Behavior Based Safety

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 What is Behavior

• According to E.Scott Gellar behavior

refers to acts or actions by individuals
that
• Can be observed by others, behavior is
what a person does or says
• that is “observable” and “measurable”
• Any time, any where, any body
Examples of behavior
 What is Safety culture

‘’The attitudes, values, norms and beliefs

which a particular group of people share
with respect to risk and safety’’
‘’The way we do things around here’’
Why do Accidents happen ?

The Worldwide
Experience is that …
Most process and personal incidents,
injuries and accidents are caused by
unsafe acts and behaviors, not
conditions and equipment.

The behavior of all people in

the workplace determines
whether or not incidents and
injuries will occur
 Unsafe Acts vs. Unsafe Conditions

80-85% of all incidents are the result of unsafe acts;

15-20% of all incidents are the result of unsafe

conditions.

Question: If true, why are most efforts geared

towards unsafe conditions?
Answer: It’s easier to deal with unsafe conditions
than unsafe acts.
Safety Philosophy

1 Fatal

30 Lost Time

300 Recordable

30,000 Near Close Calls

300,000 At Risk Behaviour

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Basic theory of behavior ABC Model

• B=f(C)
• Activators (Antecedents)– Trigger
Behavior
• Behavior – Human Performance
• Consequences – Either Reinforce
or Punish Behavior
Activators (Antecedents)

– Prompt’s people to act

– Precede the behavior
– Communicate information
– Work best with
consequences
– Work only in short term if
no consequences
 Consequences
A consequence is simply what happens
to the performer as a result of the
behavior. A consequence can be:
• Positive or negative
• Natural or system
 Only 4 types of Consequences
• Positive reinforcement (R+) (Do it &
you will be rewarded)
• Negative reinforcement (R-) (Do it or
else you will be penalized)
• Punishment (P) (If you do this, you will
be penalized)
• Extinction (E ) (I will ignore it & it will
go away)
 Consequences- examples
• A- Appreciation
• C-Counselling
• I-Information
• T-Coaching/ Training
• D- Disciplinary action
• P- Punitive action
 What is BBS

• It involves observing behavior and detecting ‘’at

risk’’ or unsafe activities, followed by directing or
modifying behavior to achieve safe operation/
activities
• The goal is to provide management with credible
and sufficient information to make appropriate
decisions regarding safety issues.
 Why BBS

At Risk Behavior ( Causes ) provide

the foundation of Incidents ( Effects )

- Actual Causes – Incident Investigation

- Potential Causes – Safety Observation

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 Behavior-Based Safety
Behavior-Based Safety is an approach that creates safety partnership
between Employees and Leaders that continually focuses people’s
actions and attention, daily safety behavior.
Behavioral safety is the application of
• Behavioral Psychology to support safe behavior.
• Reduce at risk-behavior and thus prevent work place Injuries through
employee involvement and coaching and focuses on
• what people do, analyzes why they do it, and then applies a
research-supported intervention strategy to improve what people
do.

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 BBS
• An excellent tool for collecting data on the quality of
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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 What is Behavior all about ?
• The way we act
• The approach we have towards personal & workplace safety
• Tendency to forget things
• Reckless endangerment
• Not valuing, underestimating
• Seems to be high pride & over-confident
• Work stress & objection on Management decisions
• Not participative, Lack of team spirit
• Never talk
• Jealous at other’s success
• Affected by emotional commitments
• Lack of knowledge
• Loosing interest
• Enemy

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 Why At-Risk Behavior
• hazard perception (unaware of hazard & risks/ think this way is safe)
• Inadequate PPE/ Safety equipment
• Personal Factors.
– Taking short cuts/ lost focus
– Jobs get done faster
– Perception of risk is low
– ‘Nothing’s going to happen to me’ attitude
– At-risk behavior is reinforced
– Lack of awareness that behavior is risk
•Disagreement on safe practices/ procedures not established/ adequate
• Natural Factors (Ease & Comfort)
• Other Factors (Fatigue from overtime, Problems with
the Job layout of Equipment & Poor Training)
• Leaders support this way
•Organizational Climate Factors.

