Reading Material

BEHAVIOUR BASED SAFETY MANAGEMENT

NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL
PLOT NO. 98A, INSTITUTIONAL AREA,
SECTOR 15, CBD BELAPUR, NAVI MUMBAI 400 614

Phone : 022 - 2757 9924 E-mail : nsci@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in
Website: www.nsc.org.in Fax : 022 - 2757 7351



C O N T E N T S

Page no.

1. Total Safety Culture and Behaviour - Based Safety
Management
1

2. Understanding ABC Model & Conducting Analysis 7

3. Work Environment and Its Impact at Workplace 10

4. Human Error and its Prevention 20

5. Behaviour Analysis : Intra & Inter-Personal Barriers 29

6. Creative Thinking to Make Methods Safe 33

7. Behaviour Analysis & Attitudes 34

8. Observation & Communication to Correct Unsafe
Behaviour
39

9. Safety Coaching & Active Listening 41

10. Motivating For Safe Behaviour at Workplace 43

11. Behavioural Adjustment to Frustration 48

12. Behavioural Qualities of Managers 50

13. Implementation of Behaviour Based Safety
In the organization
51

14. Training of observers 64


Additional Reading Material

1. Behavioural Management of Safety 78

2. Improving Safety Performance with Behaviour-Based
Safety
91

3. Beyond Behaviour Change 98

4. Bibliography 106

* * *


1

Safety Policy, Procedures,
Rules & Regulations,
Manufacturing & Management
Systems & Techniques,
Organisational set-up,
Financial Position etc.
TOTAL SAFETY CULTURE AND
BEHAVIOUR - BASED SAFETY MANAGEMENT


(I) Total Safety Culture : Developing safety culture in an organisation requires
manager's special attention to two aspects such as (i) environmental factors like
equipments, tools, machines, systems, workplace etc. and another (ii) people
factors like abilities, job skills, attitudes and behaviour etc. These factors have
influence on safety culture in an organisation. Total safety culture is built-up on the
premises that safety awareness at all levels of management including workers
depend upon how organizational & human aspects are managed. In developing
total safety culture, management policies, systems, procedures, equipment,
machinery, material and such material resources are required to be considered.
Similarly safety culture also depends upon psycho-social and economic factors of
people working in the organisation. Total safety culture encompasses all these
aspects which are diagrammatically shown below:






















TOTAL
SAFETY
CULTURE

ORGANISATIONAL MATERIAL
RESOURCES
PEOPLE
RESOURCE
Machines,Equipment
including PPE,
Instruments, Space,
Tools, Raw material,
Products, Bldgs. etc.
Psysho-social Skills, Working Team,
Attitudes, Life Styles, Technical Knowledge
& Skill, Health, Family Background,
Personality, Group Norms & Ethics etc.


2

If people at workplace achieve desired output or results safely, it contributes
positively to develop safety culture in an organization. Many companies are making
efforts to develop safety culture by adopting traditional safety methods. The
traditional methods, which are generally followed, are given below:

(a) Engineering revision;
(b) Instructions;
(c) Personnel adjustments; and
(d) Discipline

a) Engineering revision: Guarding of machines and tools, isolation of
hazards, revision of procedures and process, illumination, ventilation, colour
and colour contrast, provision of personal protective devices, substitutions of
safer tools, etc., replacement and repair, and a wide variety of similar steps
of a mechanical or physical nature and eliminate most of the flaws in
improper mechanical or physical environment.

b) Instructions: Persuasions and appeal, training as well as instruction and
reinstruction. Through the motivating characteristics of persons (shop
psychology), visual as well as oral approaches, safety education and safety
organization with all its many activities, an individual can be persuaded to act
accordingly to the safety norms and eliminate the lack of knowledge of skill
in an individual.

c) Personnel adjustment: Selection and placement with regard to the
requirements of the job and the physical and mental suitability of the worker,
medical treatment and advice, can eliminate or adjust as far as physical
unsuitability is concerned.

d) Discipline: Mild admonishment, expression of disappointment, fair
insistence, statement of past record, transfer to other work, and penalties
(discipline of a penalty nature is a last resort, an indication of supervisory
failure and should never be applied except in full accord with management
policy), etc., are some of the actions to iron out indiscipline such as improper
attitude, etc., among the workers.

(II) Behaviour-Based Safety Management (BBSM): Though above traditional
methods have given results in improving safety standards, there is a need to find
and apply newer methods to reach the target of zero accidents. This need to
improve further with some new ways of managing safety has prompted safety
professionals to find another approach. In the recent past, safety professionals
developed Behaviour-Based Safety approach. This new approach is based on
successive years of research which showed that about 80% of accidents at the
workplace are caused by unsafe behaviours. The main purpose of Behaviour-
Based Safety Management is therefore, to influence people for safe work habits. In
this respect, Geller E.S.(2001) has noted that Behaviourism has effectively solved
environmental, safety & health problems in organizations and communities.


3

It is proactive approach to genuinely help people to follow safe work practice on the
job. In this approach, Behaviour is a Base for improving safety performance
because it is observable, definable & measurable also. Behaviours on the job are
indicators of probable injuries and safety performance. Similarly, behaviours are
often symptoms of problems of intra & inter-personal psychological factors besides
other problems within the management system. BBSM therefore focuses on
Behaviour and is defined as a process of involving people in observing unsafe
behaviour as well as Listening verbal response indicating undesirable or
unfavourable attitude towards safety with a view to correct behaviour by giving
feed-back so that accidents and injuries are prevented. In this approach, unsafe
behaviour is observed and causes of behaviour within people are identified to
correct unsafe acts. In order to achieve better results, a few organizations are
endeavoring to follow BBS method. In this method, the following steps are
suggested to reduce unsafe behaviours and motivate people to follow safe
practices at workplace.

Step 1: Define safe behaviours & prepare check list
Each job at workplace is required to be carried out systematically in a particular
sequence. This requires proper tools, equipment, instrument, machinery and
material etc.). Similarly, it also becomes necessary to safeguard the worker and
workplace. In order to do that use of Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) and
certain safety precautions are required on the part of worker while carrying out job.
It is also necessary to make sure that working conditions including layout,
machinery etc. are reasonably safe. These job requirements for safe practice at
workplace can be defined in measurable terms and can be noted in order to
prepare a check-list.

The check-list is generally in the form of columns which give observable
precautionary behavioural requirement such as Body Posture, reaching, stretching
etc. for every stage of a job in sequence. In addition, the check-list also indicates
type of PPEs, instruments and other observable precautionary actions such as use
of space, machine guards / speed-feed etc. The list also provides columns to note
whether these are at risk, or at high risk or safe. Once the check-list is prepared,
this forms the basis for observation of behaviours.

Step 2: Observe behaviours & give feed-back
During day-to-day management of work in department, managers / supervisors
have to observe, guide, communicate correct and control any deviations from safe
practice. If undesirable unsafe behavioural actions are noticed, managers or
supervisors are required to correct them to prevent accidents and injuries. In
practice, not all behaviours can be observed because many organisations do not
have sufficient resources. It is, therefore, suggested that a sample of behaviours
which has been identified as critical to the safety performance be considered in the
beginning.

There is no one best way to perform observations. Techniques and methods
depend on the organisation systems and the existing safety culture. These are to
be tailored to particular needs and type of human resource. However, the following
general guidelines may be useful for observations.

4


(i) Select specific behaviours to observe as derived from the critical
behaviour requirement of particular job.

(ii) Develop procedure for using noted observation to give feed-back later.

(iii) Have a trial run for fine-tuning of observation check-list and observation
process.

(iv) Note observations with the knowledge of worker who is being observed.

(v) Enlist co-operation of concerned people before commencing
observations.

The observed behaviours on the job are required to be informed to the worker and
discussed for correction. Disclosing ones thinking about how another persons
unsafe behaviour is affecting; is often called feed-back for correction of unsafe
behaviour. However, observing behaviour at work and giving feed-back requires
skill. It has to be carried out skillfully and carefully. The purpose of feed-back is to
provide constructive information to help another person become aware of facts
which lead to unsafe act. It is important to give feed-back in a non-threatening way
to minimize defensiveness. Skill in giving feed-back can be acquired by practicing
principles given below:

(i) Focus feedback on behaviour rather than the person. It is important
that you refer to what a person does rather than comment on what you
imagine he is. To focus on behaviour implies that you use adverbs (which
relate to actions) rather than adjectives (which relate to qualities) when
referring to a person. Thus you might say a person talked considerably
in this meeting, rather than that this person is a loudmouth.

