Inversion and the Perspective-Based Safety Culture

By Brian Owens

What is it that forms the basic cohesiveness of workplace culture? How does an organization proactively build and sustain an effective approach to achieving a universal zero-incident mindset?

Many current models for occupational safety and risk management are too often reactive, not proactive. They are built to respond to events that were likely rooted in human behavior, and then attempt to control future outcomes by enforcing policies, procedures, and disciplinary action. This approach fails to recognize the very premise of the incident itself: the pre-employment behavioral development.

Inversion and the Perspective-Based Safety Culture turns this methodology upside-down.

In this thought-provoking book, Risk Manager Brian O. Owens explores the undeniable connection between employees’ humanity and their cultural contributions to the workplace. Using a simple yet powerful approach to aligning a workplace safety culture, Brian reveals the road to zero incidents is not built by attempts to control employee behavior, but by effectively changing the behavior using the power of Perspective.

Perspective revolutionized philosophy. It changed the world from flat to round. And it is the key to unlocking the potential of your workplace safety culture.

Be prepared to never see, hear, or say the word Perspective the same way again!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brian Owens
• Release date: Feb 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463690888

Brian Owens

Brian O. Owens has a diverse background in risk management and occupational health and safety. He served five years active duty in the U.S. Army as a Combat Engineer, achieving the rank of Sergeant. He was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq in 2004 where he served in support of Task Force 1-9 Cavalry, an element of the 1st Cavalry Division. Brian left military service in 2005 with an honorable discharge and went to work in the open-pit copper mines of the southwestern U.S. where he first became involved in occupational health and safety. He later became the Corporate Safety Director for a multi-divisional industrial construction company. In addition to his continued presence in the mines, Brian broadened his safety experience with operations in oil and gas, as well as pipeline industries. It was here that Brian began drafting the concept of his theory of Inversion. During a three-and-half-year stint, guided by the Inversion principles, Brian helped the company earn an OHSAS 18001 Health and Safety Assessment Series certification, which is a globally recognized standard for safety management. This heavily contributed to reducing the company’s Experience Modifier Rating (EMR) by 35 points, which greatly reduced the cost of the company’s workers’ compensation insurance premiums. Brian moved on to become Environmental Health and Safety Manager for an aluminum remelt, extrusion, and fabrication operation. He continued developing the Perspective-Based Safety Culture, traveling North America to other extrusion operations to give presentations and help change the mindset of modern occupational safety. Brian now serves as a Risk Consultant with clients in many different industries. He delivers his stories and philosophical anecdotes to help others realize the importance of perspective-based safety.

Book preview

Inversion and the Perspective-Based Safety Culture

Brian O. Owens

Inversion and the Perspective-Based Safety Culture.

© 2018 Brian O. Owens. All Rights Reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced mechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopying, without written permission of the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission from the publisher.

Contact:

High Lonesome Publishing.

[e-mail]

The stories and events depicted in this book are based on true occurrences. The names of places, businesses, and people involved have been withheld for anonymity. The views expressed herein are solely the opinions of the author based on his professional experiences and observations.

CONTENTS

Introduction: Learning from Storytelling

PART I: Inversion: Recognizing the Need for Change

Chapter 1: The Behavioral Formula and the Foundation of Culture

Chapter 2: Culture: Excellence or Compliance?

Chapter 3: Culture: Perspective through Leadership

Chapter 4: Controls, Risk Tolerance, and the Path to Zero

PART II: Perspective and the Behavioral Formula: Making the Change

Chapter 5: Exposure and Influence: The Birthplace of Perception

Chapter 6: Perception: The Truth (Or Is It?)

Chapter 7: Thought: Better Understanding through Effective Communication

Chapter 8: Belief: Better Decision-Making

Chapter 9: Behavior: Better Choices

Chapter 10: Refined Perspective: The Risk of Assumption

Chapter 11: Culture: X Marks the Spot

Chapter 12: Zero: Life After the Change

Acknowledgments

About the Author

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A situation in which something is changed so that it is the opposite of what it was before.

—Cambridge Dictionary

Introduction:

Learning from Storytelling

When I was young, I was enamored with my grandfathers. They were both amazing storytellers, and they offered little resistance when I asked them to recount their experiences from bygone decades. I focused intently when I could see I was in for another tale, whether sitting around a campfire, resting on a front porch, or gathered in a family living room. They used storytelling to help me learn important lessons.

I struggled with fractions as a kid. My mom’s dad, a farmer for most of his life, took me aside and said, Your mama tells me you’re having trouble with fractions in school.

I reluctantly nodded yes.

He walked me over to the rows of corn in his garden. How many rows of corn do you see in this patch?

I counted them and told him.

Good. Now, how many of those rows are watered?

Again, I gave him my answer.

He said, It looks like you can do fractions just fine.

And just like that, I got it: a fraction was a part of a whole. It only took something simple to make the lightbulb go on.

I can remember wanting to be a truck driver like my dad’s dad. I was fascinated with the big rigs and thought if he could do it, then so could I. Dad told me there was more to it than just driving, and if I was going to drive like Grandad did, then I’d need to do it safely. He said Grandad had achieved a remarkable safety milestone in his career. When I asked what it was, he told me to go ask him myself.

Grandad’s remarkable milestone turned out to be a closet full of safety awards for four million miles of accident/violation-free driving, something I still struggle to wrap my head around, especially considering the compliance measures for his vocation. When I asked how he did it, he chuckled and said, One mile at a time. I still marvel at the power in that answer’s simplicity.

What struck me most about these wise men was that I later found out that neither one of them had a formal education beyond eighth grade. How was it that these men who probably wouldn’t have been able to pass the battery of tests I took to graduate high school could be so intelligent, wise, and insightful? How could their lessons be so powerful and remain such a focal point in my life, even to this day? They weren’t certified. They had no credentials or accolades to support a position worthy of bestowing knowledge upon other people. Nonetheless, they were teachers, educators who gave effective and applicable knowledge to those fortunate enough to listen.

Through my grandfathers, I learned a valuable lesson, one I’m not even sure they knew they were teaching: one of the most powerful tools a person can use is perspective.

My grandfathers mastered the art of teaching through storytelling, and I saw it in other places, too. I noticed it in school. I took notes until my hand cramped, filling an entire notebook with items to study in preparation for an exam, complete with circling, underlining, and highlighting. That did little to actually ensure I understood the subject matter. It only served to help me pass the test, and even then, sometimes only barely. But, if a teacher incorporated a story into the lesson or made a relatable connection to something I knew, I understood that portion of the material and retained the information.

I also noticed it in church. I was a disheveled and distracted kid in the pew, paying no attention and doodling cartoons on the bulletin—that is, until the preacher launched into a story. Then I dropped the pencil, perked