In the March 2013 issue, the Incident and Injury-Free® (IIF®) safety approach was introduced. It is a commitment-based approach to addressing safety issues by JMJ Associates. This approach has been known to transform work cultures, leading to improved relationships, improved communication and improved safety numbers. In this issue, the creation of the approach, its evolution and the meaning of IIF safety as an Integral Approach will be addressed.

What the IIF practice is, how it was created and how it has evolved?

When IIF was originally created, the focus was the elimination of all worker injury.

Twenty years ago, people just didn’t think that was possible. At that time, people were trying to reduce the number of fatalities (particularly in construction), the number of serious injuries, and the severity of injuries. But eliminate? No one was talking about that.

IIF was emerged with the stand to develop a practice that would put wind in the sails of what the organization were already doing in terms of safety systems, rules and regulations and would bring about a culture aimed at no one getting hurt.

Now, over time and especially over the past two or three years, IIF approach has expanded. “What is IIF safety today? It is everybody going home safe to their families (personal safety) and it includes no harm to the environment, no harm to the community, no impact to the operational integrity of an organization.

How does IIF safety work to accomplish those goals?

There are a number of things in response to that.

First, IIF safety does not replace the safety systems, processes or structures that are already in place. It really is intended to put wind in the sails of those. In order for IIF safety to have traction, the company needs to have world-class systems, safety systems and processes in place. Then, IIF is really enables it.

What IIF safety does is build a culture that supports the existing safety systems and processes. It is sourced from a stand or personal commitment to no one getting hurt. People take responsibility to utilize the systems and processes because they know that’s what gets them home to their families safe.

Looking at the Integral Approach, the company has its safety systems and processes, which is in the lower right hand corner.

The Integral approach is an approach that informs IIF safety, distinguishing values and beliefs (left side of the quadrant) from visible behaviors, structures and actions (right side of the quadrant); it also distinguishes the individual (upper half) from collective groups and systems (lower half). In the Integral approach, all perspectives are equally important inside of a system.

The work of IIF in supporting this Integral Approach model is the development of an IIF culture [lower left] that stand for no injuries and no incidents. The upper left hand quadrant is also the focused area in working with individuals to take responsibility to follow the rules and regulations because they choose to. All of that then drives the individual behavior that produces the kind of mentioned performance.

That’s a description at a very high level. How to go about this?

At its core, IIF safety is a commitment-based process. People take a stand for what they want. They may not even know how to do it or they might not even believe it’s possible, but they want it and they take a “stand - they make a commitment that this is what they’re going to bring into existence. Every day, they work to bring that commitment forward to make it real.

What IIF safety does is build a culture that supports the existing safety systems and processes. It is sourced from a stand or personal commitment to no one getting hurt.

Implementing IIF culture is a little bit like climbing a mountain. You say, “I’m going to the top of the mountain. I don’t know how am I’m going to get there, exactly. There’s going to be some challenges along the way. It’s going to be rough going along the way, but every day I look at the top of the mountain and I take some steps up it.