(ii) Focus feedback on observations rather than inference. Observations
refer to what you can see or hear in the behaviour of another person,
while inferences refer to interpretations and conclusions which you make
from what you see or hear.

(iii) Focus feedback on description rather than judgement. The effort to
describe represents a process for reporting what occurred, refers to an
evaluation in terms of good or bad, right to wrong, nice or not nice.
Judgement arises out of a personal frame of reference or value system,
whereas description represents neutral (as far as possible reporting).

(iv) Focus feedback on behaviour related to a specific situation,
preferably to the hear and now, rather than on behaviour in the
abstract, placing it in the there and then. What you and I do is
always related in some way to time and place. We increase our
understanding of behaviour by keeping it tied to time and place. When
observations or reactions occur, feedback will be most meaningful if you
give it as soon as it is appropriate to do so.

5


(v) Focus feedback on the sharing of ideas and information rather than
on giving advice. By sharing ideas and information you leave the other
person free to decide for himself, in the light of his own goals in a
particular situation at a particular time how to use the ideas and the
information. When you give advice, you tell him what to do with the
information. Insofar as you tell him what do, you take away his freedom
to determine for himself what the most appropriate course of action is for
him.

(vi) Focus feedback on what is said rather than why it is said. When you
related feedback to the what, how, when, where, of what is said, you
relate it to observable characteristics. If you relate feedback to why things
are said, you go from the observable to the preferred bringing up
questions of motive or content.

Step 3: Decide Behavioural Action Plan and Implement: As far as possible this
has to be decided jointly in cooperation with worker. Commitment to corrective
action is crucial in this step. Action may relate to Engineering revision or changing
of behaviour pattern with specific time limit or managerial aspects and involve other
persons also for implementation. This may sometimes require written down
statements of decision for record and follow-up.

Implementation of Action Plan may encounter certain difficulties. Some common
examples of such difficulties are given below:

(i) Lack of planned, on-going feed-back to measure the effectiveness of the
behavioural approach.

(ii) Treating behavioural safety as a separate programme.

(iii) Over-emphasis on results especially injury measurements.

(iv) People are punished for failure to behave safely.

(v) Failure to conduct regular feed-back sessions.

(vi) Lack of on-going management support.


(III) Conclusion:

Experience and research verify the potency of behavioural safety and
demonstrates its value. McSween T. (1998) in his literature Culture: A Behavioural
Perspective mentions that Behavioural Safety is the only approach that has
routinely produced significant reductions in incidents in well designed research
studies.


6

For successful behavioural safety effort, numerous factors have to be worked
together in harmony. It is also necessary to see that the following features are
present in the Behaviour-Based Safety Management process in order to achieve
success in reducing accidents and injuries.

(i) Management should be visibly committed to BBS.

(ii) There should be significant participation of people.

(iii) BBS activity should be well planned in advance.

(iv) Training and communication should be adequate for all levels to posses
necessary skills.

(v) All levels of personnel should be involved in BBS.

(vi) BBS should consider safety issues (hazards) existing in the environment
and risks that occur in working situations.

(vii) Recognition for safe behaviour and safety-related achievements should
be integrated into daily work culture.

***



7

UNDERSTANDING ABC MODEL & CONDUCTING ANALYSIS

(I) ABC MODEL:- BBS requires a Manager or Supervisor to observe behaviour of
a person working on the job and conduct analysis to identify causes of unsafe acts
as well as further suggest corrective actions or measures to prevent accidents and
injuries. The diagram given below depicts a Model which helps to carry out analysis
to know why people behave the way they behave taking high risk.

A B C










In the above model, individuals behaviour is activated by varying factors in the
situation which is outside an individual to which he is exposed. Activators such as
Dos & Donts mentioned on a machine, faulty instrument or safety equipment,
instructions by supervisor or manager, type of layout, type of material being used
etc. are perceived differently by different individuals. Though the activators are
same in a situation for say four different individuals, their perceptions will differ due
to various intra-personal factors within each of the four people. Their personal
factors such as assumptions, attitudes, skills, knowledge of safety rules etc. differ
which causes their perceptions to be different say P
1
, P
2
, P
3
, P
4
. Thus activators
have different perceptual effect on people which lead to different behaviours say B
1
,
B
2
, B
3
, B
4
. Each behaviour leads to certain consequences. The consequences of
each behaviour may be same in actual practice or differ as C
1
, C
2
, C
3
, C
4
, etc. for
the four individuals.

Perceptual differences of individuals are mainly because people differ from each
other from various aspects. The example of a few factors of individual differences
are shown below












ACTIVATORS
In situation at work place;
e.g. working conditions,
systems, procedure etc.
as perceived by individual.
P
1
, P
2
, P
3
, P
4
etc.
BEHAVIOURS
Caused
B
1
, B
2
, B
3
, B
4
etc.
e.g. High risk, bye
passing procedure,
breaking Safety rules,
taking precautions, etc.
CONSEQUENCES
of behaviours
C
1
, C
2
, C
3
, C
4
...etc.
e.g. personal injury,
property damage, save
time, avoid punishment,
accident or no accident
etc.
INDIVIDUAL
Etc
Type of
Experience
Belief
Education

Health

8

(II) Conducting Analysis: - If we understand basic theory of ABC Model, we can
carry out analysis of behaviour considering situational factors and personal factors.
Analysis as per ABC model helps in generating ideas for corrective actions. In this
model, all types of activators are also called antecedents. These antecedents are
listed while analyzing because these are probable causes of particular behaviour.

For example, a worker has newly joined and has less experience of working on a
particular machine, observes his experienced colleague working on nearby similar
machine with high risk behaviour. The new worker, who internally knows about his
main intra-personal factor of less knowledge and less skill, will perceive differently
than his experienced colleague and will not behave with high risk. The experienced
worker because of his dominant intra-personal factor of overconfidence will
perceive situation as easy going and behave with high risk. The new worker follows
safe practice whereas the other worker does not. The consequence of both the
behaviours may be same i.e. say no accident. But high risky behaviour is likely to
result into an accident and hence corrective action is necessary.

In the above example, many alternative corrective actions are possible to help both
the workers. Since manager is responsible for not only safety but also for
production target, he can coach new worker to increase his skill and also
encourage him to continue his safe behaviour. During the process of development
of job skill through practice of safe behaviour, manager can observe the new
worker at intervals and give feed back. He can also discuss difficulties in integrating
desired safe practice with production target and come out with positive suggestion.
Similarly, for the experienced worker also, manager can observe and note high
risky behaviour which can be used for giving feed-back as well as correcting the
behaviour by means of Transactional Analysis (TA) technique.

(III) Using ABC analysis for success: - There are multiple factors within a person
as well as outside an individual (i.e. situational) which contribute to unsafe
behaviour. Study of behaviour as per ABC model points out many activating factors
which prompt an individual to take high risk or take precautions in preventing
accident depending upon perception of internal and external factors. If one wants to
take corrective action then one can try to change or safeguard factors revealed
through analysis. In this respect, activators which are related to working conditions
are easier to control or change. But personal factors which are intra-personal are
difficult to control or change since it requires patience, tact and psycho-social skills
on the part of manager / supervisor. However, manager can acquire the skill in
corrective behaviour through inculcating in him certain virtues / qualities as well as
practicing certain managerial principles which becomes part of managers character
at workplace. Some of the important managerial qualities, principles & practices for
success in corrective behaviour are given below.

i. Display optimism by encouraging people with positive suggestions.
ii. Be self-disciplined in following safety rules and safety requirement to set
a good example to others.
iii. Be duty conscious with love towards job and genuine interest in helping
people for safe practice.

9

iv. Understand what right behaviour is rather than who is right without
assumptions or prejudice to make feed-back impersonal.
v. Discuss ideas which are based on facts with open mind.
vi. Discriminate between safe behaviour and unsafe behaviour.
vii. Have faith in people that they do not deliberately act unsafely or
misbehave.
viii. Adopt positive approach consistently and follow-up with helping attitude.
ix. Be honest and truthful in communicating and interacting with people.
x. Have self-control and patience in changing undesirable unsafe
behaviour.

Game

Objective : (i) To bring out various intra-personal factors which interact
with ACTIVATORS to cause safe or unsafe behaviours.

(ii) To bring out BBSM concept and principles.

Title and outline in
brief
: (i) Member Test Game
A message in writing is given to participants to count number
of F letters in the message. The perceptual difference reveals
various intra-personal factors such as attitudes, assumptions,
fixity etc. which lead to safe or unsafe behaviours.

