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What is Behavioral Safety?Behavioral safety, or what is sometimes referred to as behavior-based safety, is simply the use of behavioral psychology to promote safety at work and at home. Behavioral safety typically involves creating a systematic, ongoing process that clearly defines a finite set of behaviors that reduce the risk of injury within an organization, collects data on the frequency and consistency of those behaviors, and then ensures feedback and reinforcement to ensure support of those behaviors. In a behavioral process, employees usually conduct observations and provide feedback on safety practices within their work areas. These observations provide data that is used as the basis for recognition, problem-solving, and continuous improvement. Behavioral safety grew out of the early work done by early pioneers who were applying behavioral principles in organizations. In the late ’60’s and early ’70’s, Aubrey Daniels, Wanda Myers, and others were working with organizations applying behavioral concepts to improve performance in what Aubrey would later term performance management, work that grew out of the pioneering work done by Ed Feeney at Emery Air Freight. The pioneering safety research done by Judy Komacki and Beth Sulzer-Azaroff in the late ‘70s provided the basic technology that was developed and refined by Tom Krause and his associates who were working with back injuries and developed their process as a preventative intervention. Today’s behavioral safety initiatives also draw heavily on the traditions of TQM and organizational development, involving employees in conducting observations within their work areas and in teams that analyzed the observation data and develop action plans targeting improvements in safe practices. Most organizations charter a Design Team to take responsibility for planning and implementing behavioral safety. The Design Team is typically made up primarily of eight to ten wage roll employees, with a representative from both supervision and the safety department. This Design Team typically completes five steps in the implementation process:
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