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Facilitator’s
Guide
UNSAFE
ACTS

 Copyright - All Rights Reserved

 Unsafe Acts

CONTENTS

Introduction to the Facilitator’s Guide 3

Introduction to the Video Program; Unsafe Acts 4

Transcript of Video Program 5

Part 1 - Definition of an Unsafe Act 11

Part 2 - Causes of Unsafe Acts 12

Part 3 - Outcomes from Unsafe Acts 13

Part 4 - Reducing Unsafe Acts 14

Assessment 15

Answers 17

2
INTRODUCTION TO THE FACILITATOR’S GUIDE

Unsafe Acts

The aim of this Facilitator’s Guide, when used in conjunction with the Video
program, is to provide the facilitator with discussion points important to the overall
development of the program and to allow participants the opportunity of
discussing the impact the program may have on current work practices and
whether in fact changes may be required.

The time allocated to the program will be determined by which areas are seen as
important to each Organisation, the time taken to develop the points made in the
program and whether other data specific to your own environment is included in
addition to, or instead of, the program examples.

EACH FACILITATOR SHOULD CAREFULLY READ THE GUIDE DISCUSSION

NOTES SUGGESTED AND PREPARE THEIR OWN INPUT ACCORDINGLY.

The program transcript is included to allow your Organisation to fully research the
program content and develop specific examples critical to the performance of
your own workforce.

Where the Video program is made available to small or remote sections of your
Organisation, some other examples or discussion points may be preferred to suit
the needs of these people and if so, should be developed prior to distribution of
the program. Maximum benefit will then be obtained by your people.

All information included in the Facilitator’s Guide may be copied and distributed
with the exception of the transcript of the Video program. Any information which
is copied or distributed must only be used internally by the Organisation which
purchased the guide.

SCREEN SHOT FROM THE VIDEO PROGRAM

3
INTRODUCTION TO THE VIDEO PROGRAM

Duration: 15 minutes

Unsafe acts contribute to many accidents and injuries and must be addressed
as an important safety issue. Arguably it is the single most important safety
issue that exists.

Fundamental to the management of workplace health and safety is the

identification, assessment and control of hazards. This means that in an effort
to reduce accidents and injuries consideration is given to many things, such
as

• Workplace design and layout

• Provision of appropriate guards and interlocks
• Written safe work procedures
• Availability of required personal protective equipment
• Appropriate signage and labeling
And so on.

But, despite all of this, accidents and injuries still occur. Many of which occur
as a direct or indirect result of unsafe acts.

This program examines all the key issues associated with unsafe acts in the
workplace.

Included in the program are the following:

• A definition of the term, Unsafe Acts

• The factors or causes which lead to Unsafe Acts
• Outcomes of Unsafe Acts, and
• A strategy to reduce the number of Unsafe Acts that occur.

Creating and maintaining a workplace culture that addresses the need to

reduce the number of Unsafe Acts that occur is not an easy task to achieve.
It requires a combination of appropriate levels of education and training,
enforcement of safety standards, encouragement and good leadership.

A reduction in the number of Unsafe Acts will result in a reduction in the

number of accidents, injuries and illnesses.

4
TRANSCRIPT OF THE VIDEO PROGRAM

Unsafe Acts

© Copyright Safetycare. All rights reserved

Not only is it fair to say that the identification, assessment and control of
hazards is fundamental to the management of workplace safety it is also a
legal and moral obligation for every organisation to have a safe workplace.

This means that in an effort to reduce accidents and injuries consideration is

given to many things, such as:

• Workplace design and layout

• The provision of appropriate guards and interlocks
• Written safety procedures
• Availability of required personal protective equipment
• Appropriate signage and labeling
• Access to Material Safety Data Sheets
• Regular safety training sessions

And so on.

But, despite all of this, accidents and injuries still occur. Many of which occur
as a direct or indirect result of unsafe acts.

It is however an area of some controversy just how the subject of unsafe acts
fits into the overall picture of how safety should be managed in the workplace.

There are two views.

One takes the position that unsafe acts contribute to the large majority of all
accidents and therefore the way to improve safety is to concentrate on the
principle of observing people performing their job tasks and then use,
amongst other things, positive reinforcement to encourage safe behaviour.

The other view is that unsafe acts can still be best controlled by utilizing what
is commonly referred to as the hierarchy of hazard control measures.