(ii) Game of Three Minute Test
A paper pencil test is administered to bring out mental-blocks
which are responsible for safe or unsafe behaviours.

(iii) Picture Game
A series of pictures are shown to participants and their
perceptions are discussed to evolve BBSM concept and
principles.

***




10

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND ITS IMPACT AT WORKPLACE

1. Introduction
The man-machine-environment relationship is an important aspect of work system.
If there is any imbalance in this relationship, the consequences are signified in
higher rate of accidents, general ill health, occupational diseases and decrease in
productivity.

Section 7-A of the Factories Act, 1948 has placed general duties on occupiers. One
of the duties is provision, or maintenance or monitoring of such work environment in
the factory for the worker that is safe and without risk to health. The work
environment comprises lighting, noise and vibration, dust, fumes and other noxious
gases, temperature, humidity, air circulation.

This paper briefly discusses only the three aspects of the work environment with
reference to heat, noise and lighting.

2. Heat
Heat is a form of energy. The sources of heat in factories are (i) process heat, (ii)
solar radiant heat and (iii) metabolic heat.

In many industries such as manufacture of steel or aluminium, foundries, etc.
metals are melted at very high temperatures of the range 700 1300
o
C. Also,
processes such as hot forging, hot rolling, heat treatment of steels, etc. are
performed at about 800 1200
o
C. At these temperatures high convective heat
prevails in the workrooms.

The solar radiation heat from the sun is quite substantial in summer months. At
most of the places the air temperature in daytime exceeds 37
o
C, the normal body
temperature. When the solar radiation heat is substantial, the A.C. sheet roof or G.I.
sheet roof will absorb it and the roofs get heated. These hot roofs, in turn, start
emitting radiant heat in considerable amounts into the workrooms.

Metabolism is the term describing the biological processes within the body that lead
to the production of heat. During physical work about 20% of the total energy
produced is utilized for useful work and the balance 80% is in the form of heat,
called metabolic heat.

2.1 Excessive Temperature
The excess heat present in the workrooms results in higher temperatures. This in
turn results in heat stress. Heat stress of any given work environment is
considered as the combination of both climatic and non-climatic/personal factors
leading to heat gain by the body by convection and radiation and also by
metabolism and/or limiting heat dissipation from the body. The deleterious effects
of heat stress on worker include heat disorders, accidents and lower productivity.
Heat disorders in order of increasing severity are heat cramps, heat exhaustion
and heat stroke.



11

2.2 Statutory Requirements
It is very important to control excess heat in the workrooms. Section 13 of the
Factories Act, 1948 states, effective and suitable provisions shall be made in
every factory for securing and maintaining in every workroom such a temperature
as will secure to workers therein reasonable conditions of comfort and prevent
injury to health. Under this Section State Governments prescribed Rules on
ventilation and temperature in factories. For example, as per Rule 22-A of the
Maharashtra Factories Rules, 1963, the maximum wet-bulb temperature of air in
workroom at a height of 1.5 meters above the floor level shall not exceed 30
o
C and
are adequate movement of atleast 30 meters per minute shall be provided; and in
relation to dry-bulb temperature, the wet-bulb temperature in the workroom at the
said height shall not exceed more than that shown in the Schedule given below:

Schedule
Dry-bulb temperature in
o
C.
Wet-bulb temperature in
o
C.
30 34 29.0
35 39 28.5
40 44 28.0
45 47 27.5

Air temperature, humidity, air movement and radiant temperature are the four
factors modifying the heat exchange. Among the various heat indices, the one
which is widely used to set the thermal environmental limits for everyday industrial
work is the Effective Temperature (ET) or Corrected Effective Temperature (CET)
which gives a measure of physical sensation of warmth. Another heat stress index
being widely used is the Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index.

Table: Permissible threshold limit values (based on ET or CET)
Work
load
Energy expenditure,
kcal/hr
ET or CET,
o
C
Light 135 32.0
Medium 225 29.5
Heavy 315 29.0

2.3 Control of Heat Stress
Where the nature of the work carried on in the factory involves or is likely to involve,
the production of excessively high temperatures, Section 13 of the Factories Act
requires that adequate measures should be taken to protect the workers there from.
Two examples given are (i) separating the process which produces such
temperatures from the workroom and (ii) insulating the hot parts or by other
effective means. A few control measures by which excess temperature in factories
can be reduced are briefly explained below:

2.3.1 Segregation
Segregation or separation of hot process equipment areas from the other areas so
that only a fewer workers are exposed to heat is quite an effective way of protecting
large proportion of the workers from excess temperature.


12

2.3.2 Insulation
Thermal insulation is a system which is provided to retard the heat flow. Among the
three forms of insulation-reflective, resistive and capacitive, the reflective and
resistive types of insulation are more effective in the control of heat stress. Painting
or coating the hot bodies with materials of low radiation emission parameters is
another efficient method of heat radiation control.

A large proportion of heat in factories may be due to the solar radiation falling on
the roof surfaces, which in turn radiate heat inside the workrooms. In such
situations painting the outer surface of the roof by heat reflective substances
reduces the heat in the workrooms.

2.3.3 Ventilation
Ventilation is a method of controlling the environment with airflow. Provision of
adequate ventilation by the circulation of fresh air is also a statutory requirement in
every factory. The provision of fresh air and the removal of heat by mass transfer
are the first two tasks of ventilation. Natural and mechanical type of ventilation can
be used depending upon the specific problem. Adequate air movement of at least
30 meters per minute should be provided in the factory.

IS: 3103 1975 Code of Practice for Industrial Ventilation defines the number of air
changes per hour as the volume of outside air allowed into a room in one hour
compared with the volume of the room. The Factories Rules require that the
amount of fresh air supplied by mechanical means of ventilation in an hour should
be equivalent to at least six times the cubic capacity of the work-room and should
be distributed evenly throughout the workroom without dead air pockets or undue
draughts caused by high inlet velocities.

2.3.3.1 North-light type of roofing to prevent the infra-red solar radiation from
entering the workrooms, the factory buildings should be so oriented and provided
with the north-light type of roofing.

2.3.3.2 Baffles and sun breakers should be provided to cut off the direct sunrays.

2.3.3.3 Radiation shielding consisting of metal sheets e.g. bright aluminium
sheets, or wire mesh screens, interposed between the source of heat and the
workstation reduce excess temperature by reflecting a major portion of the radiant
heat away from the worker.

2.4 Suitable Personal protective equipment should be used (Reflective
fabrics, that is, aluminized fabric suits, aprons, face shields, mechanically cooled
suits, etc. are available to protect workers from exposure to radiant heat).


3. Noise and its Abatement

Introduction
When a solid object vibrates in an elastic medium e.g. air, the medium around the
object is disturbed. The disturbance spreads away from the object in the form of

13

longitudinal waves, which are transmitted by oscillations of particles of the medium.
These waves in turn impinge on eardrum and set it in vibration. The resulting
physiological response in the human auditory system is perceived as sound. Noise
has been described as sound without agreeable musical quality or as unwanted or
undesired sound.

3.1 Intensity of sound
Sound waves involve a succession of compressions and rare-factions of an elastic
medium. The rate at which the sound energy passes through a unit area normal to
the direction of propagation is the sound intensity. The sound intensity is related to
the sound pressure level which is expressed as the logarithm of the ratio of a
measured quantity of sound pressure (root mean square value) to a reference
quantity, 20 micro pascal or 2 x 10
- 5
Newton/sq. meter or 20 pa. The unit of
sound pressure level is decibel, abbreviated as dB.

A healthy human ear responds to a very wide range of sound pressure levels from
the threshold of hearing at zero dB, may be uncomfortable at 100 - 120 dB, and
painful at 130 - 140 dB.

3.2 Frequency of sound
The frequency of sound is the rate at which the variation in air pressure takes
place. It is expressed as the number of cycles per second and the unit is Hertz,
abbreviated as Hz.

Human hearing is sensitive to frequency in the range of about 16-20 000 Hz.
However, the sensitivity is not uniform in this wide range. It is maximum in the
middle frequencies (1000 4 000 Hz.). A sound with a frequency of about 500 Hz.
and below is generally known as low-frequency sound and above 500 Hz.
frequency is known as high-frequency sound.

3.3 Types of Industrial Noise
Noise is classified as (1) steady-state or continuous type of noise and (2) impulse
or impact type of noise.

