WHAT IS BEHAVIORAL SAFETY?
Behavioral Safety is a proven approach to enhancing the systems of safety in the workplace. The concept of managing safe working performance through the use of a behavioral approach is not new. The formalized discipline dates back to the 1930’s when Heinrich first identified that behavior is the root cause for the majority of mishaps in the industrial setting. A large body of work by such experts as Aubrey Daniels, E. Scott Geller, Terry McSween, and Tom Krause, has validated the effectiveness of using a behavioral approach to workplace safety.
So what exactly is Behavioral Safety? The fundamental premise of Behavioral Safety follows that human behavior occurs for one of four reasons; 1) people want to attain some desirable outcome; 2) people want avoid some undesirable event; 3) people want to maintain something positive; and 4) people want escape something negative. In the traditional model of Safety Management, the primary motivator for employees is in the second category. By working safely, employees either avoid getting hurt or they avoid getting in trouble. Either way, the primary motivation for workers is to avoid something negative. Research has shown that this is a poor motivator when compared to the strongest driving force for behaviors, attempting to attain something you want. People are simply more motivated to try to achieve some positive result than to avoid something unpleasant. This goal-oriented action creates a much stronger driving force than does a desire to avoid something unpleasant. Behavioral Safety attempts to capitalize on this fundamental motivator and create a workplace safety system that is inherently positive.
THE ABC’s OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Human behavior generally follows a three step process, a stimuli or antecedent occurs to prompt a behavior, the behavior takes place, and results in an outcome or consequence. This model is known as the ABC’s of Human Behavior, for Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence. All behaviors are prompted by something (Antecedent) that leads to some type of action or inaction (Behavior) that results in some type of outcome (Consequence). If the outcome is what was anticipated or hoped-for, then the behavior is positively reinforced and is likely to occur again. If the outcome, also called consequence in Behavioral Safety, was not wanted, then the behavior is less likely to occur again and may eventually be extinguished.
The role of the antecedent is generally to prompt a behavior. However, some antecedents are deliberately developed to influence people’s behavior. An excellent example of this, which also illustrates the ABC model of human behavior very nicely, occurs when we operate a motor vehicle.
Speed limit signs are omnipresent on most roadways and function as deliberate antecedents. They come prior to the behavior of driving on that given stretch of road, they communicate a clear expectation, are intended to influence subsequent behavior, and have a VERY LOW incidence of actually causing behavior change. Studies have shown that on any given day, 95% of drivers will exceed a posted speed limit.
The reasons that the vast majority of drivers ignore posted speed limit signs are due to the outcomes, or consequences, that typically occur after the behavior. The normal results from speeding are 1) you get where you are going a little faster, 2) you inherently enjoy the experience of driving, and 3) it costs you more in fuel consumption and wear-and-tear on the vehicle. Every once in a while, but very rarely, people will get a ticket, or will get into an accident. However, these results are so uncommon compared to the number of times per day people exceed the speed limit, that they are almost meaningless. Due to the generally positive consequences for the unsafe behavior of speeding, it is not too surprising that drivers generally exceed the posted speed limit. This same paradigm occurs in the workplace when employees engage in unsafe actions.
WORKPLACE MOTIVATION
Employees often work unsafely because they are motivated by past experience of having only personally positive results from the unsafe act. Generally, when employees engage in unsafe practice at work, they do not have injuries or accidents and they do not get in trouble. Typically, when employees engage in unsafe acts at work they save some time, get a task completed more easily, and, generally, have a more enjoyable time. Essentially, unsafe work practices get immediate and certain consequences that positively reinforce the behaviors. Actions that are done safely do not usually receive any type of positive consequence. Workplace safety takes time and requires significant effort on both the part of the organization and the individual. Rarely do activities relating to safety receive any type of positive reinforcement.
In the methodology of Behavioral Safety, as formulated around the ABC framework, states that if employees work safely and these efforts receive a consequence in the form of positive feedback, the employees will be more likely to repeat the safe behavior. This use of positive reinforcement for safe behaviors represents a fundamental change in the approach to workplace safety when compared to a more traditional approach. Essentially, when a safe behavior is more likely to receive positive reinforcement, it is more likely to recur. Behavioral Safety ensures that positive reinforcement is presented for safe behaviors, and that this reinforcement process is formally incorporated in a strategic methodology.
