The myths of behaviour based safety

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The myths of behaviour based safety
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The 7 myths of BBS

• The myth of the careless worker
• The myth that you can train people like rats
• The myth that behaviour is all that matters
• The myth that it works
• The myth that following procedures works
• The myth that this is empowering
• The myth that you can put a human face on this

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The myth of the careless worker

• 96 of safety incidents are directly caused by
  the actions of people, not by faulty equipment or
  inadequate safety standards (DuPont, 1997)
• Heinrichs research on supervisors accident
  reports 88 due to human error, 10 due to
  unsafe conditions, 2 unknown

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So derrrrr

• To say accidents are due to human failing is not
  so much untrue as unhelpful. It does not lead to
  any constructive action.
• Kletz, 1985

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Accidents result from lots of causes
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What will you do about Bill?
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The myth that you can train people like rats

• The scientific evidence for BBS comes from animal
  experiments - rats and dogs.
• It is assumed that people respond the same way
• Scientific evidence that people respond like rats
  does not exist

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The myth that behaviour is all that matters

• Theres no such thing as consciousness - people
  are just repertoires of behaviours (Skinner)
• People do things because of reinforcement - do
  this and youll get that
• Attitudes, beliefs, values do not exist

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The myth that behaviour is all that matters

• Assumes that responsible behaviour will only be
  performed for some sort of pay-off
• But reinforcements do not make deep lasting
  changes because they are aimed at affecting only
  what we do (Kohn, 1993)

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The myth that behaviour is all that matters
Hong Kong construction industry study

• Workers failure to behave safely can be
  regarded as a reasonable response to prevailing
  conditions. Unsafe behaviour should be expected
  where unsafe, but speedy, construction work is
  financially rewarding, for both individual worker
  and contractors or where adequate and
  appropriate materials or equipment are not
  provided Lingard and
  Rowlinson 1997

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And its worker behaviour that matters

• when an operator makes a mistake he is picked
  out personally. When a constructor or a systems
  manager show improper behaviour by taking
  decisions neglecting safety concerns the
  responsibility is depersonalised and becomes a
  technical or organisational failure.
• Sundstrom-Frisk, 199731

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But what changes behaviour?

• the only way you really make important life
  decisions and changes in behaviour, all of us, is
  sitting down in a dark room and coming to terms
  with the reality of our circumstance.... You have
  to make the hard decision.
• Professor Len Syme

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The myth that it works

• What does works mean?
• Wearing protective gear
• Following safe procedures
• Lifting correctly
• Keeping the workplace tidy
• Not reporting incidents

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The myth that it works

• NZ Shipyard study
• Typical behaviourist techniques - regular
  meetings, observation checklists, feedback
  sessions.
• Found no significant decrease in monthly
  accident statistics following the implementation
  of the intervention.
• Concluded that the goal-setting and feedback
  program was not sufficiently potent to effect
  substantial change.

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The myth that it works

• Hong Kong construction industry study
• when applied to the access to heights and to
  bamboo scaffolding performance categories, the
  techniques were generally unsuccessful in
  bringing about improved performance . Management
  appeared less committed to the safety program
  no project managers attended (these) meetings

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The myth that it works

• E Scott Geller found
• Programs to encourage seat belt use that were not
  based on rewards were significantly more
  effective than those that did use behaviourist
  incentives 1989

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The myth that it works

• E Scott Geller recommended
• Incentive strategies have been particularly
  promising as a method of increasing safety belt
  use 1990

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An evidence-free zone

• If it doesnt work, it means the rewards werent
  big enough
• Short term is good enough
• Only worker behaviour matters
• Reported accident rates is a good enough measure
• Consultants reports of their value is evidence
  (FIGJAM)

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The myth that following procedures works

• Total compliance with work procedures is neither
  possible nor desirable
• A safe work procedure for every circumstance is
  not possible
• Autonomous flexible approaches to work are safer

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The myth that following procedures works

• Organisations that rely on unvarying routines and
  procedures are much less reliable than those
  which give employees the resources to adapt their
  activities to meet the changing environment

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The myth that this is empowering

• Shifts responsibility from employer to worker -
  were all responsible
• Workers only have power over their own and their
  co-workers behaviour - not over the circumstances
  of work
• We lose the capacity to see how things might be
  different

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The myth that you can put a human face on this

• Suggesting that BBS can be applied to management
  behaviour
• Equally trivial and inconsequential behaviours
• Still not about the real issues
• No evidence of effectiveness

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The myth that you can put a human face on this

• Suggesting that BBS is alright as long as it is a
  garnish to a broader approach
• Magic bullet
• Cost crowds out other strategies
• Time needed crowds out other strategies
• A poisonous garnish poisons the meal

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The myth that you can put a human face on this

• Co-opting union reps to run it
• Distracts attention from the real issues
• Damages the relationship between union reps and
  the workforce - doing managements job
• No evidence of effectiveness on the sources of
  risk

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What does work?

• Vigorous enforcement of the law
• Strong union representation
• Controlling risks at their source
• Treating people with dignity and respect

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You have to do the work

• To make the workplace healthy and safe, there is
  no substitute for making the workplace healthy
  and safe