3.3.1 Steady-state noise
If there are many impacts per second, as in ordinary riveting machine, fluctuations
in the noise level are small and the noise produced is usually treated as steady-
state or continuous type of noise. The quality and intensity are practically constant,
varying less than + 5 dB over an appreciable period of time.

3.3.2 Impulse or Impact noise
A noise consisting of one or more bursts of sound energy, each of a duration less
than about one second. This type of noise is transient, like a gun shot. The
impulse must be less than 0.5 second duration and has a magnitude of at least 40
dB within that time.





14

3.4 Threshold Noise Levels
Threshold noise levels or hearing damage risk criteria are defined. The Factories
Rules prescribed permissible exposure in cases of continuous noise (Table 1) and
impulsive or impact noise (Table 2).

Table 1: Permissible Exposure in Cases of Continuous Noise

Total time of exposure per day, hours Noise level, dB (A)
8 90
6 92
4 95
3 97
2 100
1.5 102
1 105
0.75 107
0.5 110
0.25 115

No exposure in excess of 115 dB (A) is permitted.

Table 2: Permissible Exposure Levels of Impulsive Noise
Peak sound pressure level, dB No. of Impulses per day
140 100
135 315
130 1 000
125 3 160
120 10 000

No exposure in excess of 140 dB is permitted.

3.5 Effects of Noise
Sound which influences people via their hearing also has a number of other
adverse effects in the body. The ill effects of noise are broadly classified into two:
(i) auditory effects and (ii) non-auditory effects.

3.5.1 Auditory effects
A sudden rupture of ear-drum on short exposure to high impact noise level,
temporary threshold shift or auditory fatigue, and noise-induced hearing loss or
permanent hearing loss are auditory effects.

3.5.1.1 Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
Much more serious regular and prolonged exposure to some kinds of noise of
moderate intensity maintained through successive working days over a period of
years or a single short exposure of very high intensity noise can result in permanent
reducing of hearing sensitivity by causing damage to the sensory organs of the
inner ear. Permanent hearing loss or noise-induced hearing loss is caused by over
stimulus of the receptor cells in the cochlea. Initially the high frequencies are
affected (3-4-6 kHz.) and then the damage extends to the 0.5-1-2 and 8 kHz.
ranges. If the average hearing level at 0.5, 1 and 2 kHz exceeds 25 dB it is

15

indicative of hearing loss. The hearing impairment will be considered total when
the hearing level reaches 91.7 dB.

The noise-induced hearing loss is a notifiable occupational disease under Sections
89 and 90 of the Factories Act, 1948. Besides, 'Hearing impairment caused by
noise' is included in the list of occupational disease in Workmen's Compensation
Act, 1923.

3.5.2 Non-auditory effects
There are several non-auditory effects of noise on the human body. Exposure to
noise may interfere with speech communication, cause annoyance and distract. It
has been reported that it may also reduce output and efficiency and cause fatigue
apart from various health disorders unrelated to the effects on the hearing. They
are more or less reversible, but still proved to occur.

3.6 Statutory Requirements
Schedule XXIV to the Model Rules framed under the Factories Act, 1948 and
adopted by States deals with operations involving high noise levels. As per Rule 2
(b) 'high noise level' means any noise level measured on the A-weighted scale is 90
dB or above. Rule (3) of the Schedule deals with protection of workers against
noise. It enumerates the types of control measures, which must be taken if the
noise levels exceed the maximum permissible noise levels prescribed therein.
Some of them are briefly described below:

3.7 Noise Control

3.7.1 Engineering and Administrative Controls
Avoid the problem, if possible: Eliminating potential noise problems in the
blueprint stage of a project will minimize subsequent expenses for noise control
measures. Location, plant layout, construction materials, and equipment selection
are factors that should be considered to minimize noise problems.

Noise control by location: Areas that are particularly noisy should be segregated
from quiet areas so that reduction of noise with distance can be achieved and by
buffer zones.

Noise reduction by layout: The quieter areas may be segregated from noisy
production areas by proper layout of buildings.

Noise specifications: At the time of ordering new equipment and if it is expected
that a noise hazard may be involved, it should be specified that the noise level at
workers ear level should not exceed, for example, 85 dB (A) as a result of the
equipments use.

Design of machinery and equipment: Noise control measures are achieved by
the reduction of noise generation by modifying the process, shape and material of
the noise source. Speed, force, material, etc. can be so selected that noise levels
during the operation of the machine/equipment are low.


16

Substitution of noisy operations by quieter operations: Production equipment
producing high levels of noise must be substituted by quieter or less noisy
equipment. Grinding operations can substitute chipping for cleaning. Welding can
substitute riveting.

Proper maintenance: Proper upkeep and repair of machinery will reduce noise.

Reducing transmission of mechanical vibrations: Many machines, while
working, transmit vibrations to adjacent structures, which in turn will radiate
secondary noise. The Vibration is conducted along mechanically rigid paths to
surfaces that can act as effective radiator. The rigid connecting paths should be
interrupted by resilient material (e.g. steel in the form of springs, rubber, cork and
felt). Vibration isolators and damping are the methods of noise reduction at source.

Sound absorbers or silencers: Diminish air-borne sound propagation in ducts or
prevent sound generation in vents or openings when gases escape or expand.

Acoustical enclosures: Air-borne noise generated by a machine can be reduced
by placing the machine in an enclosure.

Acoustic barriers or shields: High frequency, e.g. noise generated in chipping,
drilling, grinding operations, vent noise, the erection of acoustical barriers or shields
between the noise source and the workplaces is very effective.

Acoustic treatment of ceiling and walls: Sound energy is absorbed whenever it
meets a porous material or absorbents or acoustical materials, e.g. glass-wool,
fiber-glass, mineral wool.

Functional sound absorbers: Pre-formed functional sounds absorbers also called
space sound absorbers or baffles may be clustered as near the machines as
possible. These absorber units may be fabricated using acoustical materials in any
shape. They may be suspended and distributed in any pattern to obtain lower noise
levels within in the workrooms.

3.7.2 Personal ear protectors
Rule 3 (4) of the Model Rules (Schedule XXIV) states where it is not possible to
reduce the noise exposure to the levels specified in sub-rule (1) by practicable
engineering control or administrative measures, the workers exposed to the high
noise levels should be provided with suitable ear protectors so as to reduce the
exposure to noise to the levels specified in sub-rule (1). Personal ear protectors
are commonly available in the form of earplugs, which fit tightly into the ear canal
and earmuffs, which enclose the ears from outside to provide an acoustic barrier.

4. Lighting
Human beings possess an extraordinary capacity to adapt to their environment and
to their immediate surroundings. Light is a key element in our capacity to see and is
necessary to appreciate the form, the colour and the perspective of the objects that
surround us in our daily lives. Most of the information we obtain through our
senses, we obtain through sight - close to 80%.

17


A well designed lighting scheme in the workplace increases productivity and
reduces accidents at work. It also reduces rejections in processes and fatigue of
individuals. It gives a feeling of well-being to the work force as well. On the other
hand, a poor lighting scheme is harsh on the work force, and leads to less output,
more fatigue, more accidents and more rejections.

4.1 Interpretation of Terms
Some of the terms used in lighting are:
Luminous flux is the term used to represent the total light available.
Lumen is the unit for Luminous flux.
The power of a light source is expressed in Candle power. Candle power
is also known as Candela (Cd).
Illumination is the term used to represent the light falling on a surface.
Technically, it will be more correct to say that it is the density of Light flux
incident upon a surface.
Level of Illumination : Level of Illumination of a surface of one square meter
when it receives a luminous flux of one lumen [ Unit : lux = lm/m
2
]

Lux is the illumination on a surface 1 square meter in area, created by one
lumen of Light Flux.

Luminance is the brightness of a surface. It is the relation between
luminous intensity and the surface seen by an observer situated in the same
direction (apparent surface) [unit: Cd / m
2
].


Contrast: Difference in luminance between an object and its surroundings
or between different parts of the object.

Reflectance : Proportion of light that is reflected by a surface. It is a non
dimensional quantity. It value ranges between 0 and 1.
It is a common misunderstanding that providing good lighting conditions
means only increasing the illumination level. Sufficient light to perform the
task comfortably, of course, is important, but there are many other factors
which need to be considered in the study of lighting.

4.2 Lighting and visual tasks
Lighting is for seeing. Visibility or the ease of seeing depends upon many inter-
related factors

The size of the object. The larger the size the more visible it will be.
Inspecting a watch is difficult compared to examining a clock, in terms of eye
strain, in the same light.
The amount of light falling on the object. Correct levels of lighting make it
easier to perform the task.
The contrast between the object and the surroundings.



