Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
•.
Culture:
.The.way.that.it.was.always.done.may.be.at.odds.with.what.is.a.safe.
practice..It.is.hard.to.teach.“old.dogs.new.tricks.”
•.
Inappropriate rewards:
.Rewards.for.achieving.production.may.be.at.odds.
with.safety.and.reinforce.that.at-risk.short-cuts.are.more.of.a.beneit.than.
safe.performance.
•.
Facilities and equipment:
.Outdated.facilities.or.processes,.or.rigged,.miss-
ing,.or.damaged.equipment,.may.cause.workers.to.act.in.an.unsafe.manner.
•.
Personal factors:
. This. is. when. the. at-risk. behavior. results. from. personal.
characteristics.of.the.worker.that.results.in.him.or.her.deliberately.taking.
risks.or.refusing.to.work.safely.as.a.result.of.factors.such.as.fatigue,.medica-
tion,.stress,.or.illness.
•.
Personal choice:
.A.worker.with.adequate.skills,.knowledge,.and.resources.
chooses.to.work.at.risk.to.save,.time,.effort,.or.something.similar.
A.successful.approach.is.able.to.remove.these.barriers.by.observing.and.talking.
with.employees.and.must.not,.in.any.manner,.imply.that.the.workers.are.the.problem..
It.is.important.that.the.workers.are.viewed.as.the.solution.
The.ideas.that.consequences.control.behavior.are.the.foundation.(conceptually).
to. BBS.. Thus,. the. majority. of. behaviors. rely. on. applying. previous. experience. of.
consequences. (both. negative. and. positive). as. the. reinforcing. factor.. A. picture. of.
an.amputated.inger.visually.portrays.the.consequence.of.at-risk.behavior,.and.this.
reminder.of.a.negative.consequence.may.be.enough.to.cause.a.worker.to.alter.his.or.
her.behavior.prior.to.a.similar.incident.
Although. the. previous. barriers. are. addressed,. there. are. no. guarantees. that.
.behavior-based.safety.will.work.in.your.situation;.however,.the.principles.are.appli-
cable.to.any.situation.when.designed.and.implemented.to.meet.your.needs.
In. summary,. BBS. is. based. on. the. general. principles. that. behavior. causes. the.
majority. of. accidents,. but. this. does. not. excuse. employers. from. providing. a. safely.
engineered.workplace.with.all.controls.in.place.to.prevent.the.occurrence.of.incidents..
Second,.accountability.inspires.behavior.and.accountability.facilitates.accomplish-
ments..Third,.feedback.that.fosters.good.communications.is.the.key.to.continuous.
improvement,.and.excellence.in.safety.must.be.established.as.the.underlying.culture.
desired.in.the.organization.or.company.
These.premises.are.driven.by.the.following.strategies:
•.
Obtaining.objective.evidence.of.at-risk.behaviors
•.
Deining.barriers.to.safe.behavior
•.
Teaching.ways.to.substitute.safe.for.at-risk.practices
•.
Holding. employees. accountable. to. improve. their. safety-related. behaviors.
and.help.others.do.the.same
•.
Demonstrating. the. effectiveness. by. measurement. that. garners. continued.
management.support
BBS.is.utilized.to.increase.safety.awareness.and.to.decrease.accidents.and.inci-
dents.by.focusing.on.identiication.and.elimination.of.unsafe.behaviors..Workers.are.
trained.to.conduct.safety.observations.and.give.guidance.on.speciic.behaviors.while.