CONSEQUENCES IN THE WORKPLACE
Of all the consequences available for use in the workplace, directed and specific feedback is the easiest to administer and the most effective way to enhance behavior. At times there may be a temptation to provide additional reinforcement in the form of a tangible reward for safe behavior. Unfortunately, the use of tangibles (money, trinkets, gift cards, or other physical objects) as a reward creates an extremely slippery slope. When tangibles are routinely presented as part of a reinforcement plan, the recipient often begins to EXPECT THEM as a normal part of the business and eventually fails to associate them with any specific behavior. For example; when companies provide employees with a safety bonus, the bonus becomes viewed as an entitlement. If the bonus is ever removed, its removal will create resentment from the employees. The other concerns with tangibles involve their overall cost. Organizations cannot afford to disseminate an unlimited supply of gifts, rewards and bonuses. Furthermore, not everyone has access to handing out tangible rewards, unlike feedback, which anyone can provide and is hugely effective as a consequence. If tangibles are used to reinforce certain specific behaviors, and are used sparingly, they can be somewhat effective at improving behavioral performance. However, tangibles are always subordinate in their impact to specific and directed feedback, which is the most powerful reinforcer available in the workplace.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
The effectiveness of using positive feedback to motivate desired performance cannot be overstated. The example that I often use to illustrate the importance of positive feedback is the job that involves welding on scaffolding at an elevation of over 30 feet. Welding is a job that most facilities will undertake on a routine basis. Welding at elevation occurs during construction activities and during building or process remodels. When an employee welds at 30 feet in the air, a number of safe behaviors must be undertaken. The employee must wear all of the regular welding Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as welding chaps, a faceshield with a non-ionizing tint, a hard hat, steel-toed shoes, an apron, and any respiratory protection if welding is done on hardened steel, stainless steel, or on any other substance that will release potentially hazardous gasses. After putting on all the required PPE the employee must then put on a harness, attach lifeline or lanyard, put out a fire blanket to catch sparks or slag, set up a welding curtain, and complete a hot work permit. All this activity may take 30 to 45 minutes to complete, independent of the actual welding itself. If the employee misses a step and forgets one of these safety components, he may receive some type of punishment in the form of a scolding or even a write-up. If the employee completes the task in a completely safe manner, he will likely hear nothing at all, and certainly won’t receive any type of acknowledgment for doing the right thing.
If, however, the employee was to receive some type of thank-you or acknowledgement when he takes the time and effort to engage in all of the behaviors needed to weld safely, the safe behaviors would continue and would become more automatic. The more times an employee welds at elevation using the proper behaviors, the stronger the habit of working safely becomes. Eventually, companies can establish the framework where working safely is the norm, and employees no longer need to do safety in order to work. They simply work safely.
CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK
Even though the use of positive feedback to reinforce desired performance is the optimal condition, unsafe actions do require feedback as well. The administration of this feedback, and the means used to deliver it are crucial for ensuring the successful application of the process. Whenever an unsafe act is observed, the unsafe action must be stopped and the employee engaging in the action must receive corrective feedback. This needs to be done in the manner of coaching and problem solving. The coaching occurs when employees require a reminder to work safely or an encouragement to take the time necessary to do the right thing. The problem solving occurs when employees present legitimate barriers that inhibit their ability to work safely.
As described above, Behavioral Safety formally creates a means of observing how employees work, and providing them with feedback for their observed behaviors. Positive feedback is provided for observed safe behaviors and corrective feedback or coaching is provided for unsafe behaviors. Interestingly enough, research has actually been done that demonstrated that there is an optimal ratio of appreciative feedback to constructive feedback; it is 4:1. Although no Behavioral Safety process should ever strive to achieve a specific ratio of feedback, it is enlightening to know that the most effective means of improving performance is through a heavy emphasis on appreciative feedback.
OTHER BENEFITS OF BEHAVIORAL SAFETY
Not surprisingly, there are other ancillary benefits from initiating a Behavioral Safety Process. One of the first key activities that is known to improve quickly is the retention rate of employees. Turnover, which is one of the largest expenses that companies can incur, decreases significantly when a behavioral approach is used in workplace safety. In addition to reductions in turnover, the quality of work produced goes up and the overall level of productivity rises as well. Employee morale is also seen to improve, and workplace communication is generally enhanced when a Behavioral Approach to safety is instituted.
The reason for all of these improvements resides within the fundamental premise of behavioral safety. When performance is managed by focusing on providing employees with positive feedback if expected behavior is observed, then a dramatic shift in the traditional approach to workplace safety has occurred and a positive workplace has been created.
All people need feedback. The need for validation and recognition of efforts for hard work and doing the right thing is a universal part of the human condition. When employees do not receive feedback, they give it to themselves. Often, this self-feedback will positively reinforce unsafe actions. By using a specific and directed approach to recognize when employees do the right thing, profound changes to the workplace can be realized.
Part II
This is the first in a two part series about a behavioral approach to workplace safety. In this first installment, the science and philosophy of Behavioral Safety. The second article will provide a discussion about how Behavioral Safety can be implemented in any workplace and what a successful process looks like.
REFERENCES
Heinrich HW (1931). Industrial accident prevention: a scientific approach: McGraw-Hill.
