Checklists safety performance measure

Observers complete and score the checklist and then calculate the safety performance measure. The procedure for doing this is explained in the following section. 

When the checklist has been completed the safety performance measure can be calculated. This is a weighted scoring system, which is very sensitive to even slight changes in the frequency of unsafe behaviours. It is, simply, the number of safe behaviours seen, expressed as a percentage of the total number of safe and unsafe behaviours observed. To calculate this ratio, the SAFE and UNSAFE columns are totalled and the following formula is applied ... 

Performance measurements are grouped into two categories qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative safety measurements include checklists and narrative evaluations from accident report forms. Quantitative performance measures include any performance measures to which a number can be assigned. Measurement is crucial to achieving excellence in safety from two broad standpoints (Petersen 1998) ... 

Qualitative performance measurements, such as checklists, are commonly used to assess the status of safety and health programs. Quantitative, or objective, performance measurements are necessary for precision, consistency, and reproducibility. 

In the behaviour-based approach to continuous safety improvement, many more people take responsibility for safety and keep their eye on the ball, every day, every shift. Shop-floor personnel take turns to act as observers within their own work group and continually measure safety performance through the use of a checklist which is regularly updated to take into account the changes that might take place in the work environment. In these ways the approach stays alive and is not allowed to become stale or jaded. Neither can it be labelled as a flavour of the month campaign. 

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