Behavior Based Safety

by Grainne A. Matthews, Ph.D., Vice President Construction and Utilities

The role of management in your behavioral safety process depends on what you are trying to achieve with that process. If you plan to use behavioral safety as part of your efforts to improve your safety culture, then members of your supervision and management teams will be equal partners with employees in the design, rollout, and maintenance of your process. They will not only need to do the same things that other employees do to make behavioral safety a success, they will also play a unique role that only supervisors and managers can play.  Like other employees, they will conduct observations, provide feedback, and serve as members of the steering team that analyzes the observation data to identify barriers to safe behavior.  In their special role as leaders, depending on their position, they may also do the following:

The heart of a successful behavior based safety process.
by Jerry Pounds, President, International Division

Behavior Based Safety (BBS) is a process that has been implemented by most major companies around the world. It has been in existence for almost 30 years and has significantly reduced injuries in every business and industry.

Many issues act as barriers to effectively integrating BBS into a company's safety management system. Yet, one primary mistake makes effective BBS impossible: a lack of sincerity and commitment on the part of management, something which I call the heart of BBS.

by Tom Burns

Common Elements – Ergonomics and Behavioral Safety Processes

Traditional Ergonomics and Behavioral Safety processes typically have much in common. The elements common to both processes usually include the utilization of teams with members from all levels of the organization to drive the processes and the observation of workplace tasks by team members. From a broad perspective, the objective of each of these processes is to identify critical risk factors and to implement effective methods for eliminating or reducing the risks.

By Horacio Roman, M.A.

“Get Rich or Die Trying” is the title of rap song by artist 50Cent. Sadly, the title fittingly describes the experiences of many Hispanic workers in the United States. Recently, I became aware that Hispanics are the only demographic group in the U.S. whose fatality rate increased between 1992 and 2002. This increase triggered OSHA mandates targeting these workers.