A Behavioral Approach to Safety…The Philosophy
WHAT IS BEHAVIORAL SAFETY
Behavioral Safety is a proven approach to enhancing the systems of safety in the workplace. The concept of managing safe working performance through the use of a behavioral approach is not new. The formalized discipline dates back to the 1930’s when Heinrich first identified that behavior is the root cause for the majority of mishaps in the industrial setting. A large body of work by such experts as Aubrey Daniels, E. Scott Geller, Terry McSween, and Tom Krause, has validated the effectiveness of using a behavioral approach to workplace safety.
So what exactly is Behavioral Safety? The fundamental premise of Behavioral Safety follows that human behavior occurs for one of four reasons; 1) people want to attain some desirable outcome; 2) people want avoid some undesirable event; 3) people want to maintain something positive; and 4) people want escape something negative. In the traditional model of Safety Management, the primary motivator for employees is in the second category. By working safely, employees either avoid getting hurt or they avoid getting in trouble. Either way, the primary motivation for workers is to avoid something negative. Research has shown that this is a poor motivator when compared to the strongest driving force for behaviors, attempting to attain something you want. People are simply more motivated to try to achieve some positive result than to avoid something unpleasant. This goal-oriented action creates a much stronger driving force than does a desire to avoid something unpleasant. Behavioral Safety attempts to capitalize on this fundamental motivator and create a workplace safety system that is inherently positive.
THE ABC’s OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Human behavior generally follows a three step process, a stimuli or antecedent occurs to prompt a behavior, the behavior takes place, and results in an outcome or consequence. This model is known as the ABC’s of Human Behavior, for Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence. All behaviors are prompted by something (Antecedent) that leads to some type of action or inaction (Behavior) that results in some type of outcome (Consequence). If the outcome is what was anticipated or hoped-for, then the behavior is positively reinforced and is likely to occur again. If the outcome, also called consequence in Behavioral Safety, was not wanted, then the behavior is less likely to occur again and may eventually be extinguished.
The role of the antecedent is generally to prompt a behavior. However, some antecedents are deliberately developed to influence people’s behavior. An excellent example of this, which also illustrates the ABC model of human behavior very nicely, occurs when we operate a motor vehicle.
Speed limit signs are omnipresent on most roadways and function as deliberate antecedents. They come prior to the behavior of driving on that given stretch of road, they communicate a clear expectation, are intended to influence subsequent behavior, and have a VERY LOW incidence of actually causing behavior change. Studies have shown that on any given day, 95% of drivers will exceed a posted speed limit.
The reasons that the vast majority of drivers ignore posted speed limit signs are due to the outcomes, or consequences, that typically occur after the behavior. The normal results from speeding are 1) you get where you are going a little faster, 2) you inherently enjoy the experience of driving, and 3) it costs you more in fuel consumption and wear-and-tear on the vehicle. Every once in a while, but very rarely, people will get a ticket, or will get into an accident. However, these results are so uncommon compared to the number of times per day people exceed the speed limit, that they are almost meaningless. Due to the generally positive consequences for the unsafe behavior of speeding, it is not too surprising that drivers generally exceed the posted speed limit. This same paradigm occurs in the workplace when employees engage in unsafe actions.
WORKPLACE MOTIVATION
Employees often work unsafely because they are motivated by past experience of having only personally positive results from the unsafe act. Generally, when employees engage in unsafe practice at work, they do not have injuries or accidents and they do not get in trouble. Typically, when employees engage in unsafe acts at work they save some time, get a task completed more easily, and, generally, have a more enjoyable time. Essentially, unsafe work practices get immediate and certain consequences that positively reinforce the behaviors. Actions that are done safely do not usually receive any type of positive consequence. Workplace safety takes time and requires significant effort on both the part of the organization and the individual. Rarely do activities relating to safety receive any type of positive reinforcement.
In the methodology of Behavioral Safety, as formulated around the ABC framework, states that if employees work safely and these efforts receive a consequence in the form of positive feedback, the employees will be more likely to repeat the safe behavior. This use of positive reinforcement for safe behaviors represents a fundamental change in the approach to workplace safety when compared to a more traditional approach. Essentially, when a safe behavior is more likely to receive positive reinforcement, it is more likely to recur. Behavioral Safety ensures that positive reinforcement is presented for safe behaviors, and that this reinforcement process is formally incorporated in a strategic methodology.