This view is based on the premise that a safe working environment is the
obvious starting point to reduce accidents and injuries and that unsafe acts
that aren’t a result of unsafe conditions can be best controlled by adopting
administrative control measures such as appropriate training and the
development of effective safe work procedures.

Regardless of the view it is an undeniable fact that unsafe acts do contribute

to many accidents and injuries. So, let’s start our look at unsafe acts by first
defining exactly what an unsafe act is.

5
Definition of an Unsafe Act

An unsafe act is an intentional or unintentional violation of an established safe

work practice, procedure, method or system.

So, what causes unsafe acts, ……. what are the factors that lead to unsafe
acts occurring in the workplace?

Causes of Unsafe Acts

Arguably the most common cause can be categorized as indifference.

In these situations safe methods are known but individuals simply choose to
ignore them.

Examples can include such things as:

• Not using proper manual handling techniques
• Not obtaining an appropriate work permit
• Not wearing required personal protective equipment
And so on.

The other large group of causes of unsafe acts can be categorized under the
heading of a lack of knowledge

This lack of knowledge can come from a number of different sources including
inexperience but is predominantly a result of a lack of job training.

Lack of knowledge also comes into play when people perform jobs that they
are neither trained, certified nor authorised to carry out. The unauthorized use
of a forklift is a common example of this.

Associated with the lack of knowledge or training is poor work habits.

Familiarity and repetition of a particular job task sometimes leads to the

formation of poor work habits.

Poor work habits can not only develop over a period of time, they can also
result from the setting of poor examples. For instance, new employees may
pick up bad habits from more experienced employees.

As well as these large groups of causes of unsafe acts that we have just
looked at there are a number of other causes.

A lack of concentration is another common factor contributing to unsafe acts.

Pressures of work, personal problems, daydreaming, becoming involved in

conversation and so on can all take your mind off the job.

6
Physical limitations of individuals may be an important factor. People with
poor eyesight, impaired hearing, poor physical health or simply people who do
not have the required physical strength may well be unsuited for particular job
tasks.

And even individuals who are physically suited to a particular task can suffer
from fatigue.

Fatigue is a proven contributory factor in many accidents.

The desire to complete a task quickly is another recognized cause of unsafe

acts.

So too is laziness. Both laziness and haste frequently lead to short cuts
being taken.

Clowning around in the workplace is another common cause of workplace

accidents.

Losing control of your emotions, particularly losing your temper can also lead
to workplace accidents occurring.

The effects of alcohol, drugs and medicines can result in an altered conscious
state that in turn can be a contributory factor in some accidents and injuries.

And finally, deliberate malicious or criminal acts or acts of sabotage.

So, in summary, the causes for unsafe acts occurring are:

• Indifference
• Lack of knowledge
• Poor work habits
• Lack of concentration
• Physical limitations and fatigue
• Haste
• Laziness
• Horseplay
• Loss of emotional control
• Altered consciousness, and
• Deliberate malicious or criminal acts.

A total of eleven main causes, all of which can or do lead to unsafe acts. The
two most prominent groups being acts of indifference and acts resulting from
a lack of knowledge.

Outcomes from Unsafe Acts

So, we know what the causes or the factors are that lead to unsafe acts, but
what are the outcomes?

7
The most common outcome is nothing at all. The vast majority of unsafe acts
do not lead to any immediate adverse effects.
However, a small percentage of unsafe acts will result or contribute to
accidents that lead to injuries and or damage to equipment and goods.

And some unsafe acts will have cumulative consequences that can lead to
long-term health related problems. For example, not wearing required
hearing protection could lead to hearing problems and of course not using
proper manual handling techniques could lead to back related problems.

Reducing Unsafe Acts

It is clear that unsafe acts occur regularly in every workplace, and the more
unsafe acts that occur the more likely serious accidents and long-term health
problems will result.

So, the obvious question that arises is “How do we reduce the number of
unsafe acts and hence reduce the number of resulting accidents, injuries and
illnesses?”

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. And in reality the only logical solution
is to concentrate on a combination of three measures:

• Maintaining and implementing appropriate engineering control

measures
• Maintaining and implementing appropriate administrative control
measures, and
• Modifying people’s behaviour and improving their attitude towards
safety

Measure number one, engineering controls, is all about making the working
environment physically as safe as possible.

It is obviously critical from an organisation’s point of view that all the potential
hazards that exist on site have been identified assessed and whenever
necessary suitable engineering control measures have been put in place.

