Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
supplant.a.complete.and.organized.overall.approach.in.addressing.the.occupational.
safety.and.health.issues.of.today..There.must.be.all.the.components.discussed.in.this.
topic.in.place,.such.as.training,.safety.and.health.program,.accident/incident.analysis,.
safety.engineering,.controls,.interventions,.etc..It.is.only.then.that.BBS.can.become.
an.integral.part.of.the.whole.occupational.safety.and.health.initiative.
It.has.always.been.a.goal.to.get.all.employees.to.be.motivated.to.perform.their.
tasks.in.a.safe.and.healthy.manner,.but.this.goal.is.only.achievable.when.all.safe-
guards.are.in.place,.all.feasible.protections.are.provided,.all.hazards.are.eliminated.
or.controlled,.safety.and.health.is.managed.effectively,.etc.,.and.the.workplace.has.
been. a. structure. to. protect. the. workforce. as. best. as. possible.. Only. then. can. the.
application. of. behavioral. approaches. be. implemented. to. elicit. changed. behavioral.
pattern. and. attitudes. toward. the. standard. practice. of. all. the. workforce. to. self. and.
groups.taking.responsibility.and.becoming.involved.with.the.prevention.process.by.
adhering. to. policies,. safe. procedures/practices,. and. rules. with. regard. to. working.
and.performance.of.all.aspects.of.their.jobs.in.a.safe.manner.without.any.thought.of.
circumvention.of.standards.of.practice.or.best.practices.
BBS.is.not.a.quick.ix.to.safety.and.health.issues..Every.BBS.approach.must.be.
designed.to.it.the.needs.and.culture.of.the.organization.or.business..It.is.based.on.the.
notion.that.safety.and.health.are.a.shared.responsibility.and.not.just.a.personal.matter..
It. is. a. way. the. employers. provide. the. tools. to. optimize. safety. performance. in. the.
employees'.unique.work.environment.by.developing.methods.to.measure..successes.
regarding.safety.performance.in.accomplishments,.rather.than.using.the.traditional.
failure.rates.
BBS.is.a.process.used.to.identify.at-risk.behaviors.that.are.likely.to.cause.injury.
to.workers.and.is.dependent.upon.the.involvement.of.workers.in.this.process.so.that.
they.become.a.willing.participant.and.buy.in.to.the.concepts.and.purpose.of.BBS..
They.will.be.asked.to.observe.each.other.and.their.co-workers.in.order.to.determine.
if.decreases.in.at-risk.behavior.have.resulted.in.a.reduction.in.these.unsafe.behaviors.
This.is.a.very.simplistic.description.of.BBS..Although.there.are.an.ininite.number.
of.variations.to.BBS.programs,.they.all.share.common.characteristics.
There.are.four.steps.to.the.BBS.process,.as.follows.
i
DEntifying
C
ritiCAl
b
EHAviors
In. this. irst. step. of. behavior. safety,. an. analysis. needs. to. be. completed. that. makes.
safe.behavior.more.probable.and.at-risk.behavior.less.probable..This.is.to.be.done.
by.a.steering.committee.composed.of.operational.personnel..This.includes.front-line.
individuals.such.as.supervisors,.experienced.operators,.and.other.interested.workers..
They.will.need.to.use.resources.at.their.disposal.to.identify.the.major.contributors.to.
incidents,.accidents,.injuries,.near-misses,.and.property.damage..This.group.is.often.
called.a.steering.committee.and.is.the.irst.step.in.gaining.support.for.behavior-based.
programs..They.will.identify.a.cadre.of.at-risk.behaviors.that.will.act.as.the.foun-
dation.for.this.approach..By.consulting.the.workers.doing.the.jobs.or.tasks,.a.more.
complete.set.of.the.types.of.behaviors.that.contribute.to.incidents.can.be.of.help.in.
developing.a.data.sheet.that.can.be.used.by.trained.observers.to.assess.the.number.
of.safe.behaviors.occurring.