18

4.2.1 Factors that Determine Visual Comfort
The prerequisites that an illumination system must fulfill in order to provide the
conditions necessary for visual comfort are the following.

uniform illumination
optimal luminance
no glare
adequate contrast conditions
correct colours
absence of stroboscopic effect or intermittent light.

It is important to consider light in the workplace not only by quantitative criteria, but
also by qualitative criteria. The first step is to study the work station, the precision
required of the tasks performed, the amount of work, the mobility of the worker, etc.
Light should include components both of diffused and direct radiation. The result of
the combination will produce shadows of greater or lesser intensity that will allow
the worker to perceive the form and position of objects at the work station.
Annoying reflections, which make it harder to perceive details, should be
eliminated, as well as excessive glare or deep shadows.

The periodic maintenance of the lighting installation is very important. The goal is to
prevent the ageing of lamps and the accumulation of dust on the luminaries that will
result in a constant loss of light. For this reason it is important to select lamps and
systems that are easy to maintain. An incandescent light bulb maintains its
efficiency until the moments before failure, but this is not the case with fluorescent
tubes, which may lower their output down to 75% after a 1000 hours of use.

4.2.1.1 Levels of illumination
Each activity requires a specific level of illumination in the area where the activity
takes place. In general, the higher the difficulty for visual perception, the higher the
average level of illumination should be as well.

The level of illumination is measured with a luxmeter. When selecting a certain level
of illumination for a particular work station the following points should be studied:

the nature of the work
reflectance of the object and of the immediate surroundings
differences with natural light and the need for daytime illumination
the workers age.

Under Sec.17 of the Factories Act, 1948 State Governments have prescribed
illumination levels in factories. For example, the relevant levels prescribed under
Rule 35 of the Maharashtra Factories Rules, 1963 are given as Annexure.

Indian standard 3644 provide detailed guidelines for illumination, for different tasks.




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4.2.1.2 Light distribution Glare
Key factors in the conditions that affect vision are the distribution of light and the
contrast of luminance. In so far as the distribution of light is concerned, it is
preferable to have good general illumination instead of localised illumination in
order to avoid glare. For this reason, electrical accessories should be distributed as
uniformly as possible in order to avoid differences in luminous intensity. Constant
shuttling through zones that are not uniformly illuminated causes eye fatigue.

Glare is produced when a brilliant source of light is present in the visual field; the
result is a diminution in the capacity to distinguish objects. Workers who suffer the
effects of glare constantly and successively can suffer from eye strain as well as
from functional disorders, even though in many cases they are not aware of it.

Glare occurs when there is excessive luminance in the field of view. The effects of
glare on vision can be divided into two groups, termed disability glare and
discomfort glare.

Discomfort glare, which is more likely to occur in interiors, can be reduced or even
totally eliminated by reducing the contrast between the task and its surroundings.
Matt, diffusely reflecting finishes on work surfaces are to be preferred to gloss or
specularly reflecting finishes, and the position of any offending light source should
be outside the normal field of vision. In general, successful visual performance
occurs when the task itself is brighter than its immediate surrounds, but not
excessively.

Glare can be direct when its origin is bright sources of light directly in the line of
vision, or by reflection when light is reflected on surfaces with high reflectance.

* * *



20

HUMAN ERROR AND ITS PREVENTION
(Behavioural Factors, Job Stress and Its Management)

The traditional management practices for better safety performances rest on the
intra-psychic mode of human behaviour which implies that majority of accidents are
due to human errors and that initiative for better safety performance lie on workers.
This assumption is reflected in the messages contained in any safety posters,
pamphlets and propaganda material, policies of management.
Human Error
Human errors of omission or commission contribute to a disproportionately high
percentage of all accidents. How and why such errors are committed must be
understood patiently by supervisors and managers. Workers who are protected by
safety guards remove them or fail to use them. People who are told about hazards
ignore the warnings. Well-trained workers seem to forget what they have learnt.
Attempting to analyse and understand this behaviour from an outward appearance
without first understanding human nature can lead to only one conclusion human
are illogical beings doing many things without apparent rhyme or reason. Not so. All
human behaviour is directed by a striving for satisfaction of needs. All life is
struggle to satisfy the many needs that everyone has, and it is a never-ending
struggle, because human being are so constituted that as soon as they satisfy one
of their needs another appears in its place. According to Abraham Maslow, human
needs are organized in a series of levels, a hierarchy of importance as shown
below
Self Actualization needs


Ego needs







Social needs





Security needs



Physiological need
Self expression
Use of potential
Self fulfillment

* Importance
Excellence
Self respect
Dignity
Power
Recognition

Acceptance
Group membership
Equality

Safety
Preparation for the
future
Justice

Hunger
Thirst
Sex
Excretion
Achievement
Creativity
Development

Freedom
Status
Prestige




Belonging
Team spirit
Tolerance

Comfort
Self preservation
Protection


Rest
Activity
Normal body
temperature.


21

According to Frank E. Bird, Jr. Executive Director, International Loss Control
Institute there are some physical and psychological needs that conflict with Safety
and protection needs-

1. Safety Versus Saving Time If the safe way takes more time then an unsafe
way, some people will choose the unsafe way to save time. The greater the
time advantage, the greater the motivation to risk unsafe behaviour. People
want to save time for many reasons (e.g. To earn more incentive pay, to have
the satisfaction of getting job done quickly, to gain more time for socializing with
others or just plain taking it easy).

2. Safety Versus Saving Effort If the safe way requires more work than an unsafe
way, some people will choose the unsafe way to save the effort. They will
choose a safe way that involves more work only if the risks of the easier way are
too great.

3. Safety Versus Comfort If the safe way is less comfortable than an unsafe way,
some people will choose the unsafe way to avoid discomfort. The greater the
discomfort associated with the safe way, the greater is the temptation to choose
the more comfortable unsafe way.

4. Safety Versus Getting Attention The greater the amount of attention gained by
the unsafe way, the stronger is tendency for some people to choose the unsafe
way. Some people feed their starved desire for recognition by showing off.

5. Safety Versus Independence If an unsafe way gives greater freedom from
authority than the safe way, some people will choose the unsafe way simply to
assert their independence. It becomes a way of expressing resentment, of
defying supervision.

6. Safety Versus Group Acceptance If an unsafe way has greater group approval
than the safe ways many people will choose the unsafe way to get or maintain
group acceptance. Peer pressures are pervasive and powerful. Hardly anyone
likes to be rejected.

To save time, to save effort, to be more comfortable, to attract attention, to assert
independence, to gain group acceptance these are the most common desires that
conflict with the desire to work safely. Coupling a lack of conviction about safety
with the feeling that it wont happen to me, people often take chances with unsafe
behaviour. This is the basic fact that can aid our understanding of human behaviour
and motivation.







22

Prevention of Human Error

Causes of Errors Preventive Measures
1 Improvising procedures
that are lacking in the field.
1. Provide adequate instruction.
2. Lack of understanding of
procedures
2. Ensure that instructions are easy to
understand.
3. Lack of awareness of
hazards.
3. Provide warnings, cautions, or explanations
in instructions.
4. Untimely activation of
equipment.
4. Provide interlocks or timer lockouts from
load, or other damaging conditions.
5. Critical components
installed incorrectly.
5. Provide designs permitting such
components to be installed only in the
proper ways. Use asymmetric
configurations.
6. Interference with normal
habits.
6. Ensure that recognition and activation
patterns are in accordance with usual
practices and expectancies.
7. Error or delay in use of
controls.
7. Avoid proximity, interference, awkward
location, or similarity of critical controls.
8. Inadvertent activation of
controls.
8. For critical functions provide controls that
cannot be activated inadvertently; use
torque types instead of push buttons.
Provide guards over critical switches.
9. Control activated in wrong
order.
9. Place functional controls in sequence in
which they are to be used.
10. Failure to take action at
proper time because of
faulty instruments.
10. Provide procedures to calibrate instruments
periodically.
11. Failure to note critical
indication.
11. Provide suitable auditory or visual warning
device that will attract operators attention
to problem.
12. Irritation and loss of
effectiveness due to high
temperature and humidity.
12. Provide environmental control.
13. Loss of effectiveness due
to lack of oxygen or to
presence of toxic gas,
airborne particulate matter,
or odors.
13. Prevent generation or entrance of
contaminants into the occupied space.

