Engage Employees In The Safety Process

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 Don Nielsen, Ph.D.

Safe driving requires a number of simultaneous and often complex behaviors. The trend in accidents and injuries in many countries is increasing. Speeding and distractions are two of the many factors involved in accidents and injury.

Self-monitoring for drivers is an approach to change their behavior by manipulating antecedents, observing and recording target behaviors, and receiving feedback and consequences. There are basic elements to a self-monitoring approach. Drivers must have an understanding of the process and driver representatives need to be involved in the development of the process. Target behaviors are identified and a method for recording behaviors is developed. Once a baseline is established, attainable goals are identified along with behavior change strategies. As the process moves along, data is shared with employees.

A large, sophisticated safety department and a strong concern for operational safety at one of Canada’s major utilities were not enough to avert several fatalities or avoid multiple major injuries—one resulting in a double amputation. “They were under serious regulatory pressure to bring their incident rate down, but they had really done everything they could do, except for the behavioral approach,” says Grainne Matthews, Quality Safety Edge (QSE) behavioral safety consultant.

“Think of looking at the U. S. map and in your mind go from Houston up through Louisiana, to the right through Mississippi, through the middle of Tennessee, part of Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and up to New York. That was the pipeline when we started out,” says Anthony “Corky” Carter, certified safety professional and principal safety representative.