Behavior-based safety continuous improvement

Today s safety professional has moved beyond the standard measurement of safety performance in terms of the number of accidents or injuries and recordable injury and illness rates. More sophisticated techniques that involve safety performance measurement systems, ongoing tracking of results, and continual improvement processes have replaced the early measurements. While today s safety metrics still include accident and illness performance, they also encompass behavior-based safety, safety program implementation performance, and insurance costs and losses. 

Behavior-based Safety The use of applied behavior analysis methods to achieve continuous improvement in safety performance (Krause, 1997, p. 3). See additional definitions in this chapter. 

Tom Krause is well known for his work in behavior-based safety. He documented the first long-term success of behavioral safety. His data showed that 73 companies were able to sustain and continue safety improvements for five years following implementation (Krause et ak, 1999). This work is particularly significant because many of the early interventions appeared to be short lived, lasting only for the duration of the research study. 

Behavior-Based Safety Management Parallels with the Quality Process" "Behavioral Management Techniques for Continuous Improvement"... 

Hence, a key to continuous safety improvement is finding an ongoing objective and impartial measure of performance tiiat allows for regular evaluations of relative success. This is why advocates of behavior-based safety emphasize the need to... 

Principle 17 Behavior-based safety is a continuous DO IT process with D = Define target behaviors, O = Observe target behaviors, I = Intervene to improve behaviors, and T = Test impact of intervention. 

Different metrics may be used to describe past performance, predict future performance, and encourage behavioral change. They are a means to evaluate the overall system performance and to develop a path toward superior process safety performance. This is accomplished by identifying where the current performance falls within a spectrum of excellent-to-poor performance. Such information will allow executives and site management to develop plans to address the specific improvement opportunities that could lead to measurable improvement in process safety. Good process safety metrics reinforce a process safety culture that promotes the belief that process safety incidents are preventable, that improvement is continuous, and that policies and procedures are necessary and will be followed. Continuous improvement is necessary and any improvement program will be based on measurable elements. Therefore, to continuously improve performance, organizations must develop and implement effective process safety metrics. 

In summary, BBS is based on the general principles that behavior causes the majority of accidents, but this does not excuse employers from providing a safely engineered workplace with all controls in place to prevent the occurrence of incidents. Second, accountability inspires behavior and accountability facilitates accomplishments. Third, feedback that fosters good communications is the key to continuous improvement, and excellence in safety must be established as the underlying culture desired in the organization or company. 

Safety improvement teams and action planning are required elements of the behavior-based process to continually address at-risk behaviors. Team members should periodically review the percentage of safe versus the percentage of at-risk behaviors and other factors to understand where action planning is needed. In many cases, some of the at-risk behaviors can be shaped into safe behaviors through a process of regular observation and feedback. 

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.)... 

Why did it take me so long to get here—to the implementation stage Indeed, if you are looking for "quick-fix" tools to make a difference in safety you may have skipped or skimmed the first two parts of this text and started your careful reading here. I certainly appreciate that the pressures to get to the bottom line quickly are tremendous, but, remember, there is no quick fix for safety. The behavior-based approach that is the heart of this book is the most efficient and effective route to achieving a Total Safety Culture. It is a never ending continuous improvement process, one that requires ongoing and comprehensive involvement from the people protected by the process. In industry, these are the operators or line workers. 

Geller, E. S., Key processes for continuous safety improvement behavior-based recognition and celebration, Prof. Saf, 42(10), 40,1997. 

On the other hand, numbers that measure the quantity and quality of process activities related to safety performance provide the context needed to motivate individual and team responsibility. They direct continuous improvement of the process. Chapter 19 in Section 6 of this Handbook presents more details on developing a process-based evaluation system for continuously improving safety. The following chapters in Section 5 recommend a variety of additional strategies for cultivating a work culture that promotes actively caring behavior. 

Specific projects or assignments may come and go, but safety teams need to work persistently on their general missions in order to achieve continuous safety improvement throughout a work culture. The membership of these teams will change periodically and team goals will vary, but the challenges of behavioral observation and fe back, incident analysis and corrective action, ergonomics analysis and intervention, and behavior-based... 

Our discussion group did, however, agree that we should try to develop objective, process-based measures for our quality—or safety—objectives. Although we cannot measure every important process directly, defining and tracking desired actions or behaviors guide proper procedures and motivate continuous improvement. In other words, the quote from Hansen (1994) at the start of this chapter is accurate, but it does not say it all. Many factors affect performance. Not only is it impossible to monitor all of them, it is often impossible to identify the specific change in performance that led to an improved system. 

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