How to avoid security risks caused by information communication

Safety information is one of the important resources on which safety activities rely. It is a form that reflects the differences and changes between human safety things and safety activities. Security management is to manage a large amount of security information, and its modernization level determines the degree of application of information science and technology in security management [1]. Safety information communication means that people who know safety risks provide information to those who need to know, especially front-line employees.

Failure in communication is a major human error that leads to accidents [2]. Many safety accidents are caused by the lack of effective communication of safety information, for example:

In 2003 Chongqing Kaixian blowout accident [3], before the accident, a series of hidden danger information failed to attract attention, was not reported to the superior authorities, and effective measures were not taken, resulting in the occurrence and expansion of the accident.

Since the first half of 2008, according to incomplete statistics, there have been 7 production safety accidents across the country that resulted in increased casualties due to improper rescue or blind rescue. Initially, 7 people were involved, and eventually 29 people died. 14 people were injured, and the lesson was extremely profound[4]. In these incidents, many employees lack basic safety knowledge, have not received safety training, and have no knowledge of safety knowledge.

In its investigation report [5] into the explosion at the BP Texas refinery on March 23, 2005, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board found that BP Texas There are many problems in the communication of safety information in refineries, including insufficient communication of equipment status information during shift handover, insufficient information communication between equipment operators, and the company's lack of policies to encourage effective communication. These are among the causes of accidents. one.

Similarly, failure in information communication was also one of the reasons for the crash of the U.S. Columbia space shuttle in 2003 [6].

The underlying causes of the above-mentioned accidents are defects in corporate safety management and poor safety culture.

Many companies have realized that safety culture is of great significance to corporate safety management and accident prevention, and have carried out safety culture construction activities one after another. However, the form of safety culture construction is single, basically relying on the propaganda and propaganda of the safety management department. The communication channels for education, safety information and safety knowledge are only one-way transmission from top to bottom, and there is a lack of attention and participation in safety from senior leaders of the company, and a lack of participation from the majority of employees. Therefore, the effect of corporate safety culture construction is not obvious.

In the traditional safety management model, the communication channels for safety information are also one-way. Most of them are transmitted from top to bottom. There is a lack of a bottom-up feedback channel for safety information. The management formulates various Safety rules and regulations are only passively implemented by front-line employees. They believe that security matters are only a matter for the security management department and have nothing to do with themselves. Even if they discover hidden danger information or near misses, few people take the initiative to report them. The communication of safety information must be shared with each other and must be two-way in order to effectively perform its function.

The construction of corporate safety culture requires the joint efforts and innovation of all personnel. It requires not only the effective leadership and commitment of the company's senior managers, but also the active participation of the majority of employees. The link between the two It is the effective communication of safety information.

The author analyzes the importance of effective communication of safety information to the construction of corporate safety culture and safety management, analyzes the factors and mechanisms of internal and external safety information communication, and proposes to improve and enhance effective communication of safety information. The countermeasures and measures are hoped to be helpful to the construction of corporate safety culture.

1 The importance of effective communication

Jones [US] believes that effective communication is very important for corporate managers and all employees. Effective communication can improve production efficiency and improve products. quality, promote enterprise innovation, and enhance the competitive advantage of enterprises [7].

Baker regards communication as the lifeline of the organization, conveying the organization's development direction, expectations, processes, products and attitudes [8]. Good communication helps to promote a harmonious atmosphere and team spirit, helps to establish a good relationship between management and employees, effectively handles internal conflicts and complaints, and helps relieve employees' work pressure. Effective communication is more important for enterprise safety management. By communicating with experienced employees on site, managers can understand on-site safety information, thereby improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the company's safety decision-making and problem solving; at the same time, employees can communicate with management through Communication can clarify one's own safety responsibilities, improve one's safety awareness, and also promote interest in participating in safety affairs management.

1.1 Legal requirements and occupational health and safety standard requirements

In view of the importance of safety information for safe production, many countries' relevant safety regulations and standards require companies to conduct safety information with employees. Communication regulations.

For example: Article 36 of the "Work Safety Law of the People's Republic of China and the People's Republic of China" states that production and business units should truthfully inform employees of the hazards, preventive measures, and emergency response plans that exist in the workplace and workplace. Measures; at the same time, Article 45 points out that employees of production and business units have the right to understand the dangerous factors, preventive measures and accident emergency measures that exist in their workplaces and jobs, and have the right to make suggestions for the unit's safety production work.

The Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in the UK requires employers to consult with employees on occupational health and safety matters.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 promulgated by the Australian Federation requires employers to provide necessary information, guidance, supervision and training to ensure that employees work in a safe manner and does not impose any liability on employees. impact on health. Australian state occupational health and safety laws also have similar provisions.

Section 4.4.3 of the Chinese national standard "GB/T 28001-2000 Occupational Health and Safety Management System Specification" is titled "Consultation and Communication" and requires that organizations should have procedures to ensure communication with employees and Other relevant parties communicate with each other on relevant occupational health and safety information. There are similar requirements in the Australian/New Zealand Occupational Health and Safety Standard AS/NZS 4804:2001 and the International Labor Organization Occupational Safety and Health Management System Guidelines ILO-OSH 2001.

1.2 The role of effective communication in the construction of safety culture

In order to solve the problem of human errors in production, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) first proposed in 1986 The concept of “safety culture in the nuclear power industry” is defined as: it is a synthesis of various characteristics and attitudes that exist in units and individuals [9]. Since then, different scholars at home and abroad have given numerous definitions to safety culture, the most widely used of which is the definition given by the British Health and Safety Council Nuclear Facilities Safety Advisory Committee (HSE: ACSNI): the safety culture of an organization is both individual and collective The comprehensive product of values, attitudes, abilities and behaviors, which determines the commitment, work style and proficiency in health and safety management. An organization with a good safety culture has the following characteristics: information exchange based on mutual trust, shared awareness of the importance of safety, and confidence in the effectiveness of preventive measures [10]. From the above definition of safety culture, we can see that effective communication is a characteristic of a good safety culture and an important way to build a safety culture.

Many institutions and scholars have conducted extensive research on the role of effective communication in safety culture. Glendon and Mckenna believe that effective communication is a characteristic of an organization with a positive safety culture. Effective communication is based on mutual trust and everyone believes that safety is important [11].

The British Health and Safety Executive believes that communication is one of the four "Cs" of a positive safety culture. The other three "Cs" are competence, control and cooperation [12]. Cooper believes that an organization with a positive safety culture has a good safety communication system, and safety information is transmitted between organizations through two-way formal and informal communication channels [13].

Williams believes that one of the most effective ways to promote safety culture and prevent injuries is to optimize safety communication [14].

Reason believes that a good safety culture requires a complete system to collect, analyze and disseminate the company's safety information, and form an information culture (informed culture), and the formation of information culture requires a reporting culture (reporting culture) and learning culture (learning culture) to support [15].

Vecchio-Sadus believes that effective communication mechanisms are very important to encourage employees to participate in safety matters, obtain employee cooperation and support, and maintain a positive safety culture [16].

2 The method and content of safety information communication

The communication process consists of an information transmission stage and an information feedback stage. In the information transfer stage, information is shared between two or more individuals or groups; in the information feedback stage, it is ensured that the information is effectively understood by the recipients, as shown in the figure below [7].

As can be seen from the picture, effective communication should be two-way, including not only information transmission, but also information feedback. If the information recipient does not respond to the information, no communication channel will be established. It's just a message.

There are usually four ways of information communication: oral communication, written communication, visual communication and non-verbal communication.

Oral communication is the simplest, most direct, and most timely way of feedback. Oral communication can be conducted through telephone, walkie-talkie, video and other media. Of course, the most effective way is face-to-face communication. When managers and employees talk face-to-face, they can not only communicate through language, but also through facial expressions, body language, etc. of both parties. The content conveyed at this time is also the richest. Therefore, management It is very important for managers to have face-to-face communication with front-line employees when conducting safety inspections.

Written text can be saved, easy to query later, and is more formal. Therefore, the company's various safety policies, operating procedures, etc. are delivered to employees through written communication. However, written communication also has shortcomings such as uncertainty of the recipient, too lengthy sentences, and too many terms in the text.

Visual communication refers to the use of colors, symbols, graphics, etc. to transmit information. In safety management, visual communication is widely used, such as: safety slogans, safety posters, safety colors, safety warning signs , safety promotional videos, etc.

In safety management, non-verbal communication is very important. For example, the safety behavior of corporate managers sets an example for the safety behavior of corporate employees.

Enterprise security information communication includes internal security information communication and external security information communication.

2.1 Communication of safety information within the enterprise

In enterprise safety management, the enterprise’s safety production rules and regulations and various operating procedures should be communicated to everyone through top-down communication channels employees, and various accident information and hidden danger information on site are transmitted to the top management of the enterprise through bottom-up communication channels; in addition, safety information should also be transmitted between different departments of the enterprise and within departments through horizontal communication channels. . Common internal communication methods include: safety reports, safety committee meetings, pre-shift meetings, group safety meetings, emails, documents, safety manuals, videos, promotional pictures, publicity boards, safety signs, etc.

