The Use of Mindfulness in Health and Safety to Reduce ... · The Use of Mindfulness in Health and...

The Use of Mindfulness in Health and

Safety to Reduce Incidents

Chris Langer (CIRAS) and Monica Monti (Abellio)

21 November 2017, IOSH

Agenda

Mins (approx) Item

1 Audience participation: familiarity with mindfulness

3 The mindful teacher

5 CIRAS reports, real-world distractions, mindfulness basics

5 FGC case study

5 The science behind mindfulness

1 Exercise: mindful movement

5 Abellio workshops for bus drivers and video clip of Felicia

5 Miracle on the Hudson and gratitude

1 Exercise: one minute mindfulness

2 A day of safety mindfulness

1 Audience participation: applying mindfulness

5 Questions and close

Question for audience

‘How many people here are familiar with the concept of

mindfulness?

The mindful teacher

CIRAS reports

Approximately….

33%of CIRAS reports contain health and safety issues which

could be addressed through mindfulness

A real-world problem for bus drivers

What is mindfulness?

“The awareness that emerges through

paying attention on purpose

in the present moment, and

non-judgmentally to the

unfolding of experience

moment by moment”

• Focuses on breathing

• Observing without judgment

• Practice leads to long-term benefits

Mindfulness basics

Managing health

Anxiety Depression

Stress Irritability

Labelling Elaborating Analysing Judging Planning Comparing Remembering Self-reflecting

SeeingTasting Touching Hearing Smelling Visceral sensationsSensing

Direct noticing/experiential

Conceptual

Environmental Input

Direct noticing/experiential

ConceptualConceptual

Experiential

Conceptual Vs Experiential

Mindfulness: FGC case study (1)

• FGC Catalan: public operator of urban, suburban and regional lines • 80 million passengers a year

• Some of the psychological factors affecting the operational performance of drivers:• Solitary work, limited social interaction• Monotonous driving• Repetitive tasks• Stress

• Fundamentals: preventing loss of attention, staying alert whilst driving

• MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) course taken by 23 drivers:• Custom designed programme

based on full attention• Created by Jon Kabat Zinn

(University of Massachusetts Medical Centre in 1979)

• Drivers were helped to: • Develop more resilience• Cope with stress• Be more present in the cab• Avoid being on ‘auto-pilot’



• 85% said their attention was ‘higher’ or ‘much higher’ than before the course

• No operational incidents in 6 month period after mindfulness course

• Benefits for drivers, include improved:• Concentration• Emotional regulation & resilience• Individual coping strategies for stress & fatigue


• Cost of a having a Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD) is around £29,000

• The cost of mindfulness training (MBSR) for one driver is around £400

• Over 70 drivers can be trained for the price of one SPAD

• Enhancing safety culture

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/faculty-of-engineering/civil/public/ug/ug-final-year-projects/T13---Samuel-Simanjuntak.pdf

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/faculty-of-engineering/civil/public/ug/ug-final-year-projects/T13---Samuel-Simanjuntak.pdf

The science behind mindfulness (1)

Neuroscientist Sara Lazar's research:

• There are differences in brain volume which show up in brain scans after just eight weeks of mindfulness practice.

• Areas of the brain actually thickened

The science behind mindfulness (2)

Specific areas of the brain which thickened:

• 1. The posterior cingulate: involved in mind wandering, and self-relevance• 2. The left hippocampus: assists in learning, cognition, memory and

emotional regulation• 3. The temporo parietal junction (TPJ): assists with perspective taking,

empathy and compassion• 4. The Pons (an area of the brain stem): a lot of regulatory

neurotransmitters are produced here

And one area of the brain that actually got smaller!

• The amygdala (fight or flight) responsible for anxiety, fear and stress. The change in the amygdala was also correlated to a reduction in stress levels.

Some mindful movement

• An antidote to the ‘power lunch’

• Nourishing your body and inner self

• Take in the tastes, smells, colours and textures

• Step off the treadmill

• Connect again…

• How are you sitting right now? Notice contact points with your feet against the floor

• Is there any tension in your neck and shoulders?

• Breathe in slowly, and breathe out. Notice the rising and falling of your chest

• Stand up and shake yourself out

• Take in your surrounding, sit back down again

• How are you feeling now?

• Six workshops arranged to introduce the practice of

mindfulness to Abellio bus drivers at their depots.

• Shown a nine-minute video to explain how mindfulness could

benefit their health and lead to safer driving too.

• The video content described the essence of mindfulness

practice with its focus on breathing in the present moment,

and observing without judgment.

• Some drivers had already heard of the practice of mindfulness,

though some hadn’t.

• The video content’s usefulness was rated on average 4.7 out of

5 by drivers. Many drivers expressed a desire to learn more.

The Abellio mindfulness workshops (1)


The video content was broken down into seven practical tips for everyday

mindfulness, before and during work:

1. First drink of the day: paying greater attention to just noticing sensations

2. The morning challenge: bringing the mind to the body by checking in with

oneself

3. Driving awareness: being aware of one’s surroundings and ready for new

hazards

4. Stopping at the lights: pausing and focusing on one’s breathing before moving

off again

5. Eating mindfully: appreciating the tastes, colours, smells and textures of food

6. Walking mindfully: avoiding distractions and paying attention to the act of

walking

7. Gratitude: appreciating moments and the positive things one already has

Mindfulness for bus drivers

Miracle on the Hudson






What gets you out of bed in the morning?

“My job is to reunite people with family and friends, to send them on long awaited vacations, to bring them to loved ones’ funerals, to get them

to their job interviews”

Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger

Gratitude






• Life is made up of moments. You have only moments to live

• Appreciative attention in the here and now can pay dividends

• We easily miss the beauty in front of our eyes

• Try the ten finger gratitude exercise:

• Once a day bring 10 things to mind that you are grateful for – count them on your fingers

One minute mindfulness






• Sit upright, rest your feet flat, close your eyes

• Notice your breath as you inhale and exhale

• Bring your attention back to your breath if your mind wanders

• Observe what your mind is doing, but resist the temptation to be critical

• Open your eyes, return to your surroundings

Begin with a day of safety mindfulness (1)

1. Start the day with a short breathing exercise - like the one we’ve practised

2. Prepare yourself to go into the work area • select the appropriate workwear/PPE for example

3. Before you move into the work area, simply observe, carefully examining each task and aspect

4. Take the time to consider what you see in terms of safety and then, ONLY THEN, with the benefit of thought...

5. Decide your actions in total safety mindfulness. Examples of actions: • observing a colleague performing a task, or • have a chat with a colleague, or• engage in a work activity

IMPORTANT: Mindfulness is contagious -a person who works with safety

mindfulness acts as a constant reminder to his/her colleagues.

TRY IT when you go back to work.

Good luck!

Begin with a day of safety mindfulness (2)

Question for audience

‘How many people would now consider applying mindfulness

within the health and safety field?

Any questions?

Contact details

Chris Langer 07906 795 [email protected]

Monica Monti 07930 310 [email protected]

The Use of Mindfulness in Health and Safety to Reduce ... · The Use of Mindfulness in Health and...

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