What is Behavior Based Safety?

Why is behavior based safety important?

The importance of a behavior based safety program lies in its pragmatic approach to remove the most common source of workplace injuries or accidents - "human error".

While human error is non-deliberate, it emancipates from our casual behavioral tendency of being complacent while undertaking high-risk jobs. Front line workers are often prone to human errors as they tend to neglect the finer aspects of safety while following routine operations. As experience manifest in faster results, these workers tend to take risky shortcuts that go undetected. This change in behavior influences a dangerous pattern that ultimately leads to an accident - causing harm to themselves and those around them.

With a BBS program, your entire organization from the management to frontline workers is constantly under observation to discover unsafe or destructive behavioral tendencies. A comprehensive BBSO program observes employees while they perform routine tasks, providing them with continuous feedback, motivation and awareness to reinforce their behavior to align with safe work practices.

The primary goal of a BBS program is to positively reinforce safe practices by proactively identifying naturally inclined unsafe behavioral patterns in humans and ensuring that timely interventions are in place to encourage individuals or groups to continuously conform to EHS best practices.

Behavior based safety approach – the ABC model

What is the ABC model in behavior based safety?

The ABC model or the Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence model is the well-established and scientific approach to analyze why people act in a certain way and find ways to implement behavioral changes.

According to this cognitive behavior therapy, The A stands for antecedent, which is the prevailing condition that works as a catalyst for the preceding action. Antecedents reveal what set off the behavior.

The B stands for Behavior, which is defined as the visible action that a person performs which is observable and measurable.

The C stands for consequence; it is the action that takes place after the outcome of the behavior is triggered. It could either be positive or negative depending on the result of the behavior.

Rectifying antecedents may be a safe bet for controlling risky behavior. However, it is the consequence of a behavior that can effectively reinforce behavioral changes.

BBS Improvement Process:

Here is a 7-step process that can help in improving Behavior Based Safety in your organization:

1. Identify critical problem behaviors.

Discover behavioral patterns that elicit danger

2. Identify root causes.

Identify lead indicators that cause negative behavior

3. Generate potential actions.

Find possible solutions to contain the behavior.

4. Evaluate possible actions.

Shortlist the most productive solutions

5. Develop an action plan.

Create a strategy to implement the behavioral change

6. Implement an action plan

Execute the strategy to easily adapt to prevalent conditions.

7. Conduct follow up.

Measure and evaluate if the implemented change has created a difference.

How to implement a behavior based safety program?

To implement a strong behavior based safety program, your organization should inculcate a safety culture that promotes:

Open Communication:

Create a feedback-rich environment where employees can freely voice their concerns and where the management conducts consistent awareness programs.

Reporting Culture:

Promoting a culture where are all dangerous activities/behaviors are duly reported to take timely actions.

Management commitment:

Ensure company-wide transparency in following safety procedures from owners, safety officers, and other high ranking officials.

Timely Reaction:

Be quick to act on unsafe behavioral reports, align teams to rapidly spread precautionary measures before it escalates into an incident.

Behavior based safety checklist

A behavior-based checklist is generally used for directly observing on-field behavioral patterns. The checklist serves as a powerful tool to identify unsafe acts, identify root causes and list down corrective measures. Commonly used behavior based checklist usually includes:

• Identification of the site and personnel involved in work procedures.
• Progressive evaluation of each process for unsafe practices
• Hazard list for identifying and projecting unsafe conditions or acts.
• PPE observation along with details of site safety, lockout tagout implementation and more.
• Details of observation including precautions to be taken and corrective actions needed.

Benefits of a behavior based safety program:

• Improved Safety practices that stem from a behavioral shift from unsafe to safe practices
• With awareness comes better situational preparedness again a known hazard.
• React impulsively in a safe manner when an emergency arises.
• Get continuous feedback on the effectiveness of an implied change
• Engage employee participation by rewarding positive behavior
• Provides a benchmark to measure improvement.

Elements of a world-class BBS program

Create a checklist from target behavior:

Utilize data from safety audits, safety meetings to find site vulnerabilities and identify critical safe behaviors that can be implemented in the observational checklist.

Employ a measurement system:

Ensure that there is a mechanism that weighs the frequency of safe and unsafe behaviors during an observation

Carry out observations

Conduct regular observation with trained HSE professionals who can blend into the work environment without acting as a deterrent to work procedures.

Deliver Consistent Feedback

Make sure that dangerous behavior that is observed is conveyed to the employee as fast as possible - creating an immediate feedback loop where the employee voices his concerns and overall corrective action is determined by the management.

Utilize data to take corrective action:

With valuable observation results at hand, find trends that need immediate corrective measures, ensure that all staff is informed of any newly discovered anomaly or prevalent condition.

Evaluate change:

Set improvement goals by monitoring the effectiveness of each behavioral modification, implemented as a countermeasure to obtain positive results.

Mistakes in implementing BBS

The effectiveness of a properly implemented BBSO system is undeniable in curbing unsafe acts, yet negative safety trends such as negative reporting quotas and wrongful implementation of the BBS program can prove disastrous to your organization. Here are a few common challenges and mistakes to avoid while implementing a BBS program:

Pushing the buck onto employees:

While the unsafe risk taker may be the blip in your safety program. Creating an environment where the blame game leads to unwarranted frictions can prove a dangerous mindset for your organization. A BBS system requires active employee participation through positive reinforcement and motivation to effectively sustain and bear results.

Failure to apply positive reinforcement:

It is natural for people to elicit a certain behavior, be it safe or unsafe acts, if it provides some form of benefit. In the workplace, taking a risk may save time, effort and in some cases ease into our comfort zone. With no leading indicators to affect change, the behavioral pattern will continue to manifest. Behavioral change should stem from positive reinforcement and safety culture that imbibes open communication and facts. Employees need to know the specifics of the hazards they are likely to face due to their behavior and the management also must provide an alternative solution to contain the hazard.

Failure to engage participation:

Resentment at being constantly admonished for unsafe practices may sway employees away from participating or even reporting unsafe acts due to fear of being reprimanded and terminated. To imbue a culture of active participation, companies need to make their staff feel like valued contributors to your safety culture and take to rewarding safe acts rather than punishing bad behavior. Unsafe behavior must be delicately conveyed using a corrective action process.

Behavior Based Safety – FAQs