When it comes to on-site safety management, have you ever seen someone struggling with the fact that “workers don’t follow the manuals or procedures as instructed”?
There’s no doubt that when problems or accidents occur, managers tend to think, “That’s a violation of the rules” or “We need to enforce the procedures more strictly.”
However, in the field of resilience engineering, we take a different perspective from the approach that focuses solely on such “failures.”
So, the key term that’s essential for understanding the realities on the ground is “WAI.”とIt's "WAD."
What Are WAI and WAD?
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WAI (Work-As-Imagined)
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This is the way managers and designers envision work should be done or how it should proceed.
This refers to the ideal state as specified in procedure manuals, manuals, guidelines, plans, and similar documents. -
WAD (Work-As-Done: Actual Work)
These are the actual work methods that on-site workers use, tailored to the specific circumstances and constraints at the time.
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On site,There is almost always a "gap" between WAI (the ideal) and WAD (reality).。
Why Do Gaps Arise? “Performance Adjustments” on the Front Lines
Manuals (WAI) are always written based on assumed standard scenarios.
However, in actual field operations, there are various challenges such as “not enough time,” “a shortage of personnel (manpower),” “a lack of necessary equipment,” and “unexpected deterioration in weather conditions,” among others.Constraints and ChangesIt's just part of the deal.
Workers on the job site aren’t trying to cut corners by ignoring the rules; rather, faced with these constraints and changes, they’re drawing on their own experience and knowledge to adapt their methods on the fly in order to somehow meet their goals and complete the work.
This is called “performance tuning.”
In other words, a WAD is the result of the field staff working hard to fine-tune the system so that it functions properly, andIt’s thanks to this “ability to coordinate” on the front lines that our day-to-day operations run smoothly.That's right.
How Can We Use These Gaps to Improve Safety Management?
Under the traditional approach to safety management, whenever a discrepancy between WAI and WAD was identified, it was treated as a “rule violation” and eliminated, leading to even stricter rules.
However, that would only increase the burden on frontline staff and would not provide a fundamental solution. The approach required for safety management going forward is as follows:
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Don't blame the gap; understand the context: Instead of criticizing someone by asking, “Why didn’t you follow the manual?” we seek to understand “why that adjustment was necessary (what difficulties or constraints existed on the ground).”
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Eliminate dangerous adjustments and adopt good ones: If we identify “dangerous workarounds” that frontline staff are forced to resort to, we will address the underlying conditions—such as staff shortages or time pressures—that compel them to do so.
On the other hand,"Good adjustments" (innovative ideas) developed on-site are, in turn, incorporated into the manual (WAI) to update it into a set of procedures that better reflect reality.I'll keep doing that.
In Closing
By stepping back from the mindset that “following the manual equals safety” and focusing on the gap between WAI and WAD, we can identify the true risks lurking on the front lines as well as the exceptional flexibility and resilience that front-line teams possess.
Instead of just “enforcing the rules,” why not take the first step in our new safety initiative by “understanding the realities on the ground (WAD) and aligning them with the manual (WAI)”?
