Advanced Topics in BBS

Chris Goulart CSP, MS, ARM, CDT, CSHM

Director of Safety ServicesRCI Safety

GROUND RULES

• Ask a LOT Of Questions• Don’t take Copious Notes• Be Skeptical

Objectives

• – A Theoretical Approach– The Science of BBS– Beyond the ABC’s– Defining How Behavioral Psychology and Cognitive

Psychology Function in BBS– Safety Culture and Behavior– Current and Future Research– Self Observations– The Observer Effect– Psychological Factors Involving Safety

Objectives

• – Practical Application– Review recent trends in the field of Behavioral Safety– Selecting the Right Behaviors …Risk Assessment Vs.

Pinpointing– Responding to the Criticisms of BBS– BBS in the long-term– Discuss the Future of the Discipline– Results – Documented, Expected, how to Get the Most

from the Process– Talk about Events and Where to get more Information

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1 fatality

30 Major injuries

300 Minor injuries

3000 Incidents which did not cause harm (ie near miss)

30 000 at-risk behaviours

The level at which Risk Taking is supported by the workplace system.

Safety pyramid

SAFETY PYRAMID

Culture (Mgmt. Driven)

Attitudes/Behaviors

Unsafe Acts/Conditions

Can We FINALLY put the Triangle to Rest???

• The Research of Heinrich has ALWAYS Been Suspect.

• The Recent Article by Manuele (October 2011) casts lots of Legitimate Doubts

• The Causal Factors the Drive Injuries and Accidents are Complex and Almost Always Systemic in Nature

• A Behavioral Component to Safety is Necessary and Important, but NOT a Silver Bullet

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What Makes Behavior Based Safety So Effective?

Science

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What is the Science Behind Behavioral Safety?

• B. F. Skinner – Developed the concept of Operant Conditioning… Organisms are motivated by how their behavior OPERATES on the environment.

• Pavlov – Developed the concept of Classical Conditioning also known as associative learning – Organisms are motivated through paired stimuli.

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Behavioral Safety

• Founded on the principles of Operant Conditioning.

• Is Generally Behavioral but has Incorporated Elements of Cognitive Psychology as well (More Later)

• It is known that Reinforcement is the best way to Manage Behavior

• Positive Reinforcement has been shown to be most effective as it Optimizes Discretionary Effort (Daniels)

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History of Behavioral Safety

• 1920’2 – 1950’s Dr. B.F. Skinner a Harvard Professor developed the concept of “Behaviorism”

• 1960’s Aubrey Daniels incorporate operant conditioning into a concept he called “performance management”

• Term Behavior Based Safety first used by Dr. Komaki in 1978

• Behavior Based Safety Becomes a Mainstream Safety Approach 1980’s - Present

The ABCs of Human Behavior

Antecedent

Behavior

Consequence

A

B

C

Beyond the ABC’s

• We know Antecedents, Behaviors, and Consequences…

• But how Often do We Apply this Knowledge?• ABC Analysis, extremely useful but rarely

used. • Antecedents, the forgotten part of BBS

– “Nudge” Concept– Aligning Antecedents with Consequences– Capitalizing on Natural vs Artificial Antecedents

Behavioral Psych Vs Cognitive Psych

• Behavioral Psych – All that matters is the Behavior and How the Consequences to that Behavior Motivate or Exterminate Future Behavior

• Cognitive Psych – All that matters is Motivation, Thoughts, and Emotion, Behavior is Secondary

• BBS, when done the Right Way, resides Somewhere in Between

Safety Culture

• Shared assumptions of safety in the workplace that drive motivation and behaviors based on values, traditions, and history

• Clearly a leading indicator and the one most closely linked with outcome performance (The relationship between employees’ perceptions of safety and organizational culture Michael O’Toole) (Journal of Safety Research 2002 #33 231-243) (Also, Petersen, 2001, Krause, 2004, Cooper, 2009, Geller et. Al 2011 Professional Safety)

• What employees do when no one is watching…(Schien)

Safety Culture

• Management Driven • Set in motion by the founders of the

organization• Is very self sustaining and self reinforcing• Not really separate from Organizational Culture

(Constituent Component)• Influenced by both local and industry cultural

norms

Is Safety Culture the Same thing as Behavior… NO!!!

• A Behavioral Safety Process can enhance numerous aspects of the culture

• A Behavioral Safety Process is more likely to be successful if the Safety Culture is known

Safety Culture = Cognitive PsychologyBehavior Based Safety = Behavioral Psychology

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Culture Behavior

Observer Effect

• The behavior of the observer changes dramatically as a result of conducting observations

• An excellent study by John Austin, Western Michigan, showed that observers improve their own behavior by 75% over a baseline

• Interestingly safety training was shown to have no effect on performance in the same study

Austin, chapter in “The values based safety process (2nd ed.)”. New York: Van Nostrand-Reinhold.

Hawthorne Effect

• Persons who know they are being observed change their inherent performance to meet the expectations of the observer

• May not be intentional• Causes some elevation in the % safe scores• Allows for the application of more positive

reinforcement for observed safe behavior

Self Observation and Self Feedback • Good research indicates this is a viable

methodology for lone workers• They must receive outside prompts to require

them to asses their postures, behaviors, and activities

• Prompts must be sent several times per day• Must involve education about what is expected

prior to the Self-Observation Process• No research done into habituation yet (long-term

exposure to the process)“Self Monitoring Promoting Behavior Change”Hsiang Huang, Yueng et al… Professional Safety November, 2008

Quality Observations

• Validation of the skill and accuracy of the observer

• Conducted by members of the Behavioral Safety Steering Committee

• Should be done with every observer at least once a quarter

Barriers and their Role as Antecedents…

• Barriers are obstacles that prevent persons from working safely

• Barriers may be physical, procedural, or personal

• Barriers often function as antecedents for prompting unsafe or undesirable behaviors

Metrics

• Contact Rate• Percentage of Positive

Feedback• Barriers Identified• Action Items Closed• Participation by Observers• Quality Observation

Percent

Looking Forward

• Behavioral Safety Process Maturation

• The influence of Behavioral Safety on other business disciplines

• The use of Behavior to manage other activities

Looking Forward

• Generating information on the ROI of Behavioral Safety, including the cost to implement and the cost of observations and feedback

• Compared to the benefits of reduced injuries, improved employee morale, and enhanced productivity

• Translation of future research into actionable protocols for Behavioral Safety

Psychological Obstacles to a World-Class Safety System

• The Fundamental Attribution Error

• Cognitive Dissonance• Complacency• Laziness• Outcome Bias• Local Rationality• Fact/Value Confusion

• Overconfidence Effect• Recency Effect• Redundancy• Rosy Retrospective• Sample Bias• Selective Perception• Status Quo Bias• Sunk Cost Effects• Wishful Thinking

Where to get more information

• Behavior Safety Now Conferece Reno, NV October 9-11, 2013• RCI Safety BBS Academy, Council Bluffs, IA• The Ameristar Casino August 6 & 7, 2013• Bringing Out the Best in People (Aubrey Daniels)• Leading with Safety (Thomas Krause)• Leading People-Based Safety: Enriching Your Culture

(Scott Geller)• Values Based Safety (Terry McSween)• Behavioral Safety: A Framework for Success (Cooper)