Behavior-based safety observing

Figure 2.1 Behavior based safety observation form.

Many companies have implemented a system to have peers observe and try to correct the behavior of peers by coaching or other means. This is part of a behavior based safety management system. This system should operate in the nonincident portion of the error pyramid. Include examples in a listing, such as Table 5-1, to illustrate the differences. 

Perhaps the definitions we hear most about today are those that define behavior-based safety as a process of involving workers in defining the ways they are most likely to get hurt, thus getting their involvement and thus some buy-in, asking the workers to observe other workers to determine progress in the reduction of unsafe behaviors etc. [p. 2],... 

If we will enhance safety culture and standardize employee safety behavior, it cannot leave the application of behavior-based safety management tools. The behavior-based safety management tools are an important means that is to effectively promote the safety culture of enterprise. At present, in SINOPEC comprehensive apvplication of HSE observation tools, its core is to conduct field observation and analysis and communication, to interfere with the way or intervention, make people know the dangers of unsafe behavior, prevent and eliminate imsafe behavior. 

Behavior-Based Safety—A safety-oriented philosophy that focuses on the observable actions of employees, as well as the objective environmental or cultural factors that influence behavior. 

Success of any behavior-based safety process relies on trust among the employee (observers), management, and the employees being observed. Observers are trained to ask the employee for permission to make an observation where feedback is immediate. When this occurs, this is a win-win situation for everyone. One key to remember is when providing employees feedback you need to consider how you would like to be approached. The way you say the words and how you act toward the employee are keys to successful two-way communication. Observers need specific training in how to observe and provide feedback in a positive, constructive manner. 

One of the tenets of behavior-based safety programs is that of intervention. If someone observes an unsafe condition, it is his or her responsibility to step up and point out the problem. (On the day that this was written your author had one of his colleagues intervene. There had just been an office move and she pointed out that the chaotic state of his furniture would make escape troublesome in the event of an emergency.)... 

Behavior-based safety management is basically the management of safety taking into account human behaviors. A good example is the supply of protective equipment at or near the point of exposure in order to facilitate the compliance of obtaining and wearing the equipment. Behavior-based safety requires doing behavior observations and performance observations. In lab safety, this means the behavior and performance of the various levels of researcher and teacher. Observation allows you to ... 

Downstream to upstream in real time Behavior-based safety measurements are more than a review of the injury roster. Although recordable and lost-time injuries are one measurement of safety success, they are not the only measure. Looking at injury data is downstream, or reactive. BBS encourages organizations to look upstream at proactive data hke unsafe acts from safety observations, safety audit scores, inspection results, etc. The problem with this proactive data, however, is at least two-fold. 

Researchers have not yet conducted extensive research into the importance of the individual components of these studies, though Komaki s (1986) research suggests that the observation process may be the most critical element of the package. Conducting research into the effectiveness of each of the components of behavior-based safety is difficult because each component contributes to only a part of the effectiveness of the intervention package. The studies that have investigated the individual components of this approach are included below. 

Careful observation and analysis of ongoing work practices can pinpoint many potential causes of safe and at-risk behaviors. Those causes external to people—including reward and punishment contingencies, policies, or supervisory behaviors—can often be altered to improve both behavior and attitude. In contrast, internal person factors are difficult to identify, and if defined, they are even more difficult to change directly. So with behavior-based safety the focus is placed on external factors—environmental conditions and behaviors—that can be changed upstream from a potential injury. 

Du Pont STOP. One popular behavior-based safety intervention is Du Font s STOP (for Safety Training and Observation Program). Employees are given STOP cards to record the occurrence of at least one at-risk behavior or work condition each workday, along with their corrective action. At the end of the day the STOP cards are collected, compiled, and recorded in a data log. Sometimes the data are transferred to a display chart or graph for feedback. 

The CBC examples described previously illustrate two basic ways of implementing the Define and Observe stages of DO IT. The driving CBC I developed with my daughter illustrates the observation and feedback process recommended by a number of successful behavior-based safety consultants (Krause, 1995 Krause et al., 1996 McSween, 1995). I refer to this approach as one-to-one safety coaching because it involves an observer using a CBC to provide instructive behavioral feedback to another person (Geller, 1995,1998). 

In this chapter we have gotten into the "nuts and bolts" of implementing a behavior-based safety process to develop a Total Safety Culture. The overall process is referred to as DO IT, each letter representing one of the four stages of behavior-based safety. This chapter focused on the first two stages—Define and Observe. 

Understanding, belief, or awareness is not sufficient, however, to implement a particular behavior-based safety process. People need to learn the specific behaviors or activities required for successful implementation. This requires training and should include behavior-based observation and feedback. In other words, participants need to practice the behaviors called for by the intervention process and then receive constructive behavior-focused feedback from objective and vigilant observers. 

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. 

During the course of my career in safety management, I have seen companies try to improve their safety culture in a variety of ways. Some of these approaches included the Deming Philosophy, the Safety Observer Program, Total Quality Management, and Behavior-Based Safety. 

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