Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Motivation
in its simplest form is considered to be 
the reaction of humans to stimulus or perceived need. 
It has been defi ned as ‘a willingness to exert effort to 
achieve a desired outcome which satisfi es a need’, which 
implies that motivation is ‘need satisfaction’. A motivator 
is therefore said to be something that provides the drive 
to produce certain behaviour or to change behaviour.
Important factors in motivating people to achieve 
better safety performance at work have been shown to 
include:
➤
Involvement in the safety management process 
through consultation and active participation in 
planning work organisation
➤
Active involvement in working parties and com-
mittees, assisting in defi 
ning health and safety 
objectives
➤
Clear demonstration of commitment by manage-
ment to safety issues
➤
The attitudes of management and other workers 
towards safety
➤
Active participation in day-to-day management and 
monitoring of safety performance
➤
Effective communication of information to and from 
management
➤
The system for communication within the 
organisation
➤
The quality of leadership at all levels: management, 
trade unions, government.
A useful example of changing attitudes of 
the public relates to the introduction of the 
mandatory wearing of seat belts in cars.
When compulsory use of belts was fi rst 
introduced many drivers had never used 
them. Initially it was found that drivers did 
not use them, stating that:
➤
They found them uncomfortable
➤
They could not see the need
➤
They cost lives by trapping you in the 
car after a crash
➤
They had never been hurt in a crash so 
why did they need a belt.
Most of these objections were based on 
the general public’s attitude to the imposi-
tion of seat belts on them. Over time people 
have changed their attitudes and, therefore, 
their behaviour has changed. This has been 
achieved through various means, such as 
advertising, law enforcement, provision of 
information, etc.
Perception
– the way in which people interpret or make 
use of information. For instance, the way people identify 
risk is dictated by a range of factors, such as their age, 
individual attitudes, skills, training, experience, personality, 
memory and their ability to process sensory information.
As a result of this, if there is a mismatch between a 
person’s ability to perceive the risk accurately, and the 
real life extent of the risk, the person can be misled into 
under- or overestimating the level of the risk.
For example:
➤
Most construction workers would perceive offi ces 
as ‘safe’ work environments based on their experi-
ence in a high risk industry and would, therefore, 
probably feel perfectly comfortable and safe in even 
the most unsafe offi ce
➤
An 
offi ce worker, on the other hand, taken to even a 
well-run construction site would feel threatened by 
Figure 4.14
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Physiological Needs
Self
Actualisation
Self
Esteem
Social Needs
Safety/Security

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