Error traps
Conditions that make a mistake more likely, like two identical buttons or a label you can only read from one angle, none of which appear on a standard hazard list.
Your risk assessments find hazards and probably miss what causes people to make mistakes.
Most risk assessments list hazards and assign controls. The conditions that actually cause mistakes and incidents sit outside what the process captures.
How do we improve risk assessments to capture how work is really done?
Improve risk assessments by comparing work as imagined with work as done: observe the real task, ask what makes it hard, and record the adaptations and error traps a hazard list cannot capture. Learning from Normal Work adds the conditions that actually cause mistakes to the risk assessment process you already run.
What your risk assessment is missing
Workarounds
When the procedure does not match the job people adapt, and those adaptations change the risk without anyone documenting it.
Dependencies
Decisions made elsewhere, in engineering or in planning, change the risk at the workstation even though the crew did nothing different.
Dynamic risk
A task that is low-risk at 9 a.m. with a full crew can be high-risk by 2 p.m. with a schedule delay, but standard risk assessments treat risk as fixed.
See the approach in practice
What organizations see after our training
50%
more hazards identified
Participants found twice as many hazards after a single training session.
40%
improvement in hazard quality
Descriptions went from vague ("pressure") to specific and actionable.
0 → 5
error traps per scenario
Before training, zero. After training, five on average.
50%
better error trap detection
Hidden conditions that drive mistakes, surfaced for the first time.
We wrote an industry guide based on our experience
This program was developed by Dr Marcin Nazaruk, lead author of the Energy Institute's Guidance on Human Factors in Task-Based Risk Assessment (EI 3579). The guidance was written for the energy sector and is now used across pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and mining.
Marcin has spent two decades integrating human factors into risk assessment processes in the field. His work has been recognized with the SHP Trailblazer Award and the SPE International HSE Award.
What this means for your role
VP / HSE Director
Before
You know what hazards are on paper but cannot see the conditions that will cause the next incident.
After
You see error traps, dependencies, and workarounds your current risk assessments are not capturing.
HSE Manager / RA Lead
Before
Your risk assessments produce the same generic hazard entries and controls year after year.
After
Your team documents specific error traps and constraints, and your templates are rebuilt to capture them.
Supervisor / Frontline Manager
Before
Your pre-job briefing checks the same hazards every shift and misses the conditions that change between shifts.
After
Your team identifies developing hazards and error traps in real time as conditions change during the job.
Training your people and upgrading your process
1 jour
Session 1
Changement de mentalité
Who it is for
Senior leaders, RA stakeholders, and HSE/Quality.
Introduction to the foundational ideas, skills, and tools underpinning LFNW.
Explore Mindset Shifter
Half day
Session 2
LFNW in Risk Assessment
Who it is for
RA stakeholders and HSE/Quality.
Psychology of hazard identification, how error traps influence risk, and practical methods for addressing and controlling them.
Half day
Session 3
RA Process Update
Who it is for
RA stakeholders and HSE/Quality.
Your team updates your internal risk assessment process, templates, and capability requirements. You leave with materials ready to use.
Half day
Session 4
Dynamic Risk Assessment
Who it is for
Frontline workers, supervisors, and team leaders.
Identifying hazards and error traps, recognizing critical steps, and directing attention as conditions change during the shift.
Sessions can be run individually or combined. Delivered in person or online.
We also help you upgrade the system around it
For risk assessment to produce different results, the system around it needs to change as well.
Questions about the program
The program adds a layer most risk assessments miss: error traps, constraints, and dependencies between teams. Your templates and procedures get upgraded to capture these factors. The system your people know stays in place.
A condition in the work environment that makes a mistake more likely. Two buttons that look the same, a procedure written for equipment that was replaced, a label you can only read from one angle. A hazard is a source of harm. An error trap is a condition that increases the chance someone will interact with that hazard incorrectly.
Experienced operators can miss up to 50% of existing hazards. People focus on what is visible and familiar: dropped objects, trips, moving equipment. Hazards that are hidden or dependent on other activities are harder to spot. Over time, people stop noticing risks they walk past every day.
Mindset Shifter is for senior leaders who need to understand why the upgrade matters. Risk Assessment Evolved and the Process Update Workshop are for HSE and Quality teams who will implement the changes. Dynamic Risk Assessment is for supervisors and frontline workers.
No. The program upgrades the system you already use. The process update workshop focuses on your existing templates, procedures, and capability requirements.
Pricing depends on group size and delivery format. Minimum group of 10, with per-person cost decreasing for larger groups. We accept GBP, USD, and EUR.
The full program, in one document
The full program breakdown, including training structure, the comparison between standard and upgraded risk assessment, and measured results.
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