BEHAVIOR BASED SAFETY

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SafetyonCall
OBJECTIVES TODAY

• Identify differences between traditional vs. BBS.

• Know “when and when not” to implement BBS.
• Explain why most traditional safety programs don’t work!
• Understand why positive reinforcement is much more
powerful than negative reinforcement.

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SafetyonCall
WHY SAFETY PROGRAMS DO NOT WORK

• Safety is a priority, not a value!

• Safety is not managed in the same manner as production,
quality, and cost issues!
• Safety is not driven through continuous improvement!

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“FALLACIES OR REALITIES” IN SAFETY FABLES?

• Conditions cause accidents!

• Enforcing rules improves safety!
• Safety professionals can keep workers safe!
• Low accident rates indicate safety programs are working well!
• Investigating to find the root cause of accidents will improve
safety!
• Awareness training improves safety!
• Rewards improve safety!

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CORE ELEMENTS IN SUCCESSFUL SAFETY PROGRAMS

• A culture that says “safety” is important around here!

• A tight accountability system!

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SAFETY INTERVENTION STRATEGIES (BY NSC)

Approach # of Studies # of Subjects Reduction %

Behavior Based 7 2,444 59.6%
Ergonomics 3 n/a 51.6%
Engineering 4 n/a 29.0%
Change
Problem Solving 1 76 20.0%
Government Action 2 2 18.3%
Mgt. Audits 4 n/a 17.0%
Stress 2 1,300 15.0%
Management
Poster Campaign 2 6,100 14.0%
Personnel 26 19,177 3.7%
Selection
Near miss reports 2 n/a SafetyonCall
0%
BEHAVIOR BASED SAFETY – WHAT IS IT?

• An excellent tool for collecting data on the quality of

a company’s safety management system.
• A scientific way to understand why people behave
the way they do when it comes to safety.
• Properly applied, an effective next step towards
creating a truly pro-active safety culture where loss
prevention is a core value.
• Conceptually easy to understand but often hard to
implement and sustain.

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BEHAVIOR BASED SAFETY – WHAT IS IT NOT?

• Only about observation and feedback.

• Concerned only about the behaviors of line employees.
• A substitution for traditional risk management techniques.
• About cheating & manipulating people & aversive control.
• A focus on incident rates without a focus on behavior.
• A process that does not need employee involvement.

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INTERVENTIONS

Always Consider These 3 Components

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Engineering Controls

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TRADITIONAL HIERARCHY OF SAFETY

Interventions Included:
• Attempts to eliminate the hazard.
• Having employees work around the hazard.
• Guarding or warning employees about the hazard.
• Training employees to deal safely with the hazard.

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SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM INTERVENTIONS
7 Components:
1. Management leadership
• Vision, values, commitment
• Safety goals & objectives
• Costs of safety performance
2. Responsibility & accountability
• Defined for management &
employees
• Accountable for performance
3. Safety organization
• Safety committees
• Safety staff resource
• Safety budget
4. Safe work practices & procedures
• General & job specific
• Housekeeping
• Contractors
• Emergency
5. Safety review & improvement
• A Plan / Do / Check / Act process
• Accident investigation process
• Safety audit / inspection process
6. Safety training
• Based on needs assessments
• Designed & presented effectively
• For both management &
employees
• Results in observable changes in
behavior on the job
7. Safety communications
• Internal & external
• Appropriate for audience
• Effectiveness of communication
methods
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IF SAFETY INTERVENTIONS ARE EFFECTIVE…

You will see:

• % of safe behaviors increasing and the % at-risk behaviors
decreasing.
• Reporting of near misses / hits increasing.
• Both the number of observations and level of participation
increasing.
• Frequency & severity of injuries decreasing.
• Increasing acceptance of responsibility and accountability
for personal behavior.

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“BUSINESS IS BEHAVIOR”

A business succeeds or fails through the performance of all

of its employees.

Success = “Good” performance

Failure = “Bad” performance
Performance = the combined results of a series of behaviors

*Aubrey Daniels, author and behavioral psychologist

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SUGGESTED BBS PROCESS

• Discovery - Determine Behaviors That Have Greatest Loss

Impact.
• Design - Identify Team Who Will Define & Design BBS Process.
• System Up - Implement BBS Observation Process & Collect
Data.
• System Check - Ensure BBS Process Has Been Effectively
Implemented.

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OBSERVATIONS, FEEDBACK & DATA COLLECTION

• Use a design team of hourly workers, supervisors and

managers, to design the process - forms, training, data
collection and ID roles & responsibilities.
• Clearly define critical behaviors that will be observed -
what is “safe” vs. “at-risk”?
• Give feedback on safe & at-risk behavior observed.
• Determine who will act on data collected through
observations.

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USE PRIOR EXPERIENCE DATA TO TARGET
JOBS FOR OBSERVATION

• Loss runs from insurance carrier or broker

• OSHA logs
• First aid logs
• Near miss / hit reports
• Absenteeism / turnover reports

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DEFINE CRITICAL BEHAVIORS –
WHAT IS SAFE & WHAT IS AT RISK?