CONSEQUENCES IN THE WORKPLACE
Of all the consequences available for use in the workplace, directed and specific feedback is the easiest to administer and the most effective way to enhance behavior. At times there may be a temptation to provide additional reinforcement in the form of a tangible reward for safe behavior. Unfortunately, the use of tangibles (money, trinkets, gift cards, or other physical objects) as a reward creates an extremely slippery slope. When tangibles are routinely presented as part of a reinforcement plan, the recipient often begins to EXPECT THEM as a normal part of the business and eventually fails to associate them with any specific behavior. For example; when companies provide employees with a safety bonus, the bonus becomes viewed as an entitlement. If the bonus is ever removed, its removal will create resentment from the employees. The other concerns with tangibles involve their overall cost. Organizations cannot afford to disseminate an unlimited supply of gifts, rewards and bonuses. Furthermore, not everyone has access to handing out tangible rewards, unlike feedback, which anyone can provide and is hugely effective as a consequence. If tangibles are used to reinforce certain specific behaviors, and are used sparingly, they can be somewhat effective at improving behavioral performance. However, tangibles are always subordinate in their impact to specific and directed feedback, which is the most powerful reinforcer available in the workplace.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
The effectiveness of using positive feedback to motivate desired performance cannot be overstated. The example that I often use to illustrate the importance of positive feedback is the job that involves welding on scaffolding at an elevation of over 30 feet. Welding is a job that most facilities will undertake on a routine basis. Welding at elevation occurs during construction activities and during building or process remodels. When an employee welds at 30 feet in the air, a number of safe behaviors must be undertaken. The employee must wear all of the regular welding Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as welding chaps, a faceshield with a non-ionizing tint, a hard hat, steel-toed shoes, an apron, and any respiratory protection if welding is done on hardened steel, stainless steel, or on any other substance that will release potentially hazardous gasses. After putting on all the required PPE the employee must then put on a harness, attach lifeline or lanyard, put out a fire blanket to catch sparks or slag, set up a welding curtain, and complete a hot work permit. All this activity may take 30 to 45 minutes to complete, independent of the actual welding itself. If the employee misses a step and forgets one of these safety components, he may receive some type of punishment in the form of a scolding or even a write-up. If the employee completes the task in a completely safe manner, he will likely hear nothing at all, and certainly won’t receive any type of acknowledgment for doing the right thing.
If, however, the employee was to receive some type of thank-you or acknowledgement when he takes the time and effort to engage in all of the behaviors needed to weld safely, the safe behaviors would continue and would become more automatic. The more times an employee welds at elevation using the proper behaviors, the stronger the habit of working safely becomes. Eventually, companies can establish the framework where working safely is the norm, and employees no longer need to do safety in order to work. They simply work safely.
CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK
Even though the use of positive feedback to reinforce desired performance is the optimal condition, unsafe actions do require feedback as well. The administration of this feedback, and the means used to deliver it are crucial for ensuring the successful application of the process. Whenever an unsafe act is observed, the unsafe action must be stopped and the employee engaging in the action must receive corrective feedback. This needs to be done in the manner of coaching and problem solving. The coaching occurs when employees require a reminder to work safely or an encouragement to take the time necessary to do the right thing. The problem solving occurs when employees present legitimate barriers that inhibit their ability to work safely.
As described above, Behavioral Safety formally creates a means of observing how employees work, and providing them with feedback for their observed behaviors. Positive feedback is provided for observed safe behaviors and corrective feedback or coaching is provided for unsafe behaviors. Interestingly enough, research has actually been done that demonstrated that there is an optimal ratio of appreciative feedback to constructive feedback; it is 4:1. Although no Behavioral Safety process should ever strive to achieve a specific ratio of feedback, it is enlightening to know that the most effective means of improving performance is through a heavy emphasis on appreciative feedback.
OTHER BENEFITS OF BEHAVIORAL SAFETY
Not surprisingly, there are other ancillary benefits from initiating a Behavioral Safety Process. One of the first key activities that is known to improve quickly is the retention rate of employees. Turnover, which is one of the largest expenses that companies can incur, decreases significantly when a behavioral approach is used in workplace safety. In addition to reductions in turnover, the quality of work produced goes up and the overall level of productivity rises as well. Employee morale is also seen to improve, and workplace communication is generally enhanced when a Behavioral Approach to safety is instituted.
The reason for all of these improvements resides within the fundamental premise of behavioral safety. When performance is managed by focusing on providing employees with positive feedback if expected behavior is observed, then a dramatic shift in the traditional approach to workplace safety has occurred and a positive workplace has been created.
All people need feedback. The need for validation and recognition of efforts for hard work and doing the right thing is a universal part of the human condition. When employees do not receive feedback, they give it to themselves. Often, this self-feedback will positively reinforce unsafe actions. By using a specific and directed approach to recognize when employees do the right thing, profound changes to the workplace can be realized.
Part II
This is the first in a two part series about a behavioral approach to workplace safety. In this first installment, the science and philosophy of Behavioral Safety. The second article will provide a discussion about how Behavioral Safety can be implemented in any workplace and what a successful process looks like.
REFERENCES
Heinrich HW (1931). Industrial accident prevention: a scientific approach: McGraw-Hill.
Mannering, Fred (2004) Traffic Psychology and Behavior: the Journal Transportation Research Part
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