By Laurin Mooney https://www.behighlyreliable.com and Beth Lay
We’ve been trained for decades to do a thorough pre-task brief focused on identifying and managing every risk we can think of. While this is a fine, there’s a major problem when applying this to complex and highly variable work: we lack the certainty that can be found in routine, stable environments.
To probe the “uns”, we start with talking a lot about ambiguity. We train teams to notice when they’re in an uncertain situation and to take actions to learn more about the situation.
For example, while working to restore the electric grid after a storm, crews may encounter deep water from storm surges and rain. Traditional safety might say, “don’t drive through water deeper than the center of the tire.” Guess what, there’s a lot of ambiguity hidden in this simple statement. When people approach water over the road and other uncertain, ambiguous situations, we tend to make assumptions and categorize too soon, leading us into trouble.
Instead, encourage teams to notice the situation and “engage the uns.” Actively probe the:
- Unknown: How deep is the water?
- Unclear: Are you in an unfamiliar area? Do you know the roads?
- Uncontrollable: How much water might be under the road? Can the road cave in?
- Uncertain: How fast is the water flowing? How strong is the current?
- Unseen: Is the water muddy? Is it dark/nighttime?
- Unstable: Was the road fine when you entered? Has the road flooded since?
Here’s a clue: when you think or say, “It’s probably just . . .” your mind is trying to reconcile uncertainty. Pause and enlist your team members to learn more about the situation.
In our example above, what could the crew do? Stop the truck. Get a little closer (within a safe range) to inspect the water. Look for movement in the water. Estimate the depth with a stick.
After actively probing the “uns”, the team will make a more informed decision.