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 SELECTED AT RISK BEHAVIORS
• Not wearing protective equipment
• Failing to follow standard energy-controlled lock-out/tag-out procedures
• Lifting a heavy object without a hoist
• Standing on a machine instead of a ladder
• Using defective equipment/tools
• Using equipment/tools wrongly
• Unsafe Posture
• Violation of known Safety Operating Procedures
• Removing or making safety devices inoperative
• Indulging in horse play, practical jokes, fighting, sleeping, creating distractions
and so on.
• Failure to secure equipment or material
• Operating or working at unsafe speed
• Body parts in danger zone
• Repairing, servicing or using equipment in hazardous manner
• Engaging in unsafe practices
• Failure to warn / signal
• Ill fitting / Loose clothing
• Improper Orderliness

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Why Change Begins From
Behavior Only
CULTURE
( Values)

ATTITUDE
(Intentions)

BEHAVIOR
( Action )

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 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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Sequence of Behavioral Change

Safe Habit

(Reinforcement)

Knowingly Safe

(Feedback)

Knowingly At - Risk

(Knowledge)

Unknowingly At - Risk
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 WHAT OBSERVERS DO

• Observe, decide, stop the unsafe act

(safely)
• Comment on safe behavior
• Discuss- Possible consequences of
unsafe act & safer way to do job.
• Get agreement to work safely
• Discuss the other safety issues
• Thank the employee
• Record

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Steps for BBS Safety Observation
 Make a plan for BBS observation in working area.
 Observe the activity going on in that area for at least 15 minutes.
 Make Visual Contact with the observed employee
 Introduce yourself in a nice way or initiate discussions to create a rapport.
 Appreciate any safe behaviour you observed.
 Positively reinforce the safe behaviour.
 When you give positive comments, note below
 Comment has to be real.
 Comment is about something important
 Question to explore & learn and NOT to teach.
 Stop the unsafe act / behaviour
 Talk with the employee about the
 The consequence of the unsafe behaviour
 Comment on the unsafe Act to express your concern.
 Focus on the effects not on the unsafe act.
 Question to explore & learn and NOT to teach.
 Arrive together Safe way of doing the work.
 Get the agreement & commitment of doing the work Safely
 Discuss other Safety issues
 Thank the employee

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 BOTH POSITIVE
(R+) & NEGATIVE Good safety suggestion
(R-)
REINFORCEMENT
R+ Joe! Keep bringing ‘em
up!
CAN INCREASE
BEHAVIOR

One more report like

this and you’re outa
here!!

R-
 BENEFITS OF SAFETY
OBSERVATION
• Prevent injuries and property loss.
• Reinforce positive safety behavior.
• Raise safety awareness.
• Test understanding of and
compliance with standards.
• Identify weaknesses in safety
systems.
• Identify and correct unsafe
situations.
• Motivate people.

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 Results of BBS
Safe acts increases, unsafe acts decreases.
Incidents number goes down, which
resulted in:-
Improvement in :
• Safety culture
• Quality
• Productivity
• Cost Effectiveness
• Organizational Effectiveness
• Employee Morale
Good Safety = Good Business
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 What Employees Want

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

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 Improvement Goals

Setting improvement goals increases the

effectiveness of feedback and the success of
the behavior-based safety process.

These goals can take different forms, such as:

1. Safety Commitment
2. Safety Climate

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 THE CHALLENGE…..

REALIZE THE VALUE OF

DOING THINGS THE
RIGHT WAY
OBSERVATION CATEGORIES

• Reactions of People
• PPE
• Work Procedure
• Tools and Equipment
• Position of People
• Organisation of Work Place

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OBSERVATION CATEGORIES -
PPE
• Head Protection
• Eyes & Face
• Hearing Protection
• Respiratory Protection
• Arms and Hands
• Trunk
• Leg & Feet
• Safety Belt

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 WHAT OBSERVERS DO

• Identify and reinforce what is being done

right
• Identify unsafe conditions and behaviors and
correct them before they cause injuries
• Learn what safety issues exist
• Learn how safety issues are being handled
• Determine how well the Operator/ worker
understand the Site’s safety rules
• Monitor adherence to site’s rules and
procedures

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OBSERVATION CATEGORIES –
Tools and Equipment

• Right for the Job

• Used Correctly

• In safe Condition

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OBSERVATION CATEGORIES –
Position of People
• Striking against or being Struck by Object
• Caught in, on or between objects
• Falling Hazard
• Contacting Extreme Temperature
• Contacting Electric Current
• Repetitive Motion
• Awkward Position / Posture
• Inhaling, absorbing or swallowing Hazardous substance

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 Typical BBS Process
Flow of activities:
• Provide training on process of implementation of Behavior Based
Safety-How to do observations.
• Every trained employee carry out BBS observations at shop floor
level .
• A checklist guides the observer to focus on critical safety
behavior
• The observation checklists are collected and compiled. The
collective data is graphically portrayed
• The resulting information is periodically reviewed with all
employees
• The information is analyzed to identify areas for follow-up action
to see that process remains effective to yield desired results.