23


Behavioural Factors


1. Resentment of criticism Even the slightest comment made by a supervisor to
an employee may be taken as criticism even though the supervisor had no
intention of being critical. Hence in giving safety instructions, pointing out a
hazard, or explaining a new safety device, it is well to avoid a comment, tone of
voice, or inference that is likely to be interpreted by an employee as criticism.
This does not mean that constructive criticism should be avoided but,
communication should not be taken too much for granted. There is no pat
answer how these and similar situations should be handled. In some cases,
group discussion will be more effective. Hence each supervision must appraise
the problem in, light of existing conditions; his knowledge of the work group and
the proper time, place and the example he sets will do much to produce a
satisfactory response.

2. Resistance to change Workers do not always respond as the supervisor might
expect. For example, painting a work area in attractive colours, installing
modern equipment should usually promote a favourable employee response.
But not always a man who worrying about how he is going to pay on the new
washer might regard a large expenditure made by this employer to renovate the
plant as a threat to his chances of getting an increase in pay. Employee reaction
to change is perverse perplexing, and this applies to change as well as any
other.

Both these ignored traits of human nature the resistance to change and the
resentment of criticism have a significant influence on worker attitude and
behaviour. There is much that can be done to motivate employees to accept
change and criticism.

a) Tell employees in advance about safety changes that will affect them.
b) Explain the change people resist what they do not understand.
c) Get workers to participate in the development of the change.

Safety climate Management does set the style and this is particularly true in
safety. If mangers show by their safety behaviour that they really say good safety
concepts and practices, this will be reflected in employee safety behaviour. The
reverse is also true where management gives nothing more than lip service to
safety, foil to use safety equipment, tolerate poor house-keeping employees will
have a I could care less attitude about safety, and the accident rate is bound to be
high.

Top managements commitment to safety must be oriented toward action, not
words. If the workers see the general manager at the scene of every accident,
personally making a safety inspection, stopping at unguarded machine, wearing
safety glasses, or speaking to employees about safety, it does not take long for
them to learn that management wants safety and that unsafe conditions and unsafe
behaviour will not be tolerated.

24


Job Stress: Stress is the necessary part of our life. It could have the best or worst
effects on performance, health, general well-being. Managing stress effectively is
the way one reacts to the stressors present in the environment. The stressors are
manifold and the ways to manage stress are individual, organizational and
contextual.

Stress is defined as the response to a stressor, a stimulus, or a set of
circumstances that induces a change in the individuals ongoing psychological and
\or physiological pattern of function. Completed freedom from stress is death.
Stress presents difficulty when the response is inadequate, or excessive or so
prolonged that it exhausts the individual capacity to respond. The difficulty may be
expressed in emotional distress, aberrant type of overt behaviour, or symptoms or
illness, most commonly those associated with disorders of the nervous,
cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and respiratory systems.

Strain will occur when any characteristics of the job environment poses a threat to
the individual. Strain refers to any deviation from normal responses in the person.
Psychological strains are like job dissatisfaction, anxiety, depression. Physiological
strains are like high blood pressure and elevated serum cholesterol; and
behavioural strains are smoking, drinking, taking drugs or dispensary visits. A host
of studies has identified job elements and work routines that are associated with
symptoms of ill-health. Examples include work overload, lack of social support,
deadline pressure. It seems clear that job stress can affect health and well being of
employees and is associated with increasing cost to organisation.

Stressors In Work Environment :

There are mainly six categories of stressors prevalent at work sites:

i. Stressors concerning to job : poor working conditions, work overload, time
pressures, exposure to danger;

ii. Stressors concerning role in the organization : Role ambiguity, Role conflict,
responsibility for people;

iii. Stressors concerning career development : Over promotion, under promotion,
job insecurity, increased ambitions and aspirations;

iv. Stressors concerning relationship at work : poor relation with boss, coworkers,
difficulty in delegating responsibility;

v. Stressors concerning organizational structure and climate : little or no
participation in discussions about matters that individuals at work, restrictions on
behaviour, office politics, lack of effective consultation; and

vi. Extra organizational sources of stress: Family problems, life crisis, financial
difficulties etc.


25

It has been indicated through research findings that these stressors are prevailing
at the work place in one form or another and to a little or great extent. Each
category of these stressors is potential to increase the levels of anxiety and
neuroticism, tolerance for ambiguity and Type A behavioural pattern (extremes of
competitiveness, striving for achievement, aggressiveness, haste, impatience,
restlessness, hyper alertness, explosiveness of speech, tenseness and feelings of
being under pressure of time and under the challenge of responsibility) in
individual. These individual characteristics aggravate the symptoms of occupational
ill health (diastolic blood pressure, cholesterol level, heart rate, smoking, depressive
mood, escapist drinking, job dissatisfaction, reduced aspiration etc.) which
promotes coronary heart disease and mental ill health.

Reaction To Stress: It all depends how we react to stress. Individuals control over
an event is important in determining psychological and physiological effect.
Sometimes just thinking that control is possible can prevent adverse effects of
stress. Many people despite repeated upheavals did not show abnormally low
levels of N K cell activity. The relationship between emotional reactions and
stressful events are like this: the people showing high levels of anxiety and
depression have shown lowest N K cell activity and the people with low anxiety and
depression are found to be having highest N K cell activity. Those who react with
anxiety and depression seem to have poor coping skills. The personality factors
have also been related to N K activity. Acceptance and adjustment to events have
shown lower N K cell activity and response with anger and agitation has been
reflected with higher N K cell activity among cancer patients. Chicago psychologist
Meddi believes that people who hold beliefs-a sense of personal contentment what
they are doing, a sense of personal commitment to what they are doing, a sense of
control over life and a feelings of challenge are usually resistant to many kinds of
illness. People getting tough could have lower blood pressure, less depression, and
fewer headaches.

Stress And Health : There is a growing body of evidence form studies in laboratory
settings and in the workplace to suggest that occupational stress is a causal factor
in psychoneurotic and personality disorders, nervousness, debility and migraine
headache. Factors intrinsic to a job related to poor mental health are unpleasant
work conditions, repetitive and dehumanizing environments. Qualitative work
overload (work that is too difficult) is found to be significantly related to escapist
drinking, absenteeism from work, low motivation to work, lowered self-esteem. Both
qualitative and quantitative (too much to do) work overload produce different
symptoms of psychological and physical strain : job dissatisfaction, job tension,
lower self-esteem, threat, embarrassment, high cholesterol levels, increased heart
rate, and more smoking is only part of the cost of the stressful work. There is a
evidence that stress does play a significant role in the etiology and prognosis of
many physical disorders like coronary heart disease, bronchial asthma and
diabetes mellitus. It has to be accepted that poor physical health can result from
stressful work, even where the stress and the work itself have no direct physical
impact on the person.

Stress And Job Performance : How do people perform under stress ? Why do
some cope under the same conditions that make others collapse? These questions

26

perplex sociologists investigating the dynamics of work group, psychologists
delving in to motives and drives of individuals, ergonomists examining the
interaction of the individual and the environment, and anthropologists recording the
norms, values and mores of the work culture.

Optimum performance comes from converting tension from energy into an ally;
from a needless stressor to a creative motivator. Therefore, stress becomes an
energy when too much or to little is produced. The effectiveness of job performance
depends upon three conditions:

i. Level of Arousal / Stimulation Stress can be high under low as well as high
level of stimulation-under conditions of both distress and eustress. Proper levels
of moderate stimulation therefore become important in providing productive
levels of stress.

ii. Talents of capabilities The state of arousal or stimulation one experiences
depends on his perception of whether or not he can perform the job well. Can
he meet the challenge at hand? This perception depends upon both the past
experiences (successes and failures) as well as talents he brings into his job.

iii. Nature of work load The third condition in the formula for effective
performance is the difficulty of workload one is required to perform, both in
terms of qualitative and quantitative workload which largely depend on how
accurate his perception is of the task difficulty as opposed to his perceive-ability
to achieve the task. The key to optimum job performance rests in the balance of
difficulty and ability.

Social Support And Stress : Social support seems to buffer the stress. The
supportive interpersonal relationships at family and work situations seem to reduce
the felt-stress. Social support is defined as helpful function performed for an
individual by significant others such as family members, friends, coworkers,
supervisors / managers, relatives and neighbors. Helpful functions could be the
materials or human help in terms of fulfillment of needs related to household,
money and job, expression of love, caring, valuing, esteem, sympathy, advice,
personal feedback, belongings etc. Psychologist of the view that attach among
individuals serve to improve adaptive competence in dealing with short-term crisis
as well as long term challenges and stresses through promoting emotional control,
offering guidance on expected problems and methods of living with them.


