What is Behavior Based Safety?
Behavior based safety (BBS) is a process that encourages employees to identify and report hazards in the workplace.
The goal of BBS is to prevent injuries and accidents by addressing unsafe behaviors and conditions. BBS programs are usually implemented in workplaces where there is a history of injuries or where employees are exposed to potential hazards.
How Does Behavior Based Safety Work?
BBS programs typically involve four steps:
- Identification of hazardous behaviors
- Analysis of the root causes of those behaviors
- Implementation of interventions to address the root causes
- Evaluation of the effectiveness of the interventions
The first step in a behavior based safety program is to identify hazardous behaviors. This can be done through observations, surveys, or incident reports.
Once hazardous behaviors have been identified, their root causes must be determined. Common root causes of hazardous behaviors include lack of knowledge, lack of training, inadequate resources, and poor work conditions.
The second step in a behavior based safety program is to change employee behavior. This can be done through training and education.
The goal of this step is to make employees more aware of potential hazards and how to avoid them. By changing employee behavior, these programs aim to reduce the number of accidents and injuries in the workplace.
Finally, the effectiveness of the interventions must be evaluated to ensure that they are actually reducing hazardous behaviors in the workplace.
Benefits of Behavior Based Safety Programs
BBS programs have been shown to be effective in reducing injuries and accidents in the workplace. Here are some of the benefits that they offer.
Reducing Accidents and Injuries
One of the most important benefits of behavior-based safety is that it can help reduce accidents and injuries in the workplace.
By identifying and addressing unsafe behaviors, BBS programs can make workplaces safer for everyone. In fact, studies have shown that BBS programs can reduce accidents by up to 50%.
Improving Morale
Another important benefit of BBS programs is that they can improve morale in the workplace. Safe workplaces are happy workplaces, and employees who feel safe are more likely to be engaged and productive.
Additionally, when accidents and injuries do occur, they can have a negative impact on morale. By preventing accidents and injuries from happening in the first place, BBS programs can help keep morale high in the workplace.
Increasing Productivity
In addition to reducing accidents and injuries and improving morale, BBS programs can also increase productivity in the workplace.
This is because employees who feel safe are more likely to be engaged and productive. Additionally, when accidents and injuries do occur, they can result in lost time and increased stress levels, which can lead to decreased productivity.
By preventing accidents and injuries, BBS programs can help keep productivity high in the workplace.
Promote a Safety-First Culture
Another important benefit of behavior-based safety programs is that they help promote a culture of safety in the workplace.
When employees see that their company is committed to identifying and addressing unsafe behaviors, they will be more likely to follow safe practices themselves.
Improves Bottom Line
While not a priority, implementing behavior based safety programs can improve your company’s bottom line by reducing workers' compensation claims and other costs associated with accidents and injuries.
In fact, studies have shown that for every $1 invested in a safety program, companies save an average of $3 in workers' compensation costs alone.
How Protex AI is Helping Companies Implement Behavior Based Safety Programs
Safety in the workplace is highly dependent on employee behavior. AI based safety monitoring tools can help companies identify unsafe events caused due to poor incorrect employee behavior, for instance.
EHS teams can use this information to institute new safety measures and educate employees about how to approach different hazards.
Previously, this data was generally gathered through visual inspections and prone to human error. More importantly, this data is unlikely to be as accurate or as complete, as safety officers can’t capture every unsafe event in the workplace.
With AI tools like Protex AI, which integrate directly into the organization’s CCTV network, companies can gather actionable insights into safety performance, capture key safety events, and use this data to introduce new safety measures.