Safe behavior goals

Once the observations have been recorded, the data will be added to arrive at a total number of behaviors for each category. In this example, there were a total of six safe behaviors and two at-risk behaviors observed. Of the eight total behaviors that occurred, it was found that six were considered to be safe, so this task measured as 75% safe. Rather than focusing on failures, such as are measured by injury rates, this metric provides a proactive positive measurement of safety performance. Observations can be accumulated in a database or spreadsheet and measured over time with the goal of increasing the level of safe performance of jobs that occur. 

Keep work areas safe from risks and hazards Emphasize the importance of safe behaviors Educate employees regarding safety performance Communicate clearly the organization s safety goals and objectives... 

Safety Awards—Rule of Thumb 1 Provide safety awards for safe behavior on the job and for activities related to maintaining the safety process (e.g., observations, conducting safety meetings, setting safety goals). 

In contrast, the behavioral approach provides added positive consequences for safe behavior. Added reinforcing consequences include positive attention from management and from peers. Such attention may include simple personal praise as well as suggestions or offers of support. Added reinforcement may be provided in the form of publicized comments that employees are making progress toward a goal or have earned recognition or awards. When we create an observation process, the intent is to add such social consequences to support safe behavior on the job. 

Other events not immediately preceding the behavior of interest may include written procedmes, safety rules, and safety improvement goals. Because these events do not immediately precede safe behavior, you should consider them part of... 

Competing with the lack of soon, certain, and sizable positive consequences for safe behaviors are soon, certain (and sometimes sizable) positive consequences for at-risk behaviors. Taking risks avoids the discomfort and inconvenience of most safe behaviors, and it often allows people to achieve their production and quality goals faster and easier. Supervisors sometimes activate and reward at-risk behaviors, unintentionally, of course, to achieve more production. Because activators and consequences are naturally available throughout our everyday existence to support at-risk behaviors in lieu of safe behaviors, safety can be considered a continuous fight with human nature (as discussed earlier in Section 2). 

We might be reminded of a general purpose—"Actively Care for a Total Safety Culture," or challenged—"100 Percent Safe Behavior is Our Goal This Year."... 

The time line reflects interdependency, because accomplishing certain goals are contingent on reaching other goals. For example, the percentage of safe behaviors for a work team cannot be posted xmtil team members submit their data, and this cannot happen without the development of a critical behavior checklist and the training of all observers on the proper use of the checklist. 

This incident was also critical, but the general goal of the activity was through the safe behavior of the crane operator. Indeed, the operator s safety behavior was the prerequisite for the work success. CIT can be carried out in two different ways ... 

Employees can be motivated to practice safe behavior if incentives are given which correspond to their social and physical needs (M 1). Feedback on safe and unsafe behavior lets an employee know what influence his behavior has on his work environment. Positive feedback promotes safe behavior, negative feedback helps reduce unsafe behavior (M 2). If work safety is a high-priority goal which is publicly propagated by his firm, then an employee will be motivated to pay attention to safety (M 3). Also, the management style practiced by supervisors strongly influences employees attitudes toward work safety (M 4). Sample measures are listed in Tab. 7.6. 

The safety quiz administered toward the end of the training and goal setting phase was designed to test knowledge of safe behavior and to check on retention of training. The results of the quiz indicated that most of the employees could identify the safe and unsafe slides correctly and were able to correctly specify the safe and unsafe behaviors depicted in the slides. 

The other approach emphasizes behavior-based actions. This program rewards employees for demonstrated acts of safe behavior, taking the reward off the goal, and putting it on the process instead. This is called a proactive approach. 

A reward given on the basis of generally positive behavior—not tied to a specific goal, such as zero lost-time accidents—places the emphasis on safe behavior. This approach removes the direct link between the reward and the goal-oriented outcome so that injury-hiding is avoided. It emphasizes the process, not the goal. 

After the Persian Gulf War, Operation Provide Comfort (OPC) was created as a multinational humanitarian effort to relieve the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Kurdish refugees who fled into the hills of northern Iraq during the war. The goal of the military efforts was to provide a safe haven for the resettlement of the refugees and to ensure the security of rehef workers assisting them. The formal mission statement for OPC read To deter Iraqi behavior that may upset peace and order in northern Iraq. ... 

In STAMP, accidents and losses result from not enforcing safety constraints on behavior. Not only must the original system design incorporate appropriate constraints to ensure safe operations, but the safety constraints must continue to be enforced as changes and adaptations to the system design occur over time. This goal forms the basis for safe management, development, and operations. 

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