A worker points at a forklift's horn and says "horn clear" out loud before starting the engine. To anyone watching, it looks odd. That's precisely why it works.
What Is Shisa Kanko?
Shisa Kanko — also known as "pointing and calling" — is a Japanese occupational safety technique developed on the railways in the early 1900s. The idea is straightforward: before a critical task or check, the worker physically points at what they're confirming and says its status out loud.
It is standard practice across Japanese industry. It is recommended by the Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association. And outside of Asia, almost nobody does it.
The Evidence Behind It
The technique is backed by solid research, not just cultural habit.
A 1994 study by the Railway Technical Research Institute tested pointing and calling on a simple task. Without the technique, workers made 2.38 errors per 100 actions. With pointing and calling — just pointing at something and saying its status aloud — that dropped to 0.38.
That's an 85% reduction in mistakes.
The reason it works is neurological. When you point and call simultaneously, you activate multiple areas of the brain at once: the visual cortex (seeing the object), the motor cortex (the physical pointing movement), Broca's area (speaking), and the auditory cortex (hearing your own voice). The combined activation raises your conscious attention at the exact moment of a critical check — the opposite of going through the motions.
Research published in 2025 applied the technique to paramedic training with positive results. Aviation Week has covered its potential for cockpit procedures. This is not fringe theory.
Where It Has Been Adopted Outside Japan
- New York City Subway: Conductors have been required to point at a platform marker before opening doors since 1996, introduced after a series of incidents where doors opened in tunnels
- Toronto: Both the subway and GO Transit have formally adopted the practice, with GO Transit implementing it in March 2021
- Paramedic training: At least one Canadian programme now teaches it as part of critical task management
In UK workplaces? I've never seen it used.
Where It Could Work in the UK
The technique is most effective for tasks where familiarity and routine create the conditions for inattention — exactly the kind of tasks where incidents happen.
Forklift pre-use checks: A driver pointing at the horn, lights, and tyres, calling each item clear before moving.
Lockout/tagout procedures: An engineer pointing at the isolation point and calling "isolated — confirmed" before starting maintenance work.
Plant pre-use checks: Equipment operators physically pointing at each check item on the pre-use sheet and calling its status out loud.
Lone working check-ins: A worker confirming their location and status verbally before starting a lone task.
Opening and closing walkthroughs: Supervisors pointing at fire exits, isolations, and secured areas as they call each item clear.
The common thread is that these are repetitive checks done under time pressure, often by experienced workers who know the procedure well — which is precisely when inattention peaks. Familiarity breeds autopilot. Autopilot is where incidents happen.
Would a UK Workforce Try It?
Almost everything depends on how it's introduced.
Handed down as a new policy with no explanation, it will get laughed off the shopfloor. Introduced with the evidence — a five-minute conversation about why experienced workers are often more error-prone than newer ones on familiar tasks, and what the research actually shows — there's a real chance it sticks.
The data is compelling. An 85% reduction in errors from a technique that costs nothing and requires no equipment is hard to argue with.
If anyone in UK health and safety has actually introduced this, formally or informally, I'd be genuinely interested to hear how it landed.
Visit www.safecompli.co.uk for practical safety management support.