2.1.1 Visible safety commitment of corporate management

The safety commitment of corporate managers is a key element in building a safety culture. It determines the views and attitudes of other employees on safety in the company. behavior[14]. The importance an enterprise attaches to safety can be reflected to employees through the visible safety commitment of enterprise managers. Managers should strictly abide by the company's various safety management systems and play an exemplary role in safety behavior. Employees can judge the importance the company attaches to safety management through the behavior of managers, and then change their own behaviors. Managers demonstrate their commitment to safety by making safety a top priority at corporate high-level meetings, regularly participating in safety inspections, regularly participating in safety committee meetings, and actively participating in accident investigations. In addition, expanding safety information communication channels, encouraging employees to participate in discussing safety issues, carefully listening to employees' suggestions, and providing timely feedback to employees are all manifestations of managers' safety commitment.

2.1.2 Safety responsibilities of personnel at all levels of the enterprise

Enterprise safety management requires the joint efforts of all employees of the enterprise. Therefore, it is clear that every employee of the enterprise (from the highest level of the enterprise) management to rank-and-file employees), and it is important for all personnel to understand their respective responsibilities. When employees clearly understand their responsibilities in accident prevention, they will show great interest in maintaining a healthy and safe work environment, but first management should inform them of the risks at work and encourage employees to participate in safety matters to mitigate risks degree[17].

2.1.3 Safety education and training

Safety education and training plays a very important role in the field of safety activities. Safety education and training can form and change people’s understanding of safety and their understanding of safety. Activities and attitudes towards things make people’s behavior more in line with the safety norms and requirements of social life and enterprise production [1]. The "Work Safety Law of the People's Republic of China" has clear requirements for safety education and training for enterprise leaders, safety managers, practitioners and special operations personnel. Safety education and training is an important way to exchange safety information, and in safety education and training, effective communication is an important guarantee for achieving good training results.

The results of safety education and training carried out by some enterprises and institutions are not very satisfactory. One of the reasons is the lack of effective communication in safety education and training. Classroom-style teaching results in a lack of communication between training teachers and students, and teachers cannot Know whether students have truly mastered the knowledge and skills they have learned. Various media can be used, including audio, video, pictures, and cases, to increase students' interest and add practical courses; increasing teacher-student interaction during the education and training process is also a way to improve the training effect.

2.1.4 Accident and Hidden Hazard Reporting and Investigation

Accident and Hidden Hazard Reporting is an important way for corporate safety information to be transmitted from bottom to top, and it is also the basic form for employees to participate in corporate safety affairs. Enterprises should establish an accident and hidden danger reporting system and make it clear that accident reporting is the responsibility and obligation of employees. Many employees are unwilling to take the initiative to report accidents, especially near misses, for fear of being punished. Near misses and hidden danger information are very important to prevent major accidents. Therefore, measures should be taken to encourage employees to report accidents, near misses and hidden danger information, and Form a reporting culture [15].

One of the measures is to establish an anonymous reporting channel. You can set up a report box or other forms to encourage employees to report various accidents and hidden dangers and put forward some suggestions and opinions on health and safety. For these reports and suggestions , managers must pay attention to it and give feedback in a timely manner. In addition, the principle of not blaming the parties involved should be followed during the accident investigation. The purpose is to facilitate employees to report various accidents and hidden dangers in a timely manner. The results of the accident investigation should be announced to employees in a timely manner, especially the root cause of the accident, and employees should be encouraged to propose improvement measures to prevent the recurrence of the accident. These measures will demonstrate management's commitment to safety and form a learning culture [15], Prevent similar accidents from happening again.

At the same time, accident information should also be transmitted to other departments in a timely manner to remind them to take measures to prevent such accidents from happening; this department should also often pay attention to the safety information of other departments, which is important for production departments located in different locations. This is especially important for large enterprises in the region. Many multinational companies have a system called Safety Alert to realize the sharing of safety information and prevent accidents that occur in one region from happening again in other regions.

2.1.5 Safety Meeting

Safety meetings are an important way to communicate safety information. The main purpose of safety meetings is to convey safety information, negotiate safety countermeasures, and stimulate personnel morale. These will affect Arrive at attendees for post-meeting production activities. A safety meeting can be a large meeting of all employees or just a discussion between managers and individual employees; safety meetings can be formal or informal. In the daily pre-shift meeting, the team leader spends a few minutes emphasizing the importance of safety, which plays a very important role in changing employees' attitudes and preventing accidents.