Stress Management Skills: Broadly there are four ways of managing stress
directed below:

i. Personal management i.e. self regulation for organizing time and energy
expenditure through various skills such as valuing (aligning energy investment
with core values) personal planning (setting goals and progressing steadily
towards accomplishment) commitment (saving yes wholeheartedly), time
management (setting priority to send time effectively) and pacing (regulating the
tempo of life).

27


ii. Relationship i.e. Scene changing skills for altering the environment and
interaction with it through contact (forming satisfying friendships), Listening
(tuning into others feeling and meanings), Assertiveness (Attending to self and
boundaries), Fight (standing firm to effect change), Flight (Retreating from the
pressure) and Nest-building (Beautifying the environment).

iii. Outlook i.e. Change your mind skills for controlling attitudes and perceptions
through (seeing the promise in the problem), Surrender (Letting go and letting
be), Faith (Accepting limits and the unknowable), Whisper (Talking positively to
self) and Imagination (Using creativity and humour).

iv. Stamina i.e. Body-building skills to strengthen resistance and relieve tension
through- Exercise (Strengthening and fine tuning the body), Nourishment
(Eating for health), Gentleness (Treating self with care and kindness) and
Relaxation (Cruising in neutral and replenishing resources).

Personal management or organizing skills are particularly effective for the times
when life seems out of control, when the work to be done exceeds the available
times when life seems out of control, when the work to be done exceeds the
available time, when goals are unclear or values uncertain. Valuing, personal
planning, commitment, time management or placing might be the skill of choice
when organisation is the issue.

Relationship skills work best when an individual feels lonely and unsupported,
confused or in need of caring, or when the environment is a source of tension.
Contact, listening, assertiveness, fight, flight, and next-building are potential skill
resources for these situations.

Both personal management and relationship skills are especially helpful when
stress-producing demands of the physical or social environment need to be altered.

Assertiveness may help one cope with an inconsiderate co-worker or a persistent
sales person. Personal planning and time management may be essential skills for
the career couple. Following a job promotion contact and listening skills may ensure
success in the new work unit. Values clarification helps people determine what
issues, situations and relationships are worth fighting for. Flight may be the
healthiest option when one is powerless to change a destructive situation.

Outlook or attitude- change skills are particularly helpful when a person feels
depressed or cynical, when grief over a loss is an important dimension of
discomfort, or when stress comes form self- imposed pressures. Relabeling,
surrender, faith, whisper and imagination are important internal strategies for
preventing or coping with such dilemmas. No matter how uncomfortable the
situation, changing ones attitude can prevent or alleviate stress imagination skills
can help teachers or supervisors who take life too seriously to laugh at themselves.

***


28







29

BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS: INTRA & INTER-PERSONAL BARRIERS

The behavioural science approach concentrates on human aspects of
management. It is based on concept that managing means getting things done
through people. It is focused on people and deals with human factors responsible
in reacting certain way in particular environment and effect of such environment on
their behaviour. Focus of this science is on individual and groups. The scientists in
the field of psychology & sociology have identified various factors in individuals and
environment which affect safety practices as well as safety culture in industrial
organisations. Behavioural Analysis reveals human factors responsible for unsafe
behaviour.

In progressive organisations, people are using their brain power to improve safety
standard, reduce accident rate, make workplace safe as well as to progress on
other parameters like productivity, quality etc. Using brainpower to direct human
energy to meet or increase safety standard is a matter of study and exercising
human skill. Psychologists have studied this subject from various angles.
Dr.Wilder Penfield a neurosurgeon carried out scientific research on brain
functioning from psychological angle in 1951-52. His findings are that (1) the brain
is like a tape recorder wherein all the experiences are recorded right from the
moment he is born. (2) The recording of experiences during childhood upto the
age of 6 years is very strong. (3) The recording is permanent and cannot be
erased. (4) The past recording affects his present life.

All the recording of experiences are categorized into three types and for study
purpose, we can consider them to be stored in three parts of the brain which are
called : (1) PARENT (2) ADULT & (3) CHILD. Innumerable cassettes are there in
each of these parts and a person's response to situation depends upon which part
of the brain is activated (i.e. parent, Adult or Child). Since the behaviour would
depend upon the cassette which runs, one must first study as to how the recording
takes place in the brain.

When a child is born, it cannot talk or understand what others are talking. The
recording is therefore only of feelings. The different feelings such as joy, anger,
grief, hunger etc. are recorded say upto the age of one year or so in one part i.e.
CHILD. In this part only feelings are recorded.

However, as the child grows, many things are taught to her such as how to walk,
what to say to whom, how to behave with others, how to brush teeth, how to cross
the road etc. All these taught things are stored in another part of the brain i.e.
PARENT. This recording is normally complete upto the age of 6 years.

There is another part which also starts developing simultaneously which is called
ADULT. In this part, reality of the world and facts as seen, heard, smelled &
touched are recorded without any prejudice like a computer. This part of the brain
functions like a computer.

From the above explanation, we can say that when two persons are present in a
room, actually there are six; because each person has three parts in his personality

30

namely P, A & C. Any one part of this brain out of these three (P.A.C) are
engaged at any particular moment and the part engaged may change from moment
to moment while behaving or talking. Behaviour or communication transaction
between two persons can be shown diagrammatically which can be analyzed for
the purpose of understanding as to which transactions will promote safe behaviour.
Once this is known, one can try to make those behaviour and communication
transactions to prevent unsafe acts.

Brain is unseen. Similarly, thinking process and thoughts stored in brain are
concealed. However, when managers, interact with other people, they respond to
each other as prompted by their recording in PAC parts of the brain. Each type of
recording is indicated or displayed in their behaviour & talk. Displayed behaviour
and talk can be analyzed to understand state of mind and recording in the brain.

During the feed-back process for correcting undesirable behaviour of a worker,
manager or a supervisor may find it difficult to direct the worker to safe behaviour
due to inter-personal barriers. Some barriers are due to negative response of a
worker. Some difficulty may be due to crossed behavioural transaction between
supervisor and the worker. These are explained diagrammatically below :


You were doing same thing when you were worker

If you do not put on
safety goggles, I will
report to manager





Supervisor Worker



Wearing handgloves will safeguard
your hands wear them.



Nothing will happen to me.



P
A
C
P
A
C
P
A
C
P
A
C

31

Supervisor Worker

Why are you after me ? You are always partial.



I do not understand why you
do not switch off machine before going for lunch





See that the instrument is calibrated,
otherwise it will make things hazardous for you.

You don't teach me








Behaviour analysis thus gives an idea as to which part of the brain is activated. If
manager understands that other person's activated brain recording is undesirable,
then he can try to de-activate it. This can be done by skillful talk based on facts.
Worker is adopting short-cuts & taking undue risk due to undesirable recording
which needs to be side tracked to allow other thoughts to come in by activation of
desirable thoughts prompting to follow safe practice. However, this is a skilled
exercise. Manager can acquire inter-active skill by employing Behavioural
Transaction Analysis Technique (TA Technique), which requires keen observation,
patience and self-control apart from communication skill.

Correcting unsafe behaviour through communication (talk) and feed-back technique
on the basis of TA principles has limitation. However, it is one of the ways of
correcting behaviour to reduce accidents & injuries. Attempt made consistently with
genuine interest to help people will give positive results in the long run and promote
safety culture.

Exercise for Practice:

Situation: Worker is performing a high-risk behaviour. The behaviour is one you
used to perform frequently yourself when you were worker. However, after
cautioning you by the then manager, you stopped your high-risky behaviour.
P
A
C
P
A
C
P
A
C
P
A
C

32

Suppose, you are now supervisor of Mr.Govind, then what will you tell him? You
will say; (Choose any one response from below)

1. Mr.Govind, I used to perform the same way at high-risk, but subsequently I
changed my risky habit.

2. Mr.Govind, I suggest that you do not take undue risk.

3. Mr.Govind, I do not like the way you are performing at high-risk.

4. Mr.Govind, if you repeat your risky behaviour, I will report this matter to the
manager.

5. Mr.Govind, this risky behaviour of yours is likely to result in accident some
day.

6. --------------- (please state any other response to correct behaviour)

***


33

CREATIVE THINKING TO MAKE METHODS SAFE

Some safety problems require non-traditional thinking to evolve solutions to make
work-methods safe. According to Newell, Shaw & Simon (1962), creative thinking
is a kind of problem solving. It requires high motivation and persistence, taking
place over a considerable span of time or at high intensity. Basics of Behaviour
Transaction Analysis illustrate the importance of child part of brain in creative
thinking to solve problems. Emotions displayed such as curiosity, inquisitiveness,
spontaneity are stored in CHILD part of brain and is called "Natural Child". This
coupled with high motivational recording help in generating creative ideas.

