Self-Assessment: Compare the Plan with Real Work

Human Performance weekly series: lesson 28 of 52.

A 5–10 minute crew discussion, plus time to verify the actual controls. The crew talk and Word version are public. Separate supervisor and attendance records are included with free Safety & Systems membership.

Why this matters

A process can look complete in the plan while people experience gaps in work. Assess how it operates. Compare its intended result with records, worker accounts and safe observations. Keep differences visible so the assessment can improve the system that supports the task.

Learning objective

Compare one work process with its intended result using more than one evidence source, then define a verified improvement.

Key hazards or failure points

Scoring from memory; choosing only easy areas; staged demonstrations; treating one observation as universal; dismissing conflicting accounts; findings reported without correction or later review.

Practical controls

• Choose a bounded process, such as obtaining current instructions or arranging required support. Identify its intended result and governing requirements. State which tasks, shifts and conditions the assessment will cover.
• Include people who use and support the process. Review relevant records and observe ordinary work from authorized safe positions. Keep unobserved conditions and contrary evidence visible rather than forcing a favorable rating.
• Record what works and what needs improvement. Assign findings to responsible owners, arrange necessary protection and review proposed changes through the approved process. Define how their effect will be checked after implementation.

Verify It in the Field

• Select one process claim and locate its current requirement or stated objective. Ask a worker to describe how it works on their shift, then compare a relevant record. Record the scope, evidence sources and any disagreement needing follow-up.
• Observe the relevant handoff or resource arrangement safely during normal work, without staging exposure or disrupting a critical step. Compare the result with the claim. Record the actual condition, observer and time; do not extend that finding to unexamined shifts.
• After an approved improvement, repeat the agreed check and ask affected workers about usability. Record the source criterion, actual result and remaining limitations. Check for new problems and give the group feedback before treating the finding as resolved.

Stop and reassess

Pause the assessment if it interferes with safe work or asks someone to defeat a safeguard. Act on a serious unresolved hazard immediately. Keep conclusions limited when evidence conflicts or the selected sample does not cover the conditions being claimed.

Crew discussion questions

• What result is this process supposed to provide?
• Which evidence could show that our picture is incomplete?
• How will we check whether the improvement works on another shift?

For each required control, record its acceptance source and criterion, safe verification method, responsible checker, actual result and time. Use VERIFIED, HOLD/NOT VERIFIED, or N/A with a reason. A tick alone is not evidence. Complete all applicable task inspections; do not enter danger or improvise a test to fill out a form.

Leader preparation and practical detail

A document-access process may work differently at night

Illustrative situation: the assessment finds that the current procedure is available in the office, while workers on another shift rely on an older printed copy. Examine how the process delivers the correct version at the point of use and how obsolete copies are controlled. Review the relevant records, ask both shifts and observe the normal arrangement safely. A file existing somewhere on the system does not establish that everyone who needs it can obtain it.

Look for an ordinary process, not a prepared demonstration

Illustrative situation: a support resource is arranged specially for an assessment visit, making the task appear easier than usual. Ask how the same need is met on other days and retain the limitation in the finding. Do not stage a failure or withhold support to obtain realism. Use existing records and agreed safe observation to understand variation. A credible assessment describes the conditions under which its conclusion applies rather than claiming the entire system passed.

Review the improvement after it meets real work

An initial correction may solve the observed case but create a delay, access problem or responsibility gap elsewhere. Define a follow-up that includes affected users and relevant variations. This lesson evaluates a supporting process over its stated scope; Job-Site Review checks one location before work, and Safety Checklists checks evidence for a control item. The historical DOE order cited in the archive is not presented as a current requirement for general construction employers.

Short supervisor field check

• Scope and intended result tied to current requirements.
• Relevant workers, records and safe observations included.
• Evidence conflicts and unexamined conditions recorded.
• Finding owner, immediate protection and change review assigned.
• Post-change result, usability and limits checked and reported.

Confirm the relevant trained/authorized people, unresolved items, interim protection, correction owner and recheck. Record required release authority and rebrief anyone affected. The separate sheet supports these records; it does not replace a specialist inspection, permit or engineering determination.

Attendance and follow-through

Use the separate attendance sheet for participants, roles, discussion concerns, actions and late-arrival rebriefs. Attendance is not proof of competence, functioning controls or authorization to work. Keep completed records private under employer procedures.

Source acknowledgment

This resource draws on the U.S. Department of Energy’s DOE-HDBK-1028-2009, Human Performance Improvement Handbook, Volume 2 (June 2009). Todd Jerome Jenkins makes no claim of authorship or copyright ownership in the original U.S. Government work. New explanations, examples, exercises and layouts are Todd Jerome Jenkins adaptations. No endorsement by DOE or the U.S. Government is implied. Third-party material credited in the handbook remains attributed to its source; this notice does not claim rights in that material.

Source excerpt: Volume 2/VOLUME 2 SELF-ASSESSMENTS.pdf; Printed pp. 75, 76. The June 2009 handbook supplies concepts; this lesson uses original explanations and exercises.

Technical scope and references

References reviewed October 9, 2026. DOE human-performance tools and OSHA recommended practices support preparation and discussion; they do not establish universal technical acceptance criteria. Apply the current task procedure, manufacturer instructions, permit and required competent or qualified decisions. A successful exercise does not replace required training, technical verification or work authorization.

1. DOE-HDBK-1028-2009, Volume 2 — Self-Assessments, printed pp. 75–76 — June 2009 illustrative guidance on scope, ordinary work, evidence, corrective action and reassessment. Historical DOE-order mandate excluded.
2. OSHA — Program Evaluation and Improvement — Current recommended practices on assessing implementation, worker participation and corrective follow-through.
3. OSHA — Hazard Prevention and Control — Current recommended practices on evaluating control effectiveness and involving affected workers.

Connect this discussion to your JHA/JSA

Use the JHA/JSA planning and field-verification worksheet to record the actual task steps, hazards, responsible roles and controls. No task-specific worked example is linked for this topic yet. Return to What Changed Today? when the plan or conditions change.

Related Todd Jerome Jenkins articles: How to Conduct a Job Safety Analysis and What Is Human and Organizational Performance?.

Related crew discussions

• Observe the Work: Study Conditions Before Judging Actions
• Independent Oversight: Find the Blind Spots

Continue the weekly series

• Lesson 27: Choose the Gap to Fix First
• Lesson 29: Safety Indicators: What Are the Conditions Telling Us?

Put one check into practice

Use the free JHA/JSA planning and field-verification worksheet to record today’s change, the required protection and the evidence needed before exposure.