2.2 Communication of safety information to the outside of the enterprise

Safety communication between the enterprise and the outside world will also have a great impact on the enterprise's safety production. According to legal regulations, companies are required to promptly report accident information and occupational disease information to law enforcement agencies. Moreover, enterprises need to maintain smooth communication with higher-level management departments, relevant emergency rescue units, units and residents around the enterprise during emergency rescue. Enterprises also need to frequently contact the production safety supervision and management department to learn about the latest production safety information and updates to relevant regulations and standards, so that the company's safety management system can be adjusted in a timely manner in accordance with relevant requirements. Companies also need to frequently communicate security information with contractors, suppliers, and customers.

2.2.1 Updates to regulations and standards

All activities of an enterprise must comply with relevant laws and regulations, and relevant safety standards are the operating procedures and work guidance formulated by the enterprise basis. Therefore, enterprises should establish and maintain appropriate procedures to identify and obtain regulations and related standards applicable to the enterprise. Enterprises should also promptly update information on relevant regulations and other requirements and communicate this information to employees[18] . The most convenient way to obtain regulations and standards is through the website of the safety regulatory department. At the same time, you can also obtain a lot of safety information by frequently browsing relevant websites.

2.2.2 Safety information communication with contractors, suppliers and customers

In production activities, companies often need to hire contractors to engage in some activities to ensure that contractors and their The safety of employees engaged in related activities in the enterprise is very important, therefore, safety information needs to be communicated with contractors. On the one hand, safety training for contractor employees is very necessary; more importantly, safety must be regarded as a clear and important criterion when selecting contractors.

When companies purchase machinery, equipment and raw materials, in addition to considering the quality of the product, they should also evaluate the impact of the product on the company's safe production, especially some special equipment and hazardous chemicals. First, confirm the relevant qualifications of the manufacturer. In addition to providing products, the manufacturer also needs to provide corresponding guidance information. It is best to train company employees so that the company can use these equipment and materials safely. Correspondingly, the products provided by enterprises to customers should also provide corresponding security information services.

3 Factors Affecting Effective Communication

Effective communication depends on the recipient of the message receiving the message correctly and correctly understanding the sender's intention. A complete communication process includes many links (as shown in the schematic diagram of the communication process). Errors in each link may lead to communication failure. The following table lists possible errors in each link of communication and the reasons for the errors.

The above listed are communication failures caused by errors in various aspects of the communication process. Factors that affect effective communication also include personal factors and organizational factors.

Yu Shiwei believes that there are 10 types of barriers to communication, which can be divided into the following two categories:

1) Barriers between people are called personal barriers. Personal barriers include: ① status differences; ② information differences Credibility; ③ Cognitive bias; ④ Past experience; ⑤ Emotional influence.

2) The barriers that exist between companies are called organizational barriers. Organizational barriers include: ① information flooding; ② time pressure; ③ organizational atmosphere; ④ information filtering; ⑤ information feedback.

There are three ways to overcome obstacles, namely using feedback; simplifying language; and active listening [19].

4 Suggestions for enhancing effective communication of safety information

4.1 Develop good communication skills

Although communication may involve a wide range of situations and may be between individuals, It may also be communication between two groups, but the most basic communication is still communication between two people. The following introduces some communication skills of the message sender and the message receiver respectively:

1) The communication skills of the message sender are as follows [7]: ① Think carefully before speaking; ② Send clear and complete information; ③ The information sent should be information that the recipient can understand; ④ choose the appropriate information medium; ⑤ avoid information filtering and information distortion; ⑥ provide true information to avoid the spread of some rumors.

2) The communication skills of the message receiver are as follows [8]: ① Stop talking and listen; ② Feel the other party’s emotions; ③ Show the other party that you are willing to listen; ④ Don’t jump to conclusions without detailed research ; ⑤ Ask questions to show your understanding.

4.2 Safety Observation

Safety observation is an effective means to correct unsafe behaviors. At the same time, safety observation can cultivate employees' safety awareness, promote employees' participation in safety affairs, and strengthen management Open communication with employees.

Safety observation should be carried out regularly as a daily safety activity of the enterprise, and safety observers should include senior management and front-line employees of the enterprise. It is very important for enterprise senior managers to participate in safety observation activities, which is an effective way to reflect management's safety commitment. When senior corporate managers inspect work sites and express concern about safety, on-site personnel will feel that this concern is a reflection of company policy, and this feeling will naturally become a safety motivation at work. Direct face-to-face discussions between managers and employees can bring senior management closer to front-line employees.

