Snakes & Hazards

introduction to

Snakes & Hazards is a customizable risk reduction program grounded on basic risk management and control principles in risk identification and employee behavior.

Concept of

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

Employee Experience
Safety Intervention
Risk Identification

Employee Experience

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.

Safety Intervention

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.

Risk Identification

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

Companies are continually striving to improve risk management by developing and implementing best practice management systems and policies. Safe work procedures are constantly being updated to create and sustain a safe working environment across the board. Although there is no substitute for sound management systems, the challenge in bridging the gap between developing these standards and implementing safe practices remains in many workplaces. These gaps are huge in companies that are rightfully employing local communities, who often lack formal education in increasingly technical roles.

The Snakes & Hazards program provides a solution to this challenge.