Post 3: Barrier Thinking—Even When Nothing Went Wrong

Sharpening the Saw Series

What if your best root cause tools could help you prevent problems, not just solve them?

If you've been trained in cause analysis, you’ve used barrier analysis to understand how and why things went wrong. But here’s the secret: the most effective analysts don't wait for a failure to start thinking about barriers.

They apply barrier thinking daily—during observations, planning, conversations, and walkdowns—to reduce risk and reinforce reliability.

Let’s talk about how you can do the same.

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What Are Barriers, Really?

Barriers are anything that prevent or protect against error, failure, or harm.

They can be:

· Physical: guards, interlocks, alarms

· Procedural: checklists, hold points, sign-offs

· Organizational: training, supervision, staffing

· Cultural: peer checks, questioning attitudes, habit strength

Strong systems use multiple layers of barriers, not just one line of defense. Weak systems rely on good luck and “we’ve always done it this way.”

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When to Use Barrier Thinking

You don’t need a root cause evaluation to think about barriers. Try this mindset anytime you see:

· A recurring issue or close call

· A work process that relies heavily on memory or discretion

· A conversation that includes “It shouldn’t have happened”

· A planning meeting or pre-job brief

Ask yourself:

“What barriers are in place here—and are they working?”

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Quick Barrier Thinking in Practice

🛠 Scenario 1: Your team recently caught a misstep before it caused an issue—someone noticed a tool left behind during a job.

Barrier check: Was there a tool check step in the procedure? Was it skipped? Missed? Not present? Is the job being rushed? Is peer checking expected but not reinforced?

Now you're thinking like an analyst—before the next incident.

🛠 Scenario 2: You're reviewing a plan for upcoming confined space work.

Ask:

· What physical, procedural, and cultural barriers will keep the team safe?

· Which ones rely on people doing the right thing, without prompting?

· Are there any weak single-point barriers?

You’re not being critical, you’re being preventative.

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Low-Tech Barrier Assessment

Even without a chart, use this simple check:

· Present: Is there a barrier in place?

· Proper: Is it the right kind of barrier for the risk?

· Performed: Is it actually being used, as intended?

If the answer to any of these is “not really,” that’s your cue to act—even informally.

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Why This Matters

Barrier thinking builds system resilience. It helps you:

· Spot precursors before they become problems

· Coach others without assigning blame

· Reinforce good practices and prevent normalization of deviance

And most importantly, it shifts your organization from reactive to proactive.

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Challenge for This Week

On your next work observation, shift your lens. Instead of just watching what people do, notice what protects them from failure—and where that protection is thin.

Ask:

· What worked well here?

· What might break down next time?

· What small reinforcement could help?

Then share it with your team—or drop a note to the Community of Practice inbox. Real-time learning is how we sharpen the saw.

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In the next post, we’ll explore how to mentally build a quick event and causal factor (ECF) chain—no chart needed.

Until then, keep looking for the layers. They might be the most important thing you don’t notice.