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 Basic Behavior Principles
Safety in the workplace is a combination of
three measurable components :
- the person,
- their environment, and
- their behavior,

Only when these three elements are combined

can workplace accidents be eliminated.

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 Basic Behavior Principles

The person component consist of the employees:

• Physical capabilities
• Experience, and
• Training

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 Basic Behavior Principles

The work environment represents:

• Engineering Controls,
• Equipment,
• Job task, and
• The work culture

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 Basic Behavior Principles

• The final, most often overlooked component is

behavior—what the person does on the job.

• An Alert worker is safe even in unsafe

condition
• An unalert worker is unsafe even in safe
condition

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 BEHAVIORAL BASED…..

• IS A BOTTOM-UP APPROACH
• FOCUS ON EMPLOYEE BEHAVIORS
• ADDRESSES ROOT CAUSES
• INTERNAL ENFORCEMENT
 OBSERVATION CATEGORIES –
Organization of Work Place

• Orderly Work Place

• Orderly Storage

• Clear Aisles & Exit

• Orderliness Standard Known

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OBSERVATION CATEGORIES –
Reactions of People
• Adjusting PPE
• Changing Position
• Rearranging Jobs
• Stopping Job
• Attaching Earthing
• Performing LOTO

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OBSERVATION CATEGORIES –
Work Procedures
• SOP Available

• SOP Adequate

• SOP Known

• SOP understood

• SOP followed

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 FOUNDATION CONCEPTS…

It is better to slay a dragon than to teach people ways to live peacefully with
him!!!

WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRADITIONAL &

BEHAVIORAL–BASED SAFETY PROGRAMS???
 TRADITIONAL……..

• TYPICALLY A TOP-DOWN APPROACH

• FOCUS ON REGUALTIONS & PROCEDURES
• TREATS SYMPTOMS
• EXTERNAL ENFORCEMENT
• DO AS I SAY…JUST DO IT… BUT WHEN BACK
IS TURNED…THEY WILL DO WHAT THEY
WANT TO DO
 Leadership

Engagement

Behavioural Safety
Coaching Six Fundamental
Pillars of BBS
Communication

Recognition

Measurement

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 Safety Philosophy

All Types of Injuries

Unsafe Conditions
Unsafe Act /
At Risk Behaviour

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How is the Safety at Work Achieved

Always Consider These 3 Components

Engineering Controls
 HISTORY OF BBS
• Herbert William Heinrich is an American industrial safety pioneer from the 1930s.
He was an Assistant Superintendent of the Engineering and Inspection Division of
Travelers Insurance Company when he published his book Industrial Accident
Prevention, A Scientific Approach.

• Heinrich's work is the basis for the theory of Behavior-based safety, which holds
that as many as 95 percent of all workplace accidents are caused by unsafe acts.
Heinrich came to this conclusion after reviewing thousands of accident reports
completed by supervisors, who generally blamed workers for causing accidents
without conducting detailed investigations into the root causes.

• While Heinrich's figure that 88 percent of all workplace accidents and

injuries/illnesses are caused by "man-failure" is perhaps his most oft-cited
conclusion, his book actually encouraged employers to control hazards, not
merely focus on worker behaviors. "No matter how strongly the statistical records
emphasize personal faults or how imperatively the need for educational activity
is shown, no safety procedure is complete or satisfactory that does not provide
for the . . . correction or elimination of . . . physical hazards," Heinrich wrote in his
book.

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 Consequences
– Stronger than antecedents
• Consequences - Events
– ‘Consequences’ has negative
that follow behaviors. connotation
• Consequences increase or – Positive consequences change
behavior
decrease the probability
– Consequences strengthen or
that the behaviors will weaken behavior
occur again in the future. – Four categories of consequences

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