This measure won’t in itself prevent unsafe acts from occurring but it will
reduce the likelihood that unsafe acts will result in serious accidents and
injuries.

Administrative controls on the other hand have a much more direct link with
unsafe acts.

Administrative controls include such things as:

• The preparation of written safe work procedures
• The provision of appropriate training
• The provision of signs and labels, and
• Such things as introducing additional work breaks

8
In effect this means that administrative controls set the standards by which an
organisation handles many of its safety issues.

It provides the structure to supply both the knowledge and the education
necessary for people to work safely.

But, both engineering controls and administrative controls together won’t

properly address the issue of unsafe acts.

The other factor that must be addressed to minimize the occurrence of unsafe
acts is of course the human factor.

People’s behaviour and their attitudes towards safety issues have a huge
impact on the number of unsafe acts that occur. Particularly on the group of
unsafe acts we described earlier as acts of indifference.

When people choose to violate a safe work practice, procedure, method,

system or rule the spoken or unspoken justification is often one of the
following:

• It’s too complicated

• It takes too long
• It’s outdated
• It doesn’t apply to me
• It’s wrong
• It’s unnecessary, or
• It’s just as safe doing it the way I’ve always done it.

The question this raises is “How can people be convinced to be committed to

follow safe work practices and procedures, …. All the time?”

The answer starts by having in place safety practices and procedures that are
seen by the majority of the workforce as being both reasonable and
necessary.

This is not difficult to achieve when dealing with safety issues that present an
immediate physical threat, such as dealing with toxic chemicals.

The natural human reaction of self preservation reinforces the need to

approach these obvious physical threats with caution.

The major difficultly arises with practices and procedures that relate to
activities where no immediate physical injury is considered, either consciously
or sub-consciously, as a likely outcome.

With these situations people have to be educated to appreciate the potential

risks that may exist and why a particular practice or procedure has been put in
place

9
Acceptance of safe work methods must be an organisation wide commitment
and encouragement for everyone to adhere to the safe work methods must be
given.

Safety attitudes in the workplace can and do change.

One example that illustrates this point very well is the general acceptance by
people to wear personal protective equipment, particularly hard hats and
safety glasses or goggles

It was not many years back when the wearing of hard hats and glasses was a
real safety issue in many organisations.

People were educated on the advantages of wearing the equipment, they

were encouraged and in many cases even forced to comply with the
requirements.

The end result was a widespread behavioural change that has in turn led to a
widespread attitude change.

Few people these days would argue the value of a hard hat and safety
glasses and few would breach a safe work practice by not wearing them for
required tasks.

Creating and maintaining a workplace culture that will encourage people to

continually follow safe work practices and procedures is not an easy task.

It requires appropriate levels of education and training, enforcement of safety

standards, encouragement and good leadership.

It is however a goal that is worth striving for as the end result will be a
significant reduction in the number of unsafe acts that occur.

This in turn will result in fewer accidents and injuries and will produce a
measurable decrease in risk exposure.

Unsafe acts do contribute to many accidents and injuries and must be

addressed as an important safety issue.

Arguably it is the single most important safety issue that exists.

10
PART ONE
DEFINITION OF AN UNSAFE ACT

An unsafe act is an intentional or unintentional violation of an

established safe work practice, procedure, method or system.

Not only is it fair to say that the identification, assessment and control of
hazards is fundamental to the management of workplace safety it is also a
legal and moral obligation for every organisation to have a safe workplace.

This means that in an effort to reduce accidents and injuries consideration is

given to many things, such as:

• Workplace design and layout

• The provision of appropriate guards and interlocks
• Written safety procedures
• Availability of required personal protective equipment
• Appropriate signage and labeling
• Access to Material Safety Data Sheets
• Regular safety training sessions

And so on.

DISCUSSION

Discuss the following question with participants.

1. Discuss the definition of an unsafe act – what are some examples?

11
PART TWO
CAUSES OF UNSAFE ACTS

Arguably the most common cause can be categorized as indifference. In

these situations safe methods are known but individuals simply choose to
ignore them.

Examples can include such things as:

• Not using proper manual handling techniques
• Not obtaining an appropriate work permit
• Not wearing required personal protective equipment
And so on.

