Conducting an Accident Investigation
Course 102
Safety Certified Supervisor Series

MODULE 6: DEVELOPING RECOMMENDATIONS

A little about behavior-based safety (BBS)

All of the proposals above represent "antecedents" or "activators" to behavior that serve to initiate appropriate behaviors. These changes in expectations must be clearly communicated to everyone through effective education and training to ensure behavioral changes are understood. Behavior-based safety, a type of formal observation process, is successful when the data gathering process is clearly understood by observer and observed, and the data collected is analyzed only to fix the system, not blame. Behavior-based safety is not usually successful if the process is, in any way, tied to discipline. The only consequences that work in BBS are positive consequences for making observations and being observed demonstrating safety leadership.

It's important to understand that once improvements have been designed and implemented, they then should be tied to accountability. Only effective consequences will ensure the changed behaviors are sustained long term. Remember, antecedents are likely to fail without effective consequences. We do what we do because of consequences... not antecedents. In other words...we do what we do, not because we're told to do it.. .but because we're going to (1) get something good, or (2) avoid something bad.

Bottom-line, behavior-based safety is another useful analysis tool that can be quite successful, when carefully designed, in helping the employer improve the safety management system.