• Focus on relevant behaviors that will have a direct impact

on losses.
• Many behaviors that are directly related to the losses are
unconscious behaviors that occur quickly.
• Select critical behaviors to focus on through actual
observation of people at work - not just through discussion
& brainstorming.

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OBSTACLES TO SUCCESS:

• Poorly Maintained Facilities

• Top-down Management Practices
• Poor Planning/Execution
• Inadequate Training

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KEYS TO SUCCESS

• Meaningful Employee Empowerment.

• Designing a Well Planned and Supported BBS Process.
• Managing BBS Process with Integrity.

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HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Is a function of:
• Activators (what needs to be done)
• Competencies (how it needs to be done)
• Consequences (what happens if it is done)

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HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Is both:
• Observable
• Measurable

Therefore…Behavior can be manager!

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ATTITUDES

Are inside a person’s head -therefore they are not observable

or measurable.
However…Attitudes can be changed by changing behaviors

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ABC MODEL

• Antecedents – Trigger Behavior

• Behavior – Human Performance
• Consequences – Either Reinforce or Punish Behavior

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DEFINITIONS

• Activators - A person, place, thing or event that happens

before a behavior takes place that encourages you to
perform that behavior.
• Activators only set the stage for behavior or performance
- they don’t control it.

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EXAMPLES OF ACTIVATORS

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DEFINITIONS

Behavior - Any directly measurable thing that a person does,

including speaking, acting, and performing physical functions.

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EXAMPLES OF BEHAVIOR

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 DEFINITIONS

• Consequences - Events that follow behaviors.

• Consequences increase or decrease the probability that the
behaviors will occur again in the future.
If you don’t send in
that payment we’ll take
you to court
Oh please let it be Bob!

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EXAMPLES OF CONSEQUENCES

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CONSEQUENCES – HOW WOULD YOU VIEW THEM?

Sunbathing

Aggressive Drivers

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ONLY 4 TYPES OF CONSEQUENCES:

• Positive Reinforcement (R+)

– "Do this & you'll be rewarded"
• Negative Reinforcement (R-)
– "Do this or else you'll be penalized"
• Punishment (P)
– "If you do this, you'll be penalized"
• Extinction (E)
– "Ignore it and it'll go away"

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CONSEQUENCES INFLUENCE BEHAVIORS BASED
UPON INDIVIDUAL PERCEPTIONS OF

Based upon individual perceptions of:

{
Magnitude - large
or small
• Significance - positive or negative
Impact - personal
or other
• Timing – immediate or future
• Consistency – certain or uncertain

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BOTH POSITIVE (R+) & NEGATIVE (R-)
REINFORCEMENT CAN INCREASE BEHAVIOR

• R+ : any consequence that follows a behavior and increases

the probability that the behavior will occur more often in the
future - You get something you want.
• R- : a consequence that strengthens any behavior that
reduces or terminates the consequence - You escape or
avoid something you don’t want.

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 Good safety suggestion
R+ Joe! Keep bringing ‘em
up!

One more report like

this and you’re outa
here!!

R-
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THE EFFECTS OF POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT

P
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R+
r
f
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m
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Time

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BOTH PUNISHMENT & EXTINCTION
DECREASE BEHAVIOR

• Punishment - a procedure in which a punisher (consequence

that decreases the frequency of the behavior it follows) is
presented.
- You may get something you don’t want.
• Extinction - withholding or non-delivery of positive
reinforcement for previously reinforced behavior.
- You don’t get what you want.

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 You bonehead!! You can kiss that
bonus for this year good-bye....
and take a few days off without
Punishment pay!!!

Let him cry honey. If we

get up every night when he
cries he’ll never learn to go
to sleep peacefully.

Extinction

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THE EFFECTS OF PUNISHMENT

P
e Punishment
r
f
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m
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Time

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THE EFFECTS OF EXTINCTION

P
e
r Extinction
f
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Time

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IF YOU SEE THIS TYPE OF PERFORMANCE CURVE YOU
CAN BET MANAGEMENT, BY NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT
IS THE PREDOMINANT MANAGEMENT STYLE

P
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Time

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WHAT EMPLOYEES WANT

• A Safe Workplace
• A Positive Workplace
• To Take Care of One Another
• To Stop the Hurt!

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WHAT MANAGEMENT WANTS

• An Accident Free Workplace.

• Empowered Employees.
• Pro-active Rather Than Re-active Work Process.
• To Minimize Direct and Indirect Costs and Threat of Liability
From Accidents.

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WHY IS ONE SIGN OFTEN IGNORED AND THE OTHER
ONE OFTEN FOLLOWED?

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IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT PEOPLE FIND TO BE
REINFORCING…

Observe what they do when they have the freedom to choose.

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THE BEHAVIOR BASED SAFETY CHALLENGE

To create conditions that encourage people to collaborate

because they want to …not because they have to!

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A VALUES-BASED PROCESS

“Focus on the process…not results…they will come later!”

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AVOID THE FOLLOWING HEADLINE

“Behavior Based Safety Scores Show Significant Improvement

while injury rate climbs!”

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WHY DO WE NEED TO CHANGE?

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you always
got!”
- W. Edwards Deming

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