Behavioral Accident Prevention

BST, Results Achieved with the Behavioral Accident Prevention Process Technology, BST Results Studies, 5th ed. (Ojai, CA BST, 2001). Booklet. 

Emphasis for prevention will be on changing individual behavior by symbolic or tangible rewards based on statistical evidence from the data collection system. "Hard" performance indicators such as lost time incidents will therefore be preferred to "softer" data such as near-miss reports. Accident prevention will also emphasize motivational campaigns designed to enhance the awareness of hazards and adherence to rules. If a severe accident occurs, it is likely that disciplinary sanctions will be applied. 

Technical systems which contain material representing a hazard potential must be treated under controled, safe conditions. A respective design of the facility and its operational modes is checked by different kinds of safety considerations. In addition to the consequences of normal operation, the system behavior under accident conditions has to be considered in terms of sufficient measures for controling accidents. Assumptions are being made based upon experience which has been achieved in the course of the technical development and which has resulted in a system of laws, regulations, rules, guidelines, and recommendations, e.g., for the design of components, for quality assurance, for fire protection and also for accident prevention measures. 

Laboratory work must be conducted with the realization that safe operation is only achieved by constant focus on safety. The point is not to be afraid, but to be aware of potential hazards and responsible for one s behavior. Hazard identification is crucial for accident prevention. Adverse effects can be avoided when both the manager and the worker make safety a priority. This section identifies the primary hazards in the radioanalytical chemistry laboratory, and ways to minimize the possibility of accidents. 

Bosak, J., Coetsee, W. J., Cullinane, S. (2013). Safety climate dimensions as predictors for risk behavior. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 55, 256-264. 

Gui, Fu. et al. 2005. Common factors leading to accidents and behavior type research based on prevention accident prevention. Journal of Safety and Environment (China) 5(2) 8ff-83. 

Incident Reporting and Investigation Accident Prevention Signs and Tags Hand Safety Back Injury Prevention Behavioral Safety Bloodborne Pathogens Confined Space Lockout/T agout Drug and Alcohol HazCom... 

The basic premise of behavior modification programs is that the primary cause of accidents is worker error. This blame-the-victim concept provides little opportunity for effective accident prevention. Behavior modification does not focus on the fundamental safety problems that we face in the continuous process industry, (p. 2)... 

Changing worker behavior is one of the least effeetive methods for accident prevention. Workers make oeeasional errors beeause they are human. There is a natural error rate for even the most highly trained and drilled workforce. (Hoyle, 2005, p. 10)... 

A positive, proactive safety culture recognizes the fact that accidents and other downgrading events are caused by a sequence of events that can be interrupted and the accident prevented. Risk assessment will help predict potential loss events. This requires a culture wherein high-risk workplace conditions are not tolerated and high-risk behaviors are not condoned or accepted. This, after all, should be the object of a positive safety culture—safe working conditions and safe work behaviors. 

An essential component of accident prevention relates directly to understanding the nature, timing, and causes of errors. Error, as a normal part of human behavior, many times becomes overlooked... 

The role of unsafe acts and unsafe conditions as accident causes has a long history. The relative importance of each is to be determined. Early in the 1900s, there was a strong focus on accident prevention and that included training workers. People assumed that human behavior was a major cause of accidents. Early focus on prevention also emphasized prevention through design to address unsafe conditions. 

The Three Es of Safety Another concept for accident prevention builds on the Three Es of Safety. The three Es are engineering, education, and enforcement. This approach links to the idea presented earlier that unsafe acts and unsafe conditions result in accidents. Figure 3-4 shows how the three Es links to that idea. Engineering primarily seeks to prevent unsafe conditions. Engineering can also deal with unsafe acts. Later chapters will cover ergonomics and human behavior as part of safety engineering. 

There is some discussion about which approach to vehicle safety is most effective. Traffic safety in the U.S. has focused and continues to focus on technology to reduce deaths and injuries after a crash. Much of Europe has emphasized changing driver behavior to prevent crashes. Both approaches have reduced traffic deaths a lot. While the reduction in the U.S. during the last 40 years was 41%. In Germany, the Netherlands, and Great Britain, the reductions were 81%, 81%, and 76%, respectively. Those considerations and vehicle accident and death facts suggest that much work remains. 

Chapter 3 introduced unsafe acts as one of the factors leading to accidents. Unsafe acts are human behaviors. Those pursuing accident prevention apply much effort on ensuring safe behavior along with hazard recognition, evaluation and control. 

Heinrich relied on some of these theories to form his Domino Theory of accident causation. See Chapter 3. Today, other methods describe how leaders impact work-related behavior and accident prevention. 

Chapter 3 discussed the idea there are two main causes for accidents unsafe conditions and unsafe acts. Most of this book deals with unsafe conditions, their recognition and control. A significant part of the accident prevention formula addresses safe behavior and avoiding unsafe acts. Why do people perform unsafe acts How does one prevent imsafe acts from occurring These are behavioral issues. Understanding human behavior gives clues to managing behavior. 

Saari, J. 1994, May. When does behavior modification prevent accidents Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 13, 11-15. 

Every worker is different and each comes to work with a different attitude toward work and their own safety at work. It will take a concerted, if not impossible, effort to elicit safe behavior from every worker. But, if a comprehensive approach to accident prevention and motivation is used, the opportunity for success with the majority will be greatly enhanced. 

If a worker has the skills to do his or her job safely, then training will not address nnsafe job performance. The problem is not the lack of skill to do the job safely, bnt rather the worker s unsafe behavior that he or she has elected to exhibit. Do not construe these statements to suggest that safety and health training does not have an important function as part of an accident prevention program. Without a safety and health training program, a vital element of workplace safety and health is missing. 

Fernandez-Muniz, B., Montes-Peon, J.M. Vazquez-Ordas, C.J. 2012. Safety climate in OHSAS 18001-certified organisations Antecedents and consequences of safety behavior. Accident Analysis and Prevention 45 745-758. 

A safety culture is key. No matter how advanced the technological system, if humans are involved, errors are inevitable. The key to patient safety and accident prevention is managing the inevitable error by doing two things First, by training to use specific teamwork and communications behaviors, and second to implement safety tools (policy and procedures, protocols, checklists, briefings) to complement behaviors to detect and trap (small) errors before they become a chain creating a serious or even fatal accident (table 1). 

Lund, A. K., and O NeiU, B. 1986. Perceived risks and driving behavior. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 18(5), 367-370. 

---