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BEHAVIOR BASED SAFETY

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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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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 Change

4 n/a 29.0%

Problem Solving 1 76 20.0%

Government Action

2 2 18.3%

Mgt. Audits 4 n/a 17.0%

Stress Management

2 1,300 15.0%

Poster Campaign

2 6,100 14.0%

Personnel Selection

26 19,177 3.7%

Near miss reports

2 n/a 0%

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• 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.

BEHAVIOR BASED SAFETY – WHAT IS IT?

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• 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.

BEHAVIOR BASED SAFETY – WHAT IS IT NOT?

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Always Consider These 3 Components

Safety

Managem

ent

System

Engineering Controls

Behaviors

INTERVENTIONS

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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.

TRADITIONAL HIERARCHY OF SAFETY

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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

SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM INTERVENTIONS

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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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.

IF SAFETY INTERVENTIONS ARE EFFECTIVE…

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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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• 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.

OBSERVATIONS, FEEDBACK & DATA COLLECTION

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• Loss runs from insurance carrier or broker

• OSHA logs

• First aid logs

• Near miss / hit reports

• Absenteeism / turnover reports

USE PRIOR EXPERIENCE DATA TO TARGET JOBS FOR OBSERVATION

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• 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.

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

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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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Is a function of:

• Activators (what needs to be done)

• Competencies (how it needs to be done)

• Consequences (what happens if it is done)

HUMAN BEHAVIOR

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Is both:

• Observable

• Measurable

Therefore…Behavior can be manager!

HUMAN BEHAVIOR

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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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Behavior - Any directly measurable thing that a person does,

including speaking, acting, and performing physical functions.

DEFINITIONS

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EXAMPLES OF BEHAVIOR

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• Consequences - Events that follow behaviors.

• Consequences increase or decrease the probability that

the behaviors will occur again in the future.

Oh please let it be Bob!

If you don’t send in that payment we’ll take you to court

DEFINITIONS

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EXAMPLES OF CONSEQUENCES

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Sunbathing

Aggressive Drivers

CONSEQUENCES – HOW WOULD YOU VIEW THEM?

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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:

• Significance - positive or negative

• Timing – immediate or future

• Consistency – certain or uncertain

{Magnitude - large or small

Impact - personal or other

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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 Joe! Keep bringing ‘em up!

R+

R-

One more report like this and you’re outa here!!

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Performance

Time

R+

THE EFFECTS OF POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT

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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 pay!!!Punishment

Extinction

Let him cry honey. If we get up every night

when he cries he’ll never learn to go to

sleep peacefully.

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Performance

Time

Punishment

THE EFFECTS OF PUNISHMENT

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Performance

Time

Extinction

THE EFFECTS OF EXTINCTION

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Per

formance

Time

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

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

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

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To create conditions that encourage people to collaborate because they want to …not because they have to!

THE BEHAVIOR BASED SAFETY CHALLENGE

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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