The 4 Best Ways to Reduce Human Error

Humans aren’t perfect; we forget information, and we make mistakes. It’s our job, as employers to equip our people with the knowledge and tools they need to overcome and reduce human error.

Here are some ways that can help you reduce human errors

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)

These are specific written instructions on how to do all phases of our jobs, and how to handle anticipated critical situations. A good SOP can help overcome the temptation to operate in an unwise manner, whether it is coming from ourselves or others. Even someone in a one person department can benefit from putting specific operating procedures they intend to follow down on paper. The Traps and Tools™ from EPI’s training and AESOP Mini-Huddle pauses should be included in your SOP.

All the information you need to make your work processes more reliable is already within your organization. You just need to access it, strive for clarity and focus on the task.

Focus on the Pinch

It’s happened to all of us, that small voice giving us a warning or that sickening feeling in the pit of our stomach that something isn’t right. We call that voice or feeling a PINCH and it is one of the key tools of error prevention. Unfortunately, most of us are surprisingly good at ignoring a PINCH. We sit there with our stomach churning while we continue on our present path even though after an incident or accident often someone will say they weren’t comfortable or even “I knew that was going to happen.”

In our modern fast paced society it can be very hard to be aware of a PINCH let alone take action on it. Almost all of us feel that we’re always behind and never have enough time to catch up. There’s typically lots of pressure from management to get more done in less time. There also seems to be a lot of confusion with people not exactly sure what they are supposed to do. Whenever you feel a Pinch it's time to pause for an AESOP Mini-Huddle.

Reduce human error with training

Human error training can help a lot when it comes to improving communications and preventing these mistakes. First, it will help you identify how human errors can impact and have impacted your organization. Then, learning the Traps and Tools™ of Error Prevention, you can focus in increasing efficiency through eliminating costly mistakes and increasing overall effectiveness.

Periodic reviews

Error event reviews should be conducted at a level of frequency that is based on the kinds of problems being detected. As time goes by and the problems are better controlled and the level of risk falls, the reviews may be conducted less often.

Moving Ahead

Our Philosophy

Our philosophy to reduce human error is to find a solution to the root cause instead of just pushing the blame on an employee. An error shows what has happened, but does not explain why it happened. Using our training program, a business can learn how to effectively apply the right tools to overcome human traps, resulting in significantly fewer mistakes and accidents.

If you want to learn how to reduce human error in work place, enroll in our online video training course. Error Prevention Institute’s training professionals are just a call away.