BEHAVIOURAL SAFETY
QBE ISSUES FORUM MAY 2008

INTRODUCTION
BEHAVIOURAL SAFETY
“Promoting safe behaviour at work is a critical part of the management of health
& safety, because behaviour turns systems and procedures into reality”.1
It is estimated that in up to 80% of work related accidents the employee’s behaviour or their
acts or omissions is a contributing factor.
HSE research1 concluded that proprietary and in-house behavioural safety processes improve
safety when implemented effectively. One study reported an 85% improvement in accident rates.
Successful behavioural safety programmes require senior management commitment, suitable
resources and effective planning to ensure they fit in with your organisation’s culture and
health and safety management system.
QBE supports clients who decide to implement behavioural safety processes and this Issues
Forum discusses the key elements of successful behavioural safety programmes, with practical
advice on how to implement one and the pitfalls to avoid.
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BEHAVIOURAL SAFETY QBE ISSUES FORUM MAY 2008

WHAT ARE BEHAVIOURAL
SAFETY PROGRAMMES?
Behaviour based safety programmes Naturally, the support, commitment HOW DO BEHAVIOURAL
tend to focus on the observable and and competence of the management
SAFETY PROGRAMMES RELATE
measurable behaviours critical to team will be critical to success.
safety at a particular facility. They Introduced well, behavioural safety TO HUMAN FACTORS AND
promote desired behaviours by programmes should: HUMAN FAILURE?
introducing positive reinforcement
• Engage significant workforce Behavioural safety programmes are
and feedback for behaving safely.
participation a proactive way to encourage desired
They should not be confused with
inspections and audits of the • Improve management visibility behaviours and should be considered
workplace for unsafe conditions. for introduction, once effective health
• Target specific unsafe behaviours and safety management systems are
Behavioural safety programmes should in place.
• Collect behavioural safety
not be seen as a “quick fix” and prior
observational data Within your health and safety
to any programme, organisations should
satisfy themselves that the key principles • Use data to measure safety management system you will have
of managing health and safety such as performance and drive undertaken risk assessments and
policy; organisational arrangements; improvements should have considered “human
planning and implementing; measuring factors” i.e. how do the demands and
• Consider human factors within ergonomics of the job; the attitude and
performance; auditing and review are
safety improvements skill of the individual and the cultural
in place.
aspects of your organisation impact
• Provide focussed feedback
on how the individual may behave?
to all employees
If not managed effectively, these
• Enable unsafe acts to be promptly
demands and influences may lead
acted upon
to the types of “human failure” or
With a focus on observable practices behaviour within figure 1.
and targeting personal behaviour,
Whilst it is possible and desirable
behavioural safety programmes may
to address these behaviours through
be particularly effective at improving
effective assessment of the job, the
use of personal protective equipment,
individual and your organisation, you
use of correct tools, manual handling
should also consider these human
techniques and improving slip/ trip
factors within any behavioural safety
incidence through housekeeping etc.
programme you introduce.
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BEHAVIOURAL SAFETY QBE ISSUES FORUM MAY 2008

TYPES OF HUMAN FAILURE
SLIPS OF ACTION
Action ‘not as planned’
SKILL-BASED ERRORS eg. operating wrong switch
Often occur in familiar tasks,
when attention is diverted
LAPSES OF MEMORY
Forgetful, lost place in task,
often caused by distraction
ERRORS
Action or decision
that was not intended
RULE-BASED MISTAKES
Mistake following changes
to familiar task and procedure
MISTAKES
Wrong thing done although
thought to be right
KNOWLEDGE BASED MISTAKES
Wrongful reliance on experience
in unfamiliar circumstances
HUMAN FAILURES
ROUTINE
Condoned practice and
a normal way of working
SITUATIONAL
VIOLATIONS
Caused by pressure of job
Deliberate deviation
eg. time pressure, insufficient
from rule or procedure
staff, right equipment not available
EXCEPTIONAL
Emergency situations. Breaking
rules to solve escalating problems
Figure 1: Types of human failure
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BEHAVIOURAL SAFETY QBE ISSUES FORUM MAY 2008

IMPLEMENTING A BEHAVIOURAL
SAFETY PROGRAMME
IMPLEMENTATION OBSERVATION AND
FEEDBACK PROCESS
Assess cultural
maturity or readiness
Modify environment,
equipment or systems
Gain management
& workforce support
& ownership
Review & goal
Monitor performance
settings
Behavioural
safety training
Review critical
Provide feedback
Specify critical behaviours
behaviours
Assess cultural Conduct
maturity or readiness observations
Figure 2: Key elements found in behavioural safety programmes
CULTURAL MATURITY MANAGEMENT & You should consider either a full time
programme co-ordinator or set up a
& READINESS WORKFORCE SUPPORT
steering group. Steering groups should
Prior to commencing a behavioural Management and workforce ownership include respected staff members who
safety programme you should have and support for the behavioural safety are representative of the entire
an established health and safety process is vital for success of the workforce. It is particularly important
management system e.g. in line with programme. An effective way of to involve two groups, namely first line
HS(G)65, “Successful Health and gaining support is to engage supervisors and, where applicable,
Safety Management” or BS8800 or employees in the process of selection union safety reps as research1 has
OHSAS18001. A positive safety culture of the behavioural safety programme shown their involvement is more likely
will also exist in your organisation and its implementation. to result in success.
e.g. senior manager commitment,
competent managers leading by
example and effective lines of
communication and trust within
the organisation.
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BEHAVIOURAL SAFETY QBE ISSUES FORUM MAY 2008

