Behavior-Based Job Safety Observations Page 1

Midwestern Contractors Master Safety & Health Program Rev. 02/11

Applicable OSHA Standards: Supplemental and supportive of general safety and compliance
1. Purpose
1.1. Midwestern Contractors has established written safety rules and safe work procedures
as one method of helping safeguard employees, host employer personnel and property
from accidents, injuries, damages and business interruptions. Company policy also requires
compliance with federal and state occupational safety and health laws and regulations, as well
as the safety and health requirements of host employers.
1.2. At the same time, the Company, as a long-experienced employer, recognizes that
regulatory and technical safety compliance frequently does not fully address how unsafe
individual behaviors cause accidents both on and off the job.
1.3. For this reason Midwestern Contractors has developed and implemented a behavior-based
Job Safety Observation (JSO) program. This program acknowledges and utilizes established
fundamentals of human psychology, motivation and response toward identifying critical
behaviors in the workplace and then applying the modification of antecedents toward conversion
of observable “unsafe” or “at-risk” behaviors into “safe” behaviors.
2. Scope
2.1. This policy applies to all employees and subcontractors working within Company
controlled work sites.
3. Overview
3.1. Studies indicate that most workplace injuries or near misses are caused by unsafe
behaviors, not unsafe conditions. At the same time, unsafe conditions -- known to management
and left uncorrected -- affect behaviors.
3.2. The Company’s Job Safety Observation program is intended to encourage employees and
management to correct hazardous conditions and change unsafe behaviors through positive
reinforcement in the context of “real life” daily activities.
3.3. When the employee has received positive reinforcement through work observation and
BBS processes, he or she is encouraged toward safe behaviors that become a habit and,
eventually, a personal value.
3.4. Employees will then help reinforce this value in their co-workers and encourage
them when they demonstrate safe behavior.
3.5. The BBS program is intended to achieve the following benefits for employees and
the Company:
3.5.1. Safer work environment
3.5.2. Frequency and severity of injuries decreases
3.5.3. Safe behaviors increase, and at-risk behaviors decrease
3.5.4. Employee participation in Company “safety culture” increases
3.5.5. Reporting of near-misses increases
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Midwestern Contractors Master Safety & Health Program Rev. 02/11
3.5.6. Acceptance of responsibility and accountability increases
4. Methods
4.1. Midwestern Contractors has established an in-house team and retained consulting support
to assist in developing the Job Safety Observation (JSO) and BBS program. The Company is
dedicated to building a program that is employee-based and involves individuals at all levels of
the Company in a process specific to our unique work operations.
4.2. The Company Safety Coordinator will be responsible for organization of the JSO
Development and Process Team and ongoing support for program implementation.
4.3. The following steps generally describe the basic process adopted for the Company
JSO and BBS program:
5. Design & Development Team
5.1. A process development team consisting of the Safety Coordinator, individual supervisors
and individual employees was organized and consulted regarding decisions and fundamental
elements for developing and implementing this program
6. Identify Critical Behaviors
6.1. Critical behaviors are those that have the potential to cause injury and incidents. In the
Company’s experience and on advice from our consultant the development team will consider
that a small number of unsafe behaviors may well be responsible for a majority of injuries and
incidents in the workplace. These critical behaviors will be identified and given primary initial
focus for positive modification.
6.2. These have been and, in future JSO activities will continue to be identified through a
process of Critical Behavior Analysis.
6.3. The following processes and methods were used to identify critical behaviors and
initiate a behavior-based corrective approach:
6.3.1. Look at incident trends to determine what processes are causing the most
incidents.
6.3.2. Conduct a hazard evaluation of job sites to determine the areas that have
the greatest risk for an incident.
6.3.3. Look at tasks that have the potential for serious injury or death.
6.3.4. Once the critical behaviors have been identified, implement effective engineering and/or
administrative controls when and where possible. Eliminating the hazard should always be the
first priority.
6.3.5. Determine if employees have been properly trained. Unsafe behaviors may be the result
of the employee not knowing proper procedures for performing work tasks.
6.3.6. Rank behaviors identified in the above steps and concentrate on the most
critical first.
7. Pinpoint those practices
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Midwestern Contractors Master Safety & Health Program Rev. 02/11
7.1. After the behaviors have been identified, break down each step in the process. The steps
identified should be detailed enough so that independent observers evaluating the same
employee will get similar results.
7.2. As an example, one of the items on the checklist may be to observe the use of personal
protective equipment (PPE). Be specific on the PPE required. Do not leave it up to the observer
to determine what PPE is needed.
7.3. To begin with, break down the task into the following four critical practices:
7.3.1. PPE – Determine what personal protective equipment is required to perform
the task. Again, be specific.
