Behavioral Analysis Worksheet

Behavior What was the undesired behavior What was the unsafe act that resulted in an incident  

Consequences What built-in consequences support the desired and undesired behavior (Consider both reinforcement and punishment.) Are the employees more comfortable or able to conplete the job more quickly or easily by engaging in the unsafe act Are employees uncomfortable or less productive if they do the job safely Is it more work  

Delayed Outcomes What delayed outcomes should support the desired behavior (Consider both reinforcement and punishment.) What safety awards should support the safe act What effect does performing the unsafe act have on an employee s compensation or career  

Antecedents What antecedent condition prompted the unsafe act Was the enployee encouraged to be in a hurry Was the employee instructed to do the job incorrectly  

Individual Learning History What other events occurred in the individual s history that may have affected the likelihood of the safe or unsafe behavior Are the procedures correct Did the employee know how to do the job correctly (and demonstrate mastery of the procedure during training) Do other enployees routinely model the correct way to do the job Do employees know how engaging in the unsafe act affects their personal safety, their safety awards, and their careers  

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Analyzing behavioral incidents is a difficult task. Too many safety investigations stop short with a simplistic analysis, such as failure to follow procedure or operator inattention, without doing a thorough analysis of the environmental factors that actually contributed to the behavior. The worksheet in Figure 21.8 provides an initial overview of factors that may have contributed to an unsafe act. These concepts will be developed more fully in the next chapter. 

Your design team members should review past incidents and near-miss records to identify unsafe practices that caused or nearly caused incidents in the past. These incidents should be fundamental in constructing your list. Prior to beginning your analysis, you should sort the incidents by department and also separate the lost-time injuries from medical treatment cases. Then use the worksheet shown in Figure 9.1 to assist in identifying the behaviors that are the common thread in the injuries experienced in your facility. This worksheet will also help you identify the practices that occur most firequently. Use the extra space in each category for other behaviors that you find may contribute to injuries. 

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