In a recent workshop with a client in southeast Louisiana, a breakout session reached a tipping point. The rhythmic flow of dialogue among the seven supervisors in the group found an unscripted but purposeful path of its own. The task given to the group involved identifying at-risk behaviors or shortcuts likely to occur in their work environment. Participants were also asked to discuss motives for the identified behaviors and strategies for shifting perspectives regarding them. The intent of the three-part exercise, which was deliberately constructed to achieve the resulting outcome, was to pull information from the collective experiences of those in the session needed to improve operational safety. My role in the process wasn’t to instruct but to guide this group learning experience.

The described scenario characterizes an educational technique commonly known as facilitative learning. A construct perfectly aligned with the needs of the emerging workforce, the process results in a transformational experience for those involved. Based on adult learning principles, it’s also ideally suited as a resource for those wanting to improve the effectiveness of safety training.

Recognize Limitations
To recognize the limitations of a traditional chalk-and-talk approach to safety training, one doesn’t have to look very far. Over the course of my career, working with clients across a wide spectrum of industries, I’ve received countless examples of mindless behaviors that resulted in serious injury or death. With rare exceptions, the policies, procedures and standard practices needed to prevent those tragic events already existed. Furthermore, training and qualification processes to verify understanding of defined expectations in job performance were most often in place. And yet, that wasn’t enough.

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