Eradicate the Real Cause of Incidents with Behaviour-Based Safety Observations

As HSE professionals know, you can spend all the money and time in the world making the conditions of your facility as safe as possible, but if you don’t change behaviour, people will find a way to make incidents occur. 

Studies confirming this anecdote go all the way back to the early 1930s where Herbert William Heinrich of Traveller’s Insurance reported that over 90% of all accidents, injuries, and illnesses were the result of what he called “worker errors.” In the 70s, HSE managers at P&G coined the term “Behaviour-based Safety” and started taking a hard look at the behaviour that was causing incidents. By current day, it is now estimated by a variety of studies that only around 6% of workplace accidents are caused by environmental factors, such as unsafe conditions, OSHA violations, dangerous equipment, etc., while the remaining 94% of accidents are caused by unsafe behaviours.

Even the most dedicated Safety Manager can’t be everywhere in the plant at once and even the best-trained employees become inept at recognizing their own unsafe habits over time. Teachable moments to help improve safety come and go. Without a program to observe and correct them, these habits will continue and lead to workplace injuries or worse. 

Behaviour-Based Safety Observation (BBSO) Programs empower your staff to elevate the safety of their peers by identifying at-risk behaviour and providing positive feedback. 

This, in turn, enables your leadership to coach and mentor effectively with the ultimate goal of building a safer work environment. 

When implemented correctly, BBSO programs can efficiently revitalise the safety culture in your facility and organisation. Peers will help peers work more safely, reducing missed work days due to injury, and having a positive impact on the productivity of your workforce. Your associates will feel more engaged having been empowered with the tools to make an impact through your new Behaviour Based Safety Observation program.

We wanted to learn more about how BBSO programs work and the benefits of digitization, so we chatted with Weever, a cloud-based workflow management software company who has successfully rolled out digital BBSO programs globally for organizations like Unilever, Monin, Bell, SportChek, Rise Baking, Basic American Foods, Husqvarna, and Hello Fresh. Here’s what they had to share. 

How do BBSO programs work?

As BBSO programs can vary as widely as the companies that implement them, there are structural similarities in all safety observation programs. Successful strategies will change from company to company – so be ready for some trial and error. That being said, all good BBSO programs include a method to capture observations, a process to evaluate submissions and create action plans, and a means to review program results and KPIs.

1. Capture Observations 

Safety Managers provide training around what to observe, how to capture data and how to properly conduct a safety observation. Observers should inform the observed staff members that they are being watched. 

Some organisations opt for a small amount of trained personnel, usually members of a safety committee to perform safety observations. Many choose a more open peer-to-peer evaluation approach where all staff are required to conduct safety observations. In the latter case, staff are usually mandated to submit at least 1 safety observation per month. 

Organisations that adopt a peer-to-peer strategy reap the additional reward of the observer thinking about safety best practices while executing an observation, instead of only being observed and receiving feedback.

The goal of any Behaviour-Based Safety Observation program is to give your associates strategies and insights that help them work more safely over time. Expecting instant results can set your new program up for failure.  People generally learn by doing, and the frameworks they’ve developed for decision-making have been built up over years. Encourage small incremental wins that will amount to significant safety improvements over the long term!