Safety Decision Making

(SDM)

3 April 2008

 

Course Description

One of the most important and difficult tasks for the safety manager is how to make effective use of the safety information he or she has gathered.  It is not enough to simply collect safety data; one must use those data to make or recommend decisions that affect the safety of the company.  The safety manager not only must make decisions,  but they also have to be good decisions.  That is the focus of this course -- How To Make Good Decisions.  This course emphasizes how to structure and make decisions,  not advanced analytical techniques.

The Safety Decision-Making Course is a capstone course that integrates the information and techniques from other safety management courses and provides the systematic framework, tools and knowledge necessary to make effective decisions.  The emphasis of this course is on the process of transforming data to information and then information to knowledge for decision-makers.  The course covers decision making where there is only one decision-maker and stakeholder to decision making where there are multiple decision-makers and competing stakeholders with different perspectives and priorities. 

The course will address the technical, organizational and personal perspectives of decision-making and how these perspectives influence the process of making decisions and decision outcomes.  Various tools and techniques for decision-making are presented and then practiced in class exercises and case studies.

Participants learn the steps in decision-making; how to identify decision-makers, stakeholders and other influences on the decision process; how to develop and state objectives and constraints on decisions; how to develop and evaluate alternatives; how to move to implementation of the decision and finally; how to conduct effective follow-up and monitoring of decisions.   The course emphasizes practical solutions, not theory.  Participants will gain actual hands-on experience in solving typical safety-related problems using the process taught here.

Who Should Attend

  • If you hear people use the terms such as "cost-benefit," "cost-effective," "the time value of money," "Scenarios," "Stakeholders," and other similar terms that are largely unknown to you or seem mysterious, this is the course for you. This course is for any one involved in safety or who must develop and implement decisions related to safety issues.  It is especially useful for Directors of Safety or managers who must communicate safety needs to other key managers or recommend decisions where there are competing interests involved.

    • How You Will Benefit

    • This course provides a basic knowledge of the decision-making process, tools and techniques.

    • You will be introduced to the various aspects of decision-making and how they affect the process and the outcomes.

    • You will learn how to recognize how decisions are made in your organization and how to tailor your decision recommendations accordingly.

    • You will learn what constitutes a “good” decision and how to tell when you have one.

    • You will learn of the pitfalls and booby traps in the decision-making process and how to avoid them.

    • Your will learn how to formulate decision recommendations when there are multiple decision makers and competing stakeholders.

    • You will become familiar with the transition from decision making to decision implementation and how to gain and use feedback to monitor the results of your decision.

    • Through practical exercises you will develop and improve your decision-making skills focused on safety related problems.

    • The SDM course is an elective for the Certificate in Aviation Safety Management.

    • The Board of Certified Safety Professionals accepts this course for Continuation of Certification Credit.

    • SCSI will award 3.6 CEUs to each participant who successfully completes this course.

     Course Topics

    • Decision Analysis and the Steps in Decision-Making.

    • Organizational, Technical, and Personal Perspectives and Other Influences on Decision-Making.

    • Problem Formulation and Definition.

    • Defining Objectives and Constraints.

    • The Objective Hierarchy and Problem-Solving.

    • Identifying Decision-Makers, Stakeholders and Other Influences on Decision-Making.

    • Decision-Making Techniques, Figures of Merit and Measures of Effectiveness.

    • Tools and Techniques for Decision-Making including Cost-Benefit Analysis, Cost-Effectiveness, Systems Analysis, Stop Light Charts, HFACS and other Quantitative and Qualitative Techniques.

    • Operational Definitions

    • Scales of effectiveness and types of data

    • Collecting and using qualitative data

    • Collecting and using quantitative date

    • Time series data versus point estimates (snapshots vs. moving pictures)

    • Using models in safety decision making

    • Validity and Reliability

    • Inductive and deductive reasoning and the scientific method

    • Selecting the right tool to support your decision making

    • Developing Alternatives.

    • Evaluating and Rank-Ordering Alternatives.

    • Dealing with Decisions that have Multiple Objectives or Multiple Decision-Makers.

    • Sensitivity Analysis.

    • Handling Risk and Uncertainty

    • Quantitative Risk Analysis, Annual Loss Estimation and Return on Investment.

    • Multiple Attribute Decision-Making

    • Methods of Reaching Decisions.

    • Group Decision-Making and Group Techniques (Delphi Technique, Nominal Group Technique).

    • Pitfalls and Booby Traps in Decision-Making.

    • Other Factors Influencing Decisions such as Postponement, Reversibility and Legal or Political Factors.

    • Dealing with Resistance to Change and “Selling” Your Decision.

    • Balancing the Process – Decision-Making vs. Implementation.

    • Feedback, Monitoring and Follow-up.

    • Case Studies and Practical Exercises in Safety Decision-Making.

    Course Instructor

    Peter C. Gardiner, Ph.D.

    Course Administration

    Taught at the DoubleTree Hotel on the waterfront in San Pedro in Southern California, the Safety Decision Making Course consists of 4.5 days (36 hours) of instruction.  Students receive lecture outlines, additional reference material and a Certificate of Completion.  Classes begin daily at 0800 and end at noon on Friday.

     Course Schedule, Location and Tuition