Safety observation procedures include observation, correction of unsafe behaviors on site, group discussion of observation results, and formulation of effective measures to prevent unsafe behaviors and unsafe conditions from recurring.

4.3 Improve various safety systems

Some important safety management systems are themselves based on the exchange of safety information, such as: shift handover system and work permit system; and Other safety management systems provide safety information for various corporate activities, such as lockout/tagout systems. These safety management systems must be improved, and employees must be educated and trained.

1) Shift handover system

Many companies adopt a shift work system. Although it improves work efficiency, it has an adverse impact on the safety of corporate production. Many accidents are caused by the lack of effective communication of safety information during shift handover, such as the explosion accident at the BP Texas refinery mentioned above. Therefore, it is very important to ensure effective communication during shift handover. Shift handover generally involves two levels: between team leaders and between employees. No matter which level, the handover person needs to make the handover in person, and the handover time must be ensured. Both parties also need to record some key information in the handover record. The information handed over by the team leader generally includes the safety status of public equipment and the integrity of safety facilities.

2) Lockout/tagout system

Lockout/tagout is an important step in preventing accidents during the repair and maintenance of machinery and equipment. The purpose of lockout is to avoid accidental startup of machinery and equipment. ; The warning sign is hung to explain the purpose of locking and to remind personnel to pay attention.

Machinery and equipment should be locked, tagged, and kept by the employees responsible for the relevant operations. If there is more than one operator, each operator should lock his or her own lock and put up his or her own warning sign. At the end of the work, the machine can only be started after all operators have unlocked and removed their warning signs, and only after informing those around the machine. Lockout/tagout should generally be used at the same time. Tagout can only be used alone when the equipment switch cannot be locked.

The warning sign should be hung at the switch of the equipment, and the operator's name, work content, etc. should be clearly marked on the warning sign. To implement a lockout/tagout system, specific operating procedures should be established and all employees of the enterprise should be trained to ensure that all personnel are familiar with the system.

3) Work permit system

For some non-routine high-risk jobs, such as: confined space operations, hot work, high-altitude operations, high-voltage operations, etc., it must be implemented Work permit system. Before issuing a work permit, the work permit holder should comprehensively consider the various possible dangers involved in the operation and indicate the required risk control measures on the work permit. The work permit holder should also ensure that hazardous operations are performed by persons with relevant qualifications. Employees do it. When performing hazardous operations, the work permit holder should carefully review whether the safety measures listed on the work permit are correct and complete.

4.4 Safety Management Information System

The safety management information system uses the enterprise intranet as a platform to collect, organize and publish safety information, and provide employees with various safety rules and regulations, Operating procedures, safety knowledge, safety record forms, etc. also provide safety statistical information for corporate management's safety decision-making. A complete safety management information system can ensure that the correct safety information is delivered to the people who need it at the right time. The safety management information system should also include the following functions to facilitate effective communication of safety information and employee participation:

1) Collect photos of unsafe behaviors and unsafe conditions in different operations and establish online hazard pictures The database clearly explains the potential hazards of different operations, provides practical reference materials for employees, and improves employees' safety awareness.

2) Safety training courses are provided on the company’s intranet to facilitate employees to review or conduct training before starting new jobs.

3) Create an online safety forum column to encourage employees to participate in discussions on production safety.

5 Conclusions

1) Effective communication of safety information is an important way for enterprises to build a positive safety culture. Good communication is conducive to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of safety decision-making and problem solving, and is beneficial to It is helpful for employees to clarify their safety responsibilities and improve their safety awareness.

2) In enterprise safety management, the enterprise's safety production rules and regulations and various operating procedures should be communicated to every employee through top-down communication channels, and various accident information and hidden danger information on site It is transmitted to the top management of the enterprise through bottom-up communication channels; in addition, safety information should also be transmitted between different departments of the enterprise and within departments through horizontal communication channels. Safety information can be delivered within the enterprise through safety training, safety meetings, safety documents, etc. The most effective form is face-to-face conversations between managers and employees.

3) The communication of safety information between enterprises and the outside world is also very important for the safety production of enterprises, mainly including the update of regulations and standards, and the exchange of safety information with suppliers and contractors.

4) By implementing measures to improve effective communication of safety information and overcoming factors that hinder effective communication, create a good communication atmosphere, encourage employees to report unsafe behaviors, unsafe conditions and near misses, and conduct Encourage rather than blame, safety awareness will be deeply rooted in people's hearts, and corporate safety performance will achieve good results.