Actively Caring for Occupational Safety

Joshua H. Williams; E. Scott Geller

doi:10.1017/CBO9781107785304.013

9 - Actively Caring for Occupational Safety

from INTRODUCTION TO PART II - APPLICATIONS OF AC4P PRINCIPLES

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2016

E. Scott Geller

Joshua H. Williams and

E. Scott Geller

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E. Scott Geller: Affiliation:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Joshua H. Williams: Affiliation:
Safety Performance Solutions (SPS) Blacksburg, VA
E. Scott Geller: Affiliation:
Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA

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Summary

Vision without execution is hallucination.

– Thomas Edison

For decades we've been fortunate to work with leading organizations around the world to help them achieve an actively caring for people (AC4P) safety culture. Many of these organizations use behavior-based safety (BBS) to address the human dynamics of workplace injuries. This application of behavioral science was created by the second author in 1979 and has been widely effective in reducing injuries at thousands of organizations worldwide. However, many applications of BBS are too narrow, inflexible, and limiting. This chapter addresses people-based safety (PBS), which is an evolution of BBS for organizations working to achieve an AC4P safety culture.

Like BBS, PBS targets human behavior and uses behavioral observation and feedback to correct risky behaviors and reward safe behaviors. Unlike traditional BBS, PBS involves other key factors required to achieve an AC4P safety culture. As depicted in Figure 9.1, key factors of PBS for achieving an AC4P safety culture include behavior, person-states, leadership, and systems/conditions. We examine the principles and execution of each of these key organizational cultural factors in this chapter.

BEHAVIOR

Most workplace injuries and fatalities have a behavioral component. Employees may strain their back because of improper lifting techniques, injure an eye because they chose not to wear safety glasses, or even die on the job because they didn't use a safety harness at extreme heights. In order to prevent injuries and fatalities, it's important to understand why employees perform risky behaviors.

The ABC Model

Behavioral psychologists frequently use the ABC model to explain occurrences of safe and at-risk behaviors. As detailed in Chapter 1, activators (A) get our attention to behave (B) in a certain way. Our motivation to perform the behavior depends on consequences (C), those we want, to obtain, avoid, or escape. Activators include safety signs, meetings, posted rules, verbal reminders, and the presence of a supervisor. Behaviors (safe or at-risk) are observable actions and include using a safety harness, locking out the power of moving equipment, and driving a forklift at a safe speed. Positive consequences include a “thank you” hand signal, as well as personal pride for following safe work practices and setting the right example. Negative consequences include injuries and verbal reprimands for at-risk work practices.

Type: Chapter
Information: Applied Psychology
Actively Caring for People
, pp. 301 - 338

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107785304.013 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2016

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References

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