‘Mindful’ Health & Safety Culture Process 4
- Commitment to resilience, and deference to expertise
This last element of mindfulness is about what happens in those situations where it’s hardest to be mindful. It could be that an error has developed that could critically damage the plant. It could be that a contagious infection is spreading through a care home.
Or it could be that someone has already been injured, and action must be taken to manage the situation.
In these situations, commitment to resilience and deference to expertise are about flexibility. It may be that business as usual stops, and workers leave their usual roles to support each other and help solve a problem.
Alternatively, the usual lines of management might break down temporarily and the individual with the most knowledge may take responsibility in the situation.
Let’s look at that instance where a piece of plant has developed a critical fault. Isn’t it the right time to hand over some of the decision-making to whichever worker is responsible for – and knows most about – its operating and maintenance?