How to Have an Effective Behavioral Safety Program

Most workplace injuries are caused by unsafe acts and behaviors that can be prevented, according to a report by the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Behavioral safety programs aim to prevent injuries by identifying risks in the ways people perform tasks and cutting down on those risks through a proactive approach. Observation plays an important role in an effective behavior-based safety program. Risks vary at every job, but the general principles of an effective behavioral safety program can be adapted to multiple types of work environments.

Instructions

• 1

  Observe workplace behavior to identify behaviors that may cause injury. Common at-risk behaviors include poor housekeeping, insufficient personal protective equipment, inaccurate body positioning and unclear communication. A work environment where employees fail to clean up spills immediately is at risk injuries, for example.

• 2

  Record and evaluate findings from the observations and develop practices that address the unsafe behavior.

• 3

  Develop a training program that includes the recognition and correction of unsafe behaviors. Unsafe behaviors often result from bad habits formed over time. Safe operating procedures should be defined and communicated to everyone involved.

• 4

  Hold employees accountable for exhibiting unsafe behavior. Create a reward system for consistent attention to safety regulations, and make a policy to record and reprimand unsafe behavior.

• 5

  Measure progress with scheduled observations to determine if unsafe behaviors have been corrected.