Reviewing Two Tutorials on Safety

Safety in the Workplace

The differences in approaches between the two videos—one by Dr. Bill Robb and the other by Safety Memos, both on YouTube—are that the former uses a more direct and mature but less innovative and stimulating approach to conveying specific information about why workplace accidents occur and what the company can do to address the issue based on evidence obtained through research; while the latter uses an animated approach that provides only basic, general information but in a more colorful and pleasing manner that is easy to watch.

In the animated video provided by Safety Memos, people themselves are blamed for the overwhelming majority of accidents. In the video presented by Dr. Robb, a number of different factors are identified as causing accidents—from fear to supervisors who put too much pressure on staff to a lack of awareness to surroundings. The perspective in Safety Memos is generalized while the perspective presented by Dr. Robb is specific and precise.

The problem with emphasizing employees as the source of accidents is that it does not delineate the set of circumstances that arise that help cause accidents at work. Saying it’s the employees’ fault does not actually address the problem—it just places blame. Dr. Robb, however, identifies half a dozen problem areas that workers and managers can focus on to help make the workplace safer. Dr. Robb notes that causation is often a combination of factors and variables that mix to create a complex set of stimuli which then lead to accidents. By addressing the stimuli and taking steps to diminish or remove them, the risk of accidents can be mitigated and workplace safety promoted. Robb’s approach is thus much more mature, robust, and effective if a company is actually serious about reducing the rate of workplace mishaps.