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ometimes you just feel that something isn’t right, you can’t explain exactly why but you have that feeling, your subconscious is telling you to look a little more closely or probe a bit deeper. We think there is a case for intuition in safety and here’s why.
I read an interesting article recently by Dr Travis Bradberry. It discusses the role the subconscious has in guiding our actions and asks us to use these feelings more to guide us in our decision-making, it contains an interesting quote;
“Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next.” – Jonas Salk
In a study by the Salk Institute participants were asked to play a card game by pulling cards from two different decks, unknown to them the decks were rigged. Its took around 50 cards for these participants to realise something was unequal and about 80 cards to realise what the actual difference was.
However, after just 10 cards most players starting to sweat slightly on their palms before pulling a card from the ‘losing’ deck, at about the same time they started subconsciously favouring the ‘winning’ deck.
The above study serves to demonstrate the power of intuition, something which comes from the primitive brain and which served us well in days where danger was all around us, and something which we should, perhaps, be happier to rely on more often in our modern lives.
Is there a case for intuition in safety?
If you remain unconvinced why not try a little game, stare intently at the back of someone’s head in the office or walking down a corridor. Perhaps you’re sat across a table or hall from someone you know at lunch. The wait and see how long it takes them to raise their head and search for the person looking at them, it might not work every time but I think you’ll be surprised at how often it does (and if you do know them don’t forget to at least nod a hello!).
So next time you’re completing a safety tour, audit or inspection don’t be afraid to slow down and listen to your gut feeling, it might lead you in the right direction.
About: Roger Hart is Managing Director of Outsource Safety Ltd, a consultancy specialising in ISO9001, ISO14001 and ISO45001 Management Systems. The company employs 10 staff and works for hundreds of retained clients across the UK in all sectors from Defence and Aerospace to Education, Additve Manufacture and Museums with a specialism in the contracting, construction and renewables sectors, www.outsource-safety.co.uk
