What happens when small safety violations become part of the routine? When one driver takes one risky action, they may survive to tell the tale. When one mechanic leaves their tools in an inconvenient place, one toe may be stubbed before things are properly put away. But when safety violations become normalized, the risk grows exponentially until catastrophe is almost guaranteed.

Normalization of Deviance

Any workplace can slip into unsafe practices. The pressure to complete tasks on time and the group mentality for what is normal can create a dangerous path. If one safety violation is tolerated for too long, it becomes normal. If a second, similar violation is tolerated, a trend has begun. It may only take a few days for the process to start. One piece of clutter becomes two, two becomes three, and soon there is a place where clutter is tolerated and no one says a word.

One cable is stepped over and soon, stepping over cables becomes the norm.

This is known as the "Normalization of Deviance", a phenomenon identified to be behind many industrial failures including the Columbia space shuttle disaster and power plant meltdowns.

The Slippery Slope of Safety Violation Tolerance

Safety violation tolerance is a slippery slope because people move in groups and normalize together. The human desire to take shortcuts has led to both innovation and disaster throughout history. If allowed, any group of people - no matter how well trained and professional - will normalize the slip of standards over time.

As soon as the first safety violation is ignored, it becomes tolerated, and that tolerance creates normalcy. Once something is normal, anyone on the team might choose to do it, even if they know intellectually that it is still a safety violation.

Turning Around an Unsafe Trend

Many fleet managers reading this may already be putting together a mental list of problems that have already been normalized. Fortunately, it's never too late to turn around an unsafe trend.

• Start with retraining. If a behavior is normalized, it's not helpful to point fingers or single anyone out. Instead, reintroduce the safety standards with fresh training and emphasize that you will be enforcing all the standards according to the material, from that point on.
• Appoint a safety officer and reward them for identifying safety violations that need to be fixed.
• Appoint a safety captain on every team and make them responsible not just for their own safety but also for the safety of their teammates and vehicle.
• Then reward any team member who reports or corrects a safety violation to rebuild your shared commitment to safety standards.

Fostering a Culture of Safety in Your Fleet

You can also prevent that slide toward unsafe normalization by fostering a culture of safety in your fleet staff. Make safety a core team value and emphasize each person's responsibility to maintain a safe environment for themselves and others. Stress the particular dangers of unsafe practices for a vehicle fleet, where life and death are closer at hand than it might be in other professions. Work together to maintain safety and your team will help you actively maintain safety standards.

Embrace Fleet Safety Standards with Wilmar Inc

You can discover a wealth of fleet management tips, techniques, and best practices with Wilmar, Inc. We have worked with hundreds of commercial fleets, from custom vehicle selection and maintenance to fleet management services.

Whether you are building a new fleet or looking to optimize your current fleet's safety and performance, our experts are here to assist you. Contact us today for more information or to connect with the fleet services that will provide your business with the greatest benefit.