How often do we have the potential to miss seeing what might be staring us in the face?  Through the course of daily activities there are things that we may “see,” but are many things that we may not have “observed”.  Seeing is not the same as Observing.

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See

perceive with the eyes; discern visually. “in the distance she could see the blue sea”

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Observe

notice or perceive (something) and register it as being significant. “young people observe that decisions are made by others”

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Taken from “A Scandal in Bohemia” (Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Watson:   When I hear you give your reasons the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously simple that I could easily do it myself, though at each successive instance of your reasoning, I am baffled until you explain your process. And yet I believe that my eyes are as good as yours.

Holmes:   Quite so. You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.

Watson:   Frequently.

Holmes:   How often?

Watson:   Well, some hundreds of times.

Holmes:   Then how many are there?

Watson:   How many? I don’t know.

Holmes:   Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed.”

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Armed with this new understanding & knowledge we want to ensure that when we conduct our site visits, , we observe and register what is significant and not just see the site or work.

We are continually focused on safety throughout our projects and even more so during periods of change.  We need to be willing to ask for help or welcome a set of “fresh eyes” on our projects.  When we ask for, or get a set of fresh eyes, we also have to challenge ourselves to be open to new ideas or perspectives that may conflict with our thoughts or plans.

Asking for a set of fresh eyes also aligns with the Stratus set of behaviors and where we stress to continually learn and develop our safety and risk management skills.  Having a set of fresh eyes could identify items or areas where “normalized deviation” may have occurred.

When applied to safety, normalized deviation means that people become so accustomed over time to a deviation (unsafe act/condition/practice) that they don’t consider it as a deviation, despite the fact that they far exceed their own rules for safety.  People grow more accustom to the deviation the more it occurs or exist.  This can allow risk tolerance levels to go up in groups and be considered the “norm” or acceptable.

Listening carefully and consider different perspectives as an outside person shares their observations about a project and the related systems or personnel.

It has been said that “You don’t know, what you don’t know”.  Read the statement at the top of this page.  If you don’t know what is going to happen, there is no way to stop it. We may think we know a lot, but we can’t know it all, all the time.  By having a set of outside eyes we can use  outside observations to provide the opportunity to learn and apply the best practices of Stratus and the industry. Outside observations could further aid in the elimination of defects.

The next time you are out in the field, take a moment and look around.  What do you observe and how is it significant to the task being performed?  Be mindful that construction type work is ever changing and progressing.  Consider using the 20-20-20 process as guide.  Every 20 minutes, take 20 seconds and look 20 feet all around you.  Did anything change? New vehicle or worker in the area, hole cover removed, or new tripping hazards from material staging?