accidents:

• You observe a colleague or contractor operating a machine without wearing proper PPE. You stop work and explain to your colleague the danger he is exposing himself to. He puts on his protective gear and resumes work safely.
• You notice a crane lifting a load above some workers. You stop work, evacuate the area, notify the crane operator, and make sure the danger is removed.
• You observe a colleague working at height without being secured or using a makeshift ladder. You stop work, explain the danger to your colleague and make sure they resume work using an appropriate ladder and make sure they have their lifeline.
• You detect a strong smell of chemicals in the air. You stop work, evacuate the area and immediately notify your superiors for investigation.
• You notice a spill of hazardous substances or a wet floor in a traffic area. You stop work and signal the area. As much as possible, clean the spill to prevent people from slipping and falling.

Workers are often unaware of the dangers around them or hesitate to exercise their authority to stop work due to fear of retaliation, peer pressure, or a desire not to lose production.

Procedural steps

The procedure explaining how SWA is applied generally involves 7 procedural steps:

Step 1. Stop work immediately when you perceive a dangerous situation. Do not resume work until appropriate control measures have been taken.

Step 2. Notify your supervisor and EHS representative of the action to stop working. Explain what you saw and why you stopped working.

Step 3. Investigates the situation and agrees with those involved the resumption or suspension of works until the risk is reduced, as well as specific measures.

Step 4. Implement appropriate measures to eliminate or reduce the hazard. Check that the actions are effective and do not create new hazards.

Step 5. Resume work after making sure that those involved comply with the measures taken and agree to continue.

Step 6. Monitor and document the situation, verify that control measures are working, and report problems or new concerns that arise.

Step 7. Learn and popularize. Share your experience and lessons learned, both directly and through safety alerts generated by the EHS department.

Easy to say, but not as easy to do.

 Challenges in application

 Human nature, the level of education and the specifics of organizational culture are important factors influencing the decision to exercise responsibility and obligation to stop work when there is an imminent risk of injury. This makes the implementation imagined in the office does not match the reality on the ground.

The effective implementation and use of SWA involves overcoming multiple personal and organizational barriers. Here are some of them:

• Managerial pressure leads people to take risks to meet a production goal.
• The observer puts production and machinery above his own safety unconsciously and unreasonably.
• Peer pressure not to speak is a practice accepted and encouraged by the group.
• Risky behaviors are evaluated subjectively because the observer has worked in a similar manner previously without injury.
• The person observing the situation may feel that they do not have the authority to intervene in that situation when it comes to a superior or a contractor worker, even if they are at risk of injury.
• The observer may not perceive the situation or action as dangerous because he does not have the necessary expertise.
• The observer does not believe that the person with dangerous behavior is not aware of the risk and is working without taking that risk.

When people find themselves in groups of three or more people, they may feel less responsibility to get involved. When the observer is unsure of the situation, he looks around to see what others are doing. When no one takes any action, he may assume that others may have already done so, or that the situation probably does not warrant any action on his part.

The diffusion of responsibility is known in psychology as the Spectator Effect. Research in social psychology shows that the Spectator Effect is greatly influenced by two factors: the first is the presence of other people, and the second is the need for people to behave in ways that are fair and socially acceptable.

Even though stopping work can have negative consequences for production, the observer is not always sure that his managers will interpret the situation in the same way and will not apply punitive measures.

The reasons why people hesitate to stop dangerous work differ from person to person, from organization to organization. For illustration, I list here a collection of reasons mentioned by the participants I had in the Safety Leadership courses:

• They are afraid of consequences from bosses and colleagues.
• How do I shut down the whole plant/process/factory?
• I don’t want to embarrass myself.
• They don’t want to take responsibility in writing for anything.
• Not all employees have technical arguments, are not prepared for the job they work in, do not have logic, and do not understand how the processes and machines they operate work.
• It is not clear who and what should do, from where to where.
• Some people are simply lazy.
• Some abuse this authority for personal gain or revenge
• We think we’re smarter than we are.
• Production will always be more important in this firm.
• There are many filters. There are differences in education and different perspectives, given by age.
• Relationships with bosses and colleagues, false or true stories influence them.
• It is a mistrust that this policy is true and that there are no consequences.
• There is a lack of clear procedure and motivating training on how to use it.
• In the group, they are ashamed.
• People don’t know the risks. No learning, just signing up the attendance of the training. Too few realize the dangers to which they expose themselves.

As you can see, “the situation is complex and full of aspects.”

Thinking about technological progress, I wonder to what extent can Artificial Intelligence (AI) help us overcome these mentalities and fear? Certainly, some degree of automation accompanied by AI helps in situations that require quick and determined intervention that human workers cannot provide.

AI can provide workers with alerts and intervene in real-time to reduce hazards and avoid accidents.

Good implementation practices

In order to effectively implement a Stop Work Authority program, it is good to consider a few things.

First, the policy must be approved by the CEO at executive committee level and proceeded with the help of HR and HSE. It is useful to ask for contributions and the consent of the unions or employee representatives.

Studies show that most workers do not want to initiate work stoppages when they notice unsafe or dangerous situations. The main reason reported is fear: fear of trying something new, fear of retaliation, fear of making mistakes. This fear may lead them to decide to wait for someone else to act.

Recognizing and rewarding people using the procedure can help increase the number of workers who will exercise this responsibility.

If an employee or contract worker takes responsibility and exercises their right to stop work when they notice an unsafe situation or behavior, they need the formal and informal support of colleagues and managers.

The content, method, and quality of training are critical to ensuring the success of the program. Educating the reaction of colleagues and bosses to stopping work by a colleague makes a difference and greatly influences the results.

Enrolling employees in the program requires good internal communication and must be supported by a mix of means: SWA ambassadors, situational role play training, internal promotion of key program messages, personalized cards, banners, etc

Reality beats the managerial scenario. Studies show that we live in a country where 40% of high school graduates are functionally illiterate, meaning they do not understand what they read. In the last year I had 3 participants in classes who did not know how to write. We are working with more and more foreign workers, who do not speak Romanian or English.

Instructions and messages must be clear and easy to understand, and the materials used must ensure good visibility and consistency of the program.

For it to function properly, an SWA program must have clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each managerial level: senior management, shift leaders, team leaders and supervisors, managers, the HSE department, company operators and contractors.

Documenting them in writing helps to understand what is coming and ensures the operation of the program according to the intention declared at launch.

The policy and procedures must be communicated to all workers and stakeholders from the outset. Clear communication of the benefits of using SWA and recognition of the contribution of workers exercising their rights and responsibilities encourages the use of authority.

The program must also include a protocol for resolving conflicts of opinion related to actions to stop work, corrective actions, or the decision to resume work. The final decision regarding such conflict rests with senior management and HSE managers who are not associated with the conflict.

A clearly defined protocol allows for prompt resolution of the conflict and transmission to the organization of a message of re-confirmation and consolidation of the program.

Another factor for success is stimulating the desire for involvement from all employees and building psychological safety, confidence that there will be no negative consequences.

Finally

The Stop Work Authority is a powerful tool to support efforts to ensure worker safety in any workplace and has multiple benefits:

1. prevents losses.
2. promotes participation and accountability for the safety of each person in the team.
3. amplifies HSE 7/24 efforts.
4. contributes to the recovery of organizational culture.
5. increases employee engagement and satisfaction.
6. stimulates organizational and individual learning.
7. helps reduce accidents, injuries, and fatalities.

Hoping that the information in the article is useful, the Corporate Dynamics Team will want to get to work and will assure you of its support for implementation. We look forward to hearing from you.