“A study of airline flight crews showed that 73% of in-flight incidents occur on the first day the crew works together.” There is an “I” in Teams

That nugget of information has great implication for us and plant safety.

We deal with a lot of “firsts” in our operation.

We have a good bit of entry level turnover. That means new people are interjected into our teams frequently. We long have identified that new folks are prone to injury. So, we dress them in orange and pay attention to them to minimize their risk.

But, it occurs to me that our teams come together often. First day of the week. First hour of the day. First 30 minutes after a break.

Does the event of “coming together” deserve a moment for talking about safety? Should teams build a ritual, sort of like putting your hands in the center of a huddle before the game returns to action, to get safety rightly instituted as a priority as you begin again?

Each team adopts its own rituals and methods. But it occurs to me that using return to action as a cue and developing a routine that refocuses the team would be a habit that causes a safer environment.