Human Performance Tool Spotlight: Job Site Review

Job Site Review is sometimes called 2-Minute Rule, 2-Minute Drill, 2-Minute Time Out, Circle for Safety, 360 for Safety, and I’ve even heard many other titles. Combined with a healthy Questioning Attitude (which I don’t like to call a “tool” – more on that in other posts), a Job Site Review helps you get situational awareness. It is important to do a review when something in the environment changes, that way you can maintain this awareness, as well.

Recognizing abnormal conditions and identifying safety hazards is an important step to error reduction and an event-free performance. Workers and supervisors cannot be so focused on what they are trying to accomplish that they do not see opportunities to avoid ‘preventable’ errors. The pre-job briefing offers supervision and assigned workers an opportunity to not only review what is to be accomplished but also what to avoid. This discussion prepares them mentally. However, an accurate understanding of the challenges offered by the work environment cannot be confirmed until workers actually see the physical job site with their own eyes.

The Job Site Review requires workers to simply take time (ideally, 2 minutes at a minimum) before starting a job to become aware of the immediate work environment, to detect conditions unanticipated by work planning and the pre-job briefing, and to confirm those that were. Often, procedures do not contain important information related to the demands placed on the user by the job site, especially at critical steps. A brief review of the job site allows the individual time to detect abnormalities and hazards. If abnormalities, or error-precursors, remain undetected, they usually make performance either more difficult or contribute to injuries, errors, and, possibly, events.

Purpose:

The purpose of a job-site review is to improve a person's situational awareness when first arriving at the job site. People should take the time to develop an accurate understanding of critical indicators, system/equipment condition, work environment, hazards, and even team members. Taking the time necessary to get acquainted with the immediate work area helps individuals to establish a healthy sense of uneasiness. It also boosts their questioning attitude and enhances the accuracy of their situation awareness.

When to use:

• • At the beginning of each task involving plant equipment

• • When first arriving at the job site

• • Before interaction with risk-important equipment
During a walk-down of a work package

• • When a potential safety hazard is present

• • After extended breaks or interruptions

• When wrapping up work for the shift

How to use:

Explore the job site for at least two minutes by walking and looking around at the work area (hands-on touch points) and adjacent surroundings to identify conditions such as:

• • Industrial safety and environmental hazards

• • Right unit, right component

• • Critical indicators (meters) needed for task success

• • Error precursors (at critical steps)

• • Work area conditions inconsistent with those listed in the procedure or discussed during the pre-job briefing

• • Industrial safety, radiological, and environmental hazards

• Trip-sensitive equipment to avoid jarring or disturbing

Talk with coworkers or supervisor about unexpected hazards or conditions and the precautions to take.

Eliminate hazards, install appropriate operational barriers, or develop contingencies before proceeding with the task.

At-risk behaviors to avoid

• • Believing nothing bad can happen

• • Hurrying, not taking the time to look around the job site

• • Thinking that repetitive work is “routine” or “simple”, meaning “no risk”

• • Not talking about hazards or precautions with co-workers

• • Failing to eliminate hazards or installing appropriate defenses

• Not raising “gut feel” concerns with co-
workers or supervision

References:

With much gratitude, a lot of the above HPT basis comes from Department of Energy (DOE) and Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) research and collaboration, and the source document could be found by clicking here.

This article (you would have to purchase - sorry, it's not free to share) adds some more specificity to the discussion : Engaging Workers as the Best Defense Against Errors & Error Precursors by Jan K. Wachter and Patrick L. Yorio

Me. I've inserted a few twists and clarifications for users and myself.[As a reminder - don't forget to click the graphic at the top of each post for an Easter egg!]