Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) is a process centered around the one thing that will never be excluded from workplace safety incidents – people. BBS focuses people’s attention and actions on the daily safety behavior of themselves and those around them. It is the goal of any Behavior Based Safety program to observe what people do, and more importantly, why they do it.
Here are 5 ways to make your BBS program a success
1. 100% Buy-in – Everyone has to be on board
The entire workplace needs to be trained in two major areas. First, they need to know how to observe behaviors and find unsafe actions. Then they need to learn to communicate these observations in a non-confrontational way.
2. Support Your Program with the Right Technology
No matter the scale, a corporate-wide safety initiative needs to be backed by the right tech. Finding the software is easy, but it’s important to have your entire workforce trained.
30+ Audit and inspection checklists free for download.
3. Measure the Cause, Not Just the Symptoms
Many safety programs are only measured on performance. A Behavior Based Safety Program can find the underlying motives behind potentially unsafe actions and therefore move to reduce or eliminate them completely.
4. Create Safety Leaders, not Safety Managers
BBS programs rely on the initiative of every employee, no matter where they are on the corporate ladder, to contribute their ideas and become self-accountable.
5. Observations are only half the battle
Any well-rounded BBS program identifies which actions are most likely to lead to unsafe situations and finds an effective way to encourage safer behaviors through incentives, training, and initiatives.
With these key elements in mind, you’re on your way to establishing a behavior-focused safety program. Seeing the results will take time, but the changes from these programs can have a very positive and long-lasting effect.
Click here to view our free BBS Observation Checklist.