7.3.2. Housekeeping – The observer will evaluate the work area and document its
condition.
7.3.3. Using Tools and Equipment – The observer needs to know the appropriate tools and
equipment that are to be used while performing this task. They should also understand how the
tools are to be used safely.
7.3.4. Body Positioning / Protection – The observer will determine if the employee is performing
the task in such a way as to protect himself from strains, falling objects, exposure to a sudden
release of chemicals or hazardous energy, etc.
8. Develop a Job Safety Observation Checklist and BBS Observer Process
8.1. Observations provide direct, measurable information on employees’ work practices. The
observer uses the checklist to document employees performing their routine tasks.
8.2. The observer records both safe and unsafe behaviors on the checklist. This
information will be used to provide feedback and measure progress toward goals.
8.3. Use the critical behaviors and practices identified earlier to develop the checklist.
9. Develop Observation & Feedback Procedures
9.1. Observation and feedback are the most important components of the JSO and BBS
process.
9.2. Observation provides the data that makes this process uniquely effective. Frequent,
objective, positive feedback is essential in maintaining any safe behavior.
9.3. The employee is provided positive feedback on the safe behaviors, and non-
threatening, instructive feedback on how to correct unsafe behaviors.
10. Finalize the checklist, and then follow these steps to design the observation and
feedback procedures:
10.1. Determine who will conduct observations.
10.2. Determine the frequency of observations.
10.3. Develop observation procedures.
10.4. Determine who will provide feedback and when.
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Midwestern Contractors Master Safety & Health Program Rev. 02/11
10.5. Give training on conducting observations and providing feedback.
11. Determine who will conduct observations
11.1. Observers should include members of the design team and additional volunteers. Whether
employees (peers), supervisors or members of management are used depends on the culture of
the organization.
11.2. If employees trust supervisors and managers to observe and not to use the observations
for disciplinary reasons, then they can function effectively as observers. If not, it is probably
better to use employees’ peers.
11.3. Observers should be committed to safety. Each observer must be willing to undergo basic
training and continue to observe their colleagues’ safety performance as an ongoing safety
activity.
11.4. Midwestern Contractors’s goal is that ALL EMPLOYEES are trained and able to
participate as observers.
11.5. Management must allow observers and other design team members the time
needed to participate in this process.
11.6. All employees should receive initial training on the observation process initially as new
hires, and receive refresher training at least annually. All employees must be advised that they
may be observed at any time.
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Midwestern Contractors Master Safety & Health Program Rev. 02/11
12. Determine the frequency of observations
12.1. What gets measured gets done. That is why employees should observe their peers’ safety
behaviors on a regular basis. The greater the number of observations, the more reliable the
data and the more likely it is that safe behavior will improve.
12.2. It has been noted that the very act of observing and measuring people’s safety
behavior alters the behavior of both parties.
12.3. The frequency of observations is very important. The risks associated with the task should
determine whether the observations are performed daily, weekly, or monthly. If the task is high
risk, the observations should be conducted more frequently.
12.4. Different levels of management may also conduct observations at different intervals. Peers
may conduct observations weekly, supervisor’s biweekly, and management monthly. Having
management periodically conduct observations will help with quality control.
13. Develop the observation procedures
13.1. The observer will watch the other employee work, and will use the checklist to
record the number of safe and unsafe behaviors the employee performs.
13.2. Under the program’s initial methods, each observation should take no longer than 5-
10 minutes to complete.
14. Identify and Set Improvement Goals
14.1. Setting improvement goals increases the effectiveness of feedback and the success of the
JSO and BBS process. These goals should be based on the workers’ perceptions of their work
practices and how they can improve.
14.2. Action plans are then developed to support their efforts and help them achieve their
goals.
15. Develop Procedures for Providing Positive Reinforcement
15.1. Providing positive reinforcement when employees improve or attain goals is a key to a
successful BBS process. Positive reinforcement usually takes one of these forms:
15.1.1. Immediate verbal feedback
15.1.2. Graphical feedback placed in strategic locations in the workplace
15.1.3. Weekly/monthly briefings during which the observation scores are
analyzed to provide detailed feedback about specific behaviors
15.1.4. In combination, these forms of feedback are motivational, self-reinforcing
and help keep focus on improvements.
16. Measure Success
16.1. Individual departments, as well as the Company as a whole, will compare these
measurements. Sharing successes with employees is another form of positive feedback that
can contribute to continued success.
16.2. The Company will track JSO and BBS results by a computer-based method so that
numerical and statistical comparisons can be made over time.
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Midwestern Contractors Master Safety & Health Program Rev. 02/11
16.3. The action plan will be reviewed at least on a yearly basis, or sooner if action
requires it.
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