Based Behavioral Safety Process

Such changes do not come automatically, however. In the following sections we consider why workplace cultures seem so much more resistant to change than individual behavior and why we are not always successful at implementing organizational change strategies. 

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Many companies have adopted an observation-based behavioral safety process to improve compliance with safety procedures. Alas, simply implementing the basic elements of a behavioral safety process does not always work [p. 48]. 

Many companies have adopted an observation-based behavioral safety process to improve compliance with safety procedures, but simply implementing the basic elements of a behavioral safety process does not always work. Companies can encounter problems in getting employees to conduct needed observations, in getting employees to effectively provide feedback to other employees, and in employees filling out observation checklists informally without conducting actual observations. These problems may indicate an overemphasis on the reporting process and inadequate attention to the values required to implement safety improvements successfully. 

Figure 15.1. Sample questions to consider when evaluating a value-based behavioral safety process.

We call our approach to behavioral safety the values-based safety process. As you will design a process that meets the needs of your organization, your team may want to find a name that fits your organization s new process. Companies have called their safety improvement efforts the employee safety process (ESP), the safe acts process, the positive safety process, the continuous incident prevention process, and a variety of others. (See the discussion on the contest to name the behavioral safety process in Chapter 23 for suggestions on involving employees in selecting a name.)... 

Still working on the design and implementation of a behavioral safety process Design team members should conduct observations Ensures a realistic process Provides a base for training others... 

A behavioral safety process based on self-observations may be more appropriate for some companies. A self-observation process is particularly appropriate when (1) their employees work in isolation or on small crews of two or three (such as loggers, electrical linemen, or truck drivers) or (2) their employees are extremely resistant to the idea of peer observations. In these situations, a self-observation process has been shown to improve safety practices and reduce incidents [see Olson and Austin (2002) and the case studies in Chapter 25]. 

The behavioral safety process consists of two major components based on live core principles. Successful behavioral safety processes are true to these principles. The steering committee protects the integrity of these principles. 

Most of the remaining benefit of the behavioral safety process comes from improvements recommended or implemented by the steering committee based on its analyses of observation data and related information. 

The human factors literature is rich in task analysis techniques for situations and jobs requiring rule-based behavior (e.g., Kirwan and Ainsworth 1992). Some of these techniques can also be used for the analysis of cognitive tasks where weU-practiced work methods must be adapted to task variations and new circumstances. This can be achieved provided that task analysis goes beyond the recommended work methods and explores task variations that can cause failures of human performance. Hierarchical task analysis (Shepherd 1989), for instance, can be used to describe how operators set goals and plan their activities in terms of work methods, antecedent conditions, and expected feedback. When the analysis is expanded to cover not only normal situations but also task variations or changes in circumstances, it would be possible to record possible ways in which humans may fail and how they could recover from errors. Table 2 shows an analysis of a process control task where operators start up an oil refinery furnace. This is a safety-critical task because many safety systems are on manual mode, radio communications between control room and on-site personnel are intensive, side effects are not visible (e.g., accumulation of fuel in the fire box), and errors can lead to furnace explosions. 

Warning In all probability your organization s behavior-based safety process will soon collapse. Statistics show that 70 percent of such initiatives fail, resulting in billions of dollars in lost time and revenues. 

Simon expressed the view that the culture drives the behavior and that a culture change is required for success in behavior-based safety. A culture assessment (such as the Simon Open System Culture Change Model) measures the culture process and impacts on the whole of operations —the technology, tmst, leadership, symbols of the culture, et cetera. He also advised that before a behavior-based initiative is undertaken, management leadership must have been established. That s implicit. This factor cannot be overlooked. These are excerpts from Simon s paper titled The Culture Change Model of Behavioral Safety ... 

How does one implement a worker-focused behavior-based safety initiative A condensation cannot be given here of the methodologies presented in the many books available on applying worker-focused behavior-based safety methods that seek to achieve improvements through focusing on antecedents, behaviors, and consequences. As an example of those methods, the following is taken from The Behavior-Based Safety Process, 2nd edition by Thomas R., Krause. Chapter 6 is titled Introducing the Behavior-Based Safety Process to a Site. ... 

Krause, Thomas R. The Behavior-Based Safety Process, 2 edition. New York John Wiley Sons, 1997. 

Krause, T. Behavior-Based Safety Process Managing Involvement for an Injury-Free Culture. New York Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1999. 

Mcsween, T.E. The Values-Based Safety Process Improving Your Safety Culture with a Behavioral Approach. New York Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1995. 

Thomas R. Krause, Employee-Driven Systems for Setfe Behavior, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1995 Thomas R. Krause, The Behavior-Based Safety Process, 2nd ed.. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1997 Thomas R. Krause, Leading with Safety, Wiley-Interscience, Hoboken, NJ, 2005. 

Using Behavior-Based Safety Process as a Safety Metric... 

Krause, Thomas R. and John H. Hidley. 1990. The behavior based safety process. New York, NY Van Nostrand Reinhold. 

A traditional Behavior-Based Safety process identifies critical behavior, then establishes management processes that reinforce positive behaviors. 

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