BEHAVIOURAL
SAFETY TRAINING
Whatever programme you develop,
training in behavioural safety
techniques will be required. A training
plan for steering group members and
subsequent observers will need to be
developed. The nature of training
should include human factors,
identifying critical safety behaviours
and communication skills to assist with
individual and group feedback.
SPECIFYING CRITICAL
SAFETY BEHAVIOURS
Your behavioural safety programme
will define its objectives and identify
the critical safety behaviours (CSB)
ESTABLISHING A BASELINE FEEDBACK
it will address.
A baseline is often established during Positive feedback is one of the most
Analysis of accident records can
the initial period of observations to important elements in the process as
identify the CSB that will have the
establish the current level of safe this is the positive consequence that is
greatest impact on reducing your
behaviours for the critical behaviours introduced to reinforce safe behaviour.
accident frequency. However, relying
identified. This baseline is useful to Positive reinforcement should be
solely on accident records has the
measure the programme’s success provided consistently over an
limitation that infrequent but CSB may
in changing behaviour. extended period of time to ensure
be excluded. Your choice of CSB could
that safe behaviours become habit.
also be influenced by reviewing staff
turnover; absenteeism; task based risk
OBSERVATIONS Effective feedback requires skill
assessments and safe operating The frequency of observations and and to be effective for the receiving
procedures; quality of workmanship; numbers to be conducted will need individual should be done soon after
near miss and dangerous occurrence to be defined. Observations tend to the observation. Positive feedback
reports; audit reports and discussion be conducted by peers rather than by such as “Excellent work John” can
with the workforce or feedback from superiors. In general, proprietary and be promoted openly but feedback
employee questionnaires. in house systems will create checklists requesting the individual changes their
for these observations to be recorded behaviour is best done in private or
Once you have determined the CSB
could be perceived as punishment.
to be observed, checklists should on. You should ensure that the
be developed, for completion by behaviours are clearly described Graphical feedback such as percentage
trained observers. to enable the observer to judge of behaviours observed as safe should
consistently whether someone is be communicated to the workforce
behaving safely or unsafely. e.g. via meetings and notice boards.
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BEHAVIOURAL SAFETY QBE ISSUES FORUM MAY 2008

GOAL SETTING AND REVIEW MODIFY ENVIRONMENT
HSE research1 indicated that goal The observation and feedback process
setting increases the amount of may identify unsafe conditions and
behavioural change. Goals need to barriers to why the individual could
be realistic and achievable otherwise not behave safely. Often these fall
people may become demotivated. within the human failures listed above.
This information should be collected
Some organisations link goal setting
and used to review risk assessments,
to individual’s appraisals, bonuses
followed by actions to create safe
and other safety incentive schemes.
systems of work.
The nature of goal setting may include
Prompt feedback to staff on the status/
the required level of participation
timescale of such improvements is vital
and number of observations to be
to maintain staff commitment to the
conducted and targets for improving
programme. To ensure such actions
the percentage of observed safe
are implemented there will need to
behaviours.
be suitable senior management
commitment and adequate resources
allocated to the programme.
MONITOR PERFORMANCE
Monitoring improvements in the
percentage of safe observations
can demonstrate the success of the
programme. Where improvements
are not being made it is important
to investigate this behaviour in detail
to identify what barriers exist to
behaving safely and to identify
the improvements required.
REVIEW LIST OF
CRITICAL BEHAVIOURS
The list of critical behaviours should
be revised periodically with new
behaviours added or existing ones
replaced. This can be done by periodic
review of your accident records or
following a period when a critical
behaviour has become habit and
is consistently observed as safe.
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BEHAVIOURAL SAFETY QBE ISSUES FORUM MAY 2008

PITFALLS TO AVOID REFERENCES/ FURTHER AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
With effective planning and READING Jon Lawrence, Risk Manager
implementation your behavioural 1Strategies to promote safe behaviour Jon Lawrence joined QBE in 2001 and
safety programme should be a success. as part of a health and safety has over 20 years experience within
Some common pitfalls that you will management system (Contract the insurance industry primarily in the
need to address include: research report 430/2002) field of liability risk management.
• Lack of senior management Download at: Jon specialises in health and safety
commitment www.hse.gov.uk/research/crr_htm/ management systems and assists
2002/crr02430.htm clients to reduce their risk exposures
• Adverse behaviour created by
Reducing error and influencing and to mitigate potential losses. He
insufficient risk assessment and
behaviour HS(G)48 is a Chartered Safety and Health
creation of unrealistic rules and
HSE Books www.hsebooks.co.uk Practitioner and member of IOSH.
safety procedures
HSE Website QBE
• The programme is not “owned”
by everyone in the organisation www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors Plantation Place,
30 Fenchurch Street,
• Insufficient trust between Behavioural Safety – Kicking bad
Habits (IOSH) London,
management and employees
Download at: EC3M 3BD
• Some “off the peg” or consultant www.iosh.co.uk/files/technical/ t: + 44 (0)20 7105 4000
led programmes may not fit well Behaviouralsafety%2Epdf f: + 44 (0)20 7105 4019
with your organisation’s culture
enquiries@uk.qbe.com
• Ensure the system is in your own
www.QBEeurope.com
management style, language and
presentation
• Observational feedback not seen
as fair and just
• Workforce concerns over “spying”
or perception of a blame culture
CONCLUSION
Behavioural safety programmes can be
an effective tool for reducing accident
frequency.
They will require a concerted effort
from both managers and employees
and therefore it is essential that
suitable planning and resource is
allocated prior to the commencement
of any programme.
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BEHAVIOURAL SAFETY QBE ISSUES FORUM MAY 2008

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