OUR VISION
"Our vision is to establish a 'Positive Attitude' towards Safety which, in turn, results in employees performing in a Safe manner. Through daily positive reinforcement, these Safe attitudes and behaviours will be supported and encouraged. Through our positive communication process, employees will also be encouraged to improve upon Safety and apply these principles to all their activities, whether at Work, Home or in the Community." Jim Burns, Founder and President of PASS Inc.
The Positive Attitude Safety System (PASS) is a dynamic Safety process that assists line management to encourage, support and reinforce Safe behaviours, activities and attitudes. This creates a positive Safety environment, which supports employees’ Safety habits and encourages employees to bring forward their ideas on Safety improvements. The PASS process establishes and supports:
- a state of mind that will create and maintain Safe working conditions
- a stronger commitment to Safety
- a "continuous improvement" approach to Safety
- a daily routine for positive Safety feedback
- empowerment of employees to take control of their Safety
- an improved awareness of Safety beyond the workplace
Through this positive and proactive process, injuries are reduced, benefiting the employees and their families. Dramatic improvements in Safety are not only beneficial to the employees but also to the company’s overall performance. During brief daily team/crew meetings, employees discuss how they did yesterday and what they are going to be doing today, in terms of Safety. They also chart their own Team's Safety performance in order that they can receive positive feedback, identify trends and support their Safety standards. The involvement and development of the First Line Supervisors is crucial to the success of the entire process.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
The concepts and philosophy of what was to evolve into the Positive Attitude Safety System (PASS) were introduced to Cominco’s Sullivan Mine in the mid 1980’s by James S. Burns, a Canadian consultant. This early and crude prototype achieved significant results and in the early 1990’s was refined into the Positive Attitude Safety System with the key process components and with Jim Burns’ unique implementation approach. The PASS is based on the concepts of Learned Helplessness, Positive Reinforcement (shaping of behaviours) and Intervention Therapy, which Jim Burns studied for six years at the Universities of Victoria and Calgary.
Since then, Jim Burns and his colleagues have been working with tens of thousands of people in hundreds of Natural Resource and Heavy Industrial organizations; such as, mining, manufacturing, stevedoring, transportation and construction operations in Canada, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Jamaica, Tanzania, Malaysia, Argentina, Pakistan and the United States of America.
The PASS is a dynamic process that ensures the transfer of all PASS technology to the Client. The client’s dependence on the consultant’s content expertise is not desired nor is it an objective. The goal is to establish a relationship which fosters “ownership in” and “stewardship of” the PASS process by the client. The consultant provides training, coaching, monitoring and evaluation to the client’s organization. The PASS consists of Safety Huddles, Charting of crew-defined Safe Days, Check-Offs, the Report-Down System, Positive Observation and Feedback and Safety Improvement Huddles.
The ultimate goal of the PASS is the establishment of "continuous improvements" in Safety, thereby significantly reducing Lost Time Accidents and injuries to the employees. The PASS process creates a positive Safety climate, improves work habits, increases line-management accountability for Safety and generates greater crew involvement (which builds stronger employee commitment to Safety). This combination results in dramatic improvements in the Safety performance of the entire operation.
Short-term success is achieved through the Management Team's utilization of the PASS, whereas, long-term success is assured by the development and establishment of systems within the organization to support the PASS. Two key factors for success in implementing the PASS are, firstly, the Management Team's commitment towards the process of positive management. Secondly, the involvement/development of the Supervisors towards a positive attitude and approach for achieving/facilitating improvements.
It should be noted that PASS is not designed to be a "stand alone" safety system. Maximum results will be achieved when PASS is combined with "traditional" safety systems such as the Five Star Loss Control systems, Dupont or Safety Cases. The PASS is the first and crucial step towards "Positive Management" and is really a cultural-change vehicle. This process empowers employees, in all areas and at each level of the organization, to improve Safety performance and therefore positively impacting the job-climate of their operation.