Behavior-based safety (BBS) is the "application of science of behavior change to real world

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

problems". or "A process that creates a safety partnership between

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

and

employees Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

that continually focuses people's attentions and actions on theirs, and others, daily safety behavior." BBS "focuses on what people do, analyzes why they do it, and then applies a research-supported intervention strategy to improve what people do".Geller, E. Scott (2004). "Behavior-based safety: a solution to injury prevention: behavior-based safety 'empowers' employees and addresses the dynamics of injury prevention." Risk & Insurance. 15 (12, 01 Oct) p. 66 At its very core BBS is based on a larger scientific field called

organizational behavior management Organizational behavior management (OBM) is a subdiscipline of applied behavior analysis (ABA), which is the application of behavior analytic principles and contingency management techniques to change behavior in organizational settings. Through ...

. In a safety management system based upon the

hierarchy of hazard control Hierarchy of hazard control is a system used in industry to prioritize possible interventions to minimize or eliminate exposure to hazard (risk), hazards. It is a widely accepted system promoted by numerous safety organizations. This concept is t ...

, BBS may be applied to internalise

hazard A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would potentially allow them to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probability of that ...

avoidance strategies or

administrative controls Administrative controls are training, procedure, policy, or shift designs that lessen the threat of a hazard to an individual. Administrative controls typically change the behavior of people (e.g., factory workers) rather than removing the act ...

(including use of

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elect ...

), but should not be used in preference to the implementation of reasonably practicable safety measures further up the hierarchy. To be successful a BBS program must include all employees, from the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

to the front line workers including hourly, salary, union employees, contractors and sub-contractors. To achieve changes in behavior, a change in policy, procedures and/or systems most assuredly will also need some change. Those changes cannot be done without buy-in and support from all involved in making those decisions. BBS is not based on assumptions, personal feeling, and/or

common knowledge Common knowledge is knowledge that is publicly known by everyone or nearly everyone, usually with reference to the community in which the knowledge is referenced. Common knowledge can be about a broad range of subjects, such as science, litera ...

. To be successful, the BBS program used must be based on

scientific knowledge Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

References

Further reading