introduction to
Snakes & Hazards
The program makes use of snakes as an analogy for hazards. It utilizes people’s learned behavior towards snakes, in that snakes are dangerous and different types of snakes have to be managed differently.
The industry has widely accepted that behavior is a significant contributor to workplace incidents and accidents. Although there are many views on behavior-based safety throughout the industry, the Snakes & Hazards program is unique because it can be molded to fit a specific operation’s culture and climate.
The Snakes & Hazards team views each company and each operation differently and understands that an “off the shelf” solution is not always an exact fit. Therefore, the program is customized alongside operational specialists, who understand their specific operations best, to provide a workable program for implementation.
Cultural Change
Numerous variables influence the workplace culture and therefore differ from one operation to the next. People from different backgrounds behave differently and respond differently to external stimuli.
We are molded by our experiences, our beliefs, the languages we speak, and the level of education we receive. If we are multi-lingual, the same word in a given language would not necessarily have the same meaning to all of us.
Despite these differences, we all respond the same to danger. Our fight or flight response kicks in and we react to preserve life.
Snakes & Hazards rely on this necessary behavior and teach employees to identify different types of hazards and control various types of risks differently.
Snakes & Hazards, therefore, make use of our existing knowledge to demonstrate how we should behave towards workplace risk to prevent harm, which results in a reduction of “at risk” behavior in the workplace.
The impact of this behavior change in the workplace has far-reaching results in terms of safety culture. It improves the efficiency, effectiveness, productivity, and sustainability of an operation due to improved identification of hazards, reduced “at risk” behavior, and the proactive control of risks.
Lessons learned
The Snakes & Hazards program’s successful implementation at various operations in South Africa and Africa provides experience with employees from different cultural groups, language groups, and educational levels.
The approach taken by Snakes & Hazards enables employees to understand risk identification, assessment, and management quicker and better than basic HIRA training methods do, irrespective of their workplace culture. This basic understanding enables an effective behavior-based safety intervention and prevents “at risk” behavior in the workplace.
Employees can identify risks quickly and easily and relate these hazards to the appropriate snake types. The improved safety performance of the operations is a testament to the effectiveness of the program.
Summary
The Snakes & Hazards program provides a solution to this challenge.
Our Portfolio
Manufacturing
2017 - 2022
Manufacturing
2017-2018
Chemicals & Agriculture
2015 - 2018