The other large group of causes of unsafe acts can be categorized under the
heading of a lack of knowledge. This lack of knowledge can come from a
number of different sources including inexperience but is predominantly a
result of a lack of job training. Lack of knowledge also comes into play when
people perform jobs that they are neither trained, certified nor authorised to
carry out. The unauthorized use of a forklift is a common example of this.

Along with the 2 main causes, other causes for unsafe acts occurring are:

• Poor work habits

• Lack of concentration
• Physical limitations and fatigue
• Haste
• Laziness
• Horseplay
• Loss of emotional control
• Altered consciousness, and
• Deliberate malicious or criminal acts.

DISCUSSION

Discuss the following question with participants.

1. What examples have you seen of indifference with regard to unsafe

acts occurring?

12
PART THREE
OUTCOMES FROM UNSAFE ACTS

So, we know what the causes or the factors are that lead to unsafe acts, but
what are the outcomes?

The most common outcome is nothing at all.

The vast majority of unsafe acts do not lead to any immediate adverse effects.
However, a small percentage of unsafe acts will result or contribute to
accidents that lead to injuries and or damage to equipment and goods.

And some unsafe acts will have cumulative consequences that can lead to
long-term health related problems. For example, not wearing required hearing
protection could lead to hearing problems and of course not using proper
manual handling techniques could lead to back related problems.

DISCUSSION

Discuss the following question with participants.

1. Discuss examples of potentially cumulative consequences that can

lead to long-term health related problems.

13
PART FOUR
REDUCING UNSAFE ACTS

It is clear that unsafe acts occur regularly in every workplace, and the more
unsafe acts that occur the more likely serious accidents and long-term health
problems will result.

So, the obvious question that arises is “How do we reduce the number of
unsafe acts and hence reduce the number of resulting accidents, injuries and
illnesses?”

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. And in reality the only logical solution
is to concentrate on a combination of three measures:

• Maintaining and implementing appropriate engineering control

measures
• Maintaining and implementing appropriate administrative control
measures, and
• Modifying people’s behaviour and improving their attitude
towards safety

DISCUSSION

Discuss the following with participants.

1. What are some engineering control measures in your workplace that

are in place to aid the reduction of unsafe acts?

14
 ASSESSMENT – UNSAFE ACTS

Name: ……………………………………………

Date: …………………………………………….

I.D. (if applicable): …………………………………

Score

1. What is an unsafe act?

a) A violation of an established safe work procedure or practice

b) A damaged piece of equipment
c) Poor workplace design
d) Regular safety training sessions

2. What is an example of an unsafe act caused by indifference?

a) Not using proper manual handling techniques

b) Not obtaining an appropriate work permit
c) Not wearing required personal protective equipment
d) All of the above

3. Lack of knowledge causes unsafe acts when people perform jobs that
____.

a) They have done before

b) They are not trained or authorised to do
c) They don’t like doing
d) Involve heavy lifting

4. Familiarity with or repetition of a job task can lead to ____.

a) Poor work habits

b) A safer workplace
c) Inexperience
d) A loss of emotional control

15
5. Which of these is not a recognised factor contributing to unsafe acts?

a) Lack of concentration
b) Fatigue
c) Guards and interlocks
d) Laziness

6. Which of these is most likely to lead to unsafe acts occurring?

a) Additional rest breaks

b) The effects of alcohol
c) Arriving late to work
d) Using personal protective equipment

7. Unsafe acts are ____.

a) Always intentional
b) Always unintentional
c) Either intentional or unintentional
d) None of the above

8. What is the aim of engineering controls?

a) To make the workplace as physically safe as possible

b) To change people’s attitudes
c) To teach correct manual handling techniques
d) To provide written safe work procedures

9. Which of these is not an appropriate administrative control measure?

a) Preparing written safe work procedures

b) Eliminating work breaks
c) Providing appropriate training
d) Providing signs and labels

10. Besides engineering and administrative controls, unsafe acts must

be addressed by modifying what?

a) Machinery
b) Working hours
c) People’s behaviour
d) Safety glasses

16
 ANSWERS TO ASSESSMENT

1. a) A violation of an established safe work procedure or practice.

2. d) All of the above.

3. b) They are not trained or authorised to do.

4. a) Poor work habits.

5. c) Guards and interlocks.

6. b) The effects of alcohol.

7. c) Either intentional or unintentional.

8. a) To make the workplace as physically safe as possible.

9. b) Eliminating work breaks.

10. c) People’s behaviour.

17