New ideas have to be made practical to make existing work-methods safer to
reduce accidents & injuries. Ideas are required to be modified by discussion and
consultation with other people. In search of new safety solutions, self-motivation to
prevent undesirable behaviour of self and others is important. Getting co-operation
of people at all levels of management is also helpful in making work-methods safe
and contribute towards safety culture in organisation. At this stage, Industrial
Engineering techniques are useful. Managers can use these questioning
techniques to evolve safer work-method which is practical, economical, beneficial
and acceptable.

Optimum utilization of machines, equipment, materials and such resources at the
disposal of workmen is also an important factor. While using these resources, the
work methods are also required to be safe. Managers need to have scientific
outlook to do this part of their job. An approach of observing jobs being carried out
at work place can be further processed by carrying out 4 steps given below:

Step 1: Analyse job details: In this step, list details of job being done by a worker
in sequence. Against each detail note snags, difficulties, safety precautions, and
also mention what is unsafe. For noting difficulties & safety points, resources used
by the worker such as:
i) materials ii) Tools iii) equipment iv) machines v) Layout & use of space should be
observed.
Step 2: Examine: In this step questioning technique is used. This is usually used
by method study engineers. Each detail is examined separately by means of "Five
W" questions with a view to get ideas in order to make job safer, and easier for safe
practice as well as getting safety suggestions regarding resources such as
materials, machines, tools etc.
Step 3: Improve the method: In order to finalize safer & better method, all ideas
are to require to be reviewed to select those which are practical, cost effective,
safer, and beneficial. It is better if manager discusses selected ideas with the
worker as well as his colleagues to work out realistic method.
Step 4: Implement: With a view to get support from worker & other concerned
persons, convince them by pointing out how it is advantageous to them.
Emphasize importance of personal safety & safety of others. Appeal for
co-operation in implementation and also assure to extend help to them in acquiring
safety habits.

34

BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS & ATTITUDES

Behaviour Scientists find that attitudes are being developed right from the
childhood itself. These attitudes in the childhood are about himself and other
people around him. Depending upon experience in the childhood, he perceives
himself & others in a certain way which develops particular attitude. According to
Dr. Thomas Harris
1
, very early in life, most children conclude I am not O. K. they
make conclusion about their parents also that You are O. K. This is the first thing
child usually figures out in his life long attempt to make sense of himself and the
world in which he lives. This attitude, I am not O. K - You are O. K. is the most
deterministic decision of his further life. It will influence everything he does in future
life as well. It can be changed by certain ways but not until it is understood.
Attitudes developed during childhood depend upon positive or negative experience
that he undergoes.

If a child receives positive experience from other people such as affectionate
behaviour, caring for health, upbringing with love, etc. he develops positive attitude
towards others i.e. you means others are O. K. This is because recording of
positive & affectionate acts & talks get engraved in brain which sets process of you
are O. K. attitude. However, if he gets opposite experience from others such as
punishment not commensurate with mistakes, other people lie & child later on finds
what truth, beating is & rough handling by others and such similar negative
experience which child thinks that it is injustice to him, then he develops negative
attitude towards others i.e. You are not O. K..

The above narration reveals that there could be two types of attitudes i.e. I am not
O.K. - You are O. K. and I am not O. K. - You are not O. K.. However, there could
be another two types of attitudes also. For example :- If child tries many things on
his own and is successful in walking, eating, speaking etc. as well as others also
encourage him to do positive, constructive things which give good experience or
results, then he develops I am OK. - You are OK attitude towards self & others.
This is because child gets confidence & positive feelings, that he can do it. Similarly
he also feels that parents, teachers & other people around him try to help in case of
difficulty. Such attitude gives rise to proactive approach and can help in safety
management which is behaviour based. However, if child gets experiences that
whenever he tried things on his own he was successful without the help of others &
on the contrary when he asked for assistance people did not give it and he had to
struggle himself for success with difficulty, then he is likely to get a feeling that
others are not helpful. He may misunderstand that they are not deliberately
extending help and other people are giving negative response to his positive
behaviour. Such experiences develop another type of attitude i.e. I am O.K. - You
are not O. K.







35

The above mentioned basic four types of attitudes can be shown diagrammatically
below:-


You are OK


You are not OK



I am OK
He follows
safety practice
(1)
Coaching & Active
Listening will help in
changing his unsafe
behaviour (3)

I am OK


I am not OK
He is Amenable to
change his unsafe
behaviour (2)
Very difficult to change
his unsafe behaviour
(4)


I am not OK

You are OK

You are not OK


The above mentioned basic attitudes of a person many times stand in the way of
managers efforts in preventing unsafe behaviour of workers & direct them towards
safe practices. Except the attitude mentioned above in rectangle 1 above, others
become intra-interpersonal barriers in developing positive attitude towards safety &
safe practice.

The above mentioned four basic attitudes regarding self & others become a
foundation for further development of attitudes of a person in his life. The process
of attitude formation is important for behaviour study & analysis. Some managers
think that people who meet with an accident because of their unsafe action are
accident prone. But there has been lot of confusion in the use as well as
interpretation of the word accident proneness. Injustice was also done to some
employees due to adoption of a negative approach arising out of wrong convictions
regarding accident proneness of individuals.

The theory that most accidents are sustained by a small fixed group of accident
prone individuals is open to question. On the basis of clinical experience and
studies, most accidents are due to relatively infrequent solitary experience of a
large numbers of individuals. The total number of accidents suffered by those who
injure themselves year after year, over a period of three or more years, is relatively
small as Dr. Schulzinger
2
points out, most people move in and out or the so-called
accident prone group depending upon age, mental and physical state,
environmental factors, and other conditions that vary with the passage of time
rather than remaining fixed with the individual.

According to Professor Edwin E. Ghiselli
3
, to describe in individual as being
accident prone is to diagnose him as having a certain psychopathology a disorder
or abnormal way of thinking or behaving. He discusses the errors or interfering
factors that could be expected to come into studies which have tended to classify
persons as accident prone, highlights the unreliability of this concept to predict the
accident rate of a worker, much more so when environmental conditions,

36

occupations or activities change. He concludes that accident proneness is not a
general characteristic of the individual.

According to Thomas R. Krause
4
, the goal is to change safety related behaviour &
usually organisations post slogans, hold meetings urging people to have change of
thinking about safety. Behavioural science points that when a change of behaviour
is the goal, there is good possibility that changed behaviour will also change
attitude. In a business or industrial setting, there are strong reasons to focus on
behaviour. some important ones are given below:-

a) Behaviour can be defined in measurable terms and therefore managed.
b) Changes in behaviour can lead to changes in attitude in the long run.
c) Consequences of behaviour can be compared.

Everyone agrees that a good safety attitude is important. The problem of managing
change by focusing on attitude is that attitudes are internal & are difficult to
measure at certain interval or day-to-day basis. In actual practice, attempts at
changing safety culture by changing attitude lacks precision and cannot be
developed only by focusing on attitude change. Hence correcting behaviours
through behavioural analysis & corrective transactions gain importance. Behaviour -
Based approach is therefore adopted which indirectly hits these basic attitude
barriers through observing behaviours which can be defined in measurable terms
and directly tackling them employing psycho-social skills.

References

1. I am O K - You are OK, pan books Ltd. London

2. Schulzinger, M. S.- the accident syndrome, Charles C. Thomas Co.,
Spring Field ILL

3. Ghiselli, E. E. The Myth of Accident Proneness The British Journal of
Industrial Safety, Vol. 6, No. 71, 1965

4. Thomas R Krause, Employee - driven systems for safety Behaviour.

***




37


BEHAVIOUR-BASED MANAGEMENT


D
EF!NE
safe behavior(s) to guide
O
BSERvE
behaviour(s)for correction


!
NTERvENE
to influence 8 direct
towards correct behavior(s)
T
EST
to measure achievement of
the intervention(s)

38

WHICH MESSAGE IS EFFECTIVE ?
(Exercise)





































***


Please drive
Slowly
&
Safely
Set an
Example of
good driver for
others


Please drive
slowly & safely
Caution l
Sharp Turn
ahead.
You may meet
with accident

Please drive
slowly & safely
Set an
Example of
good
behaviour


Please smile &
talk politely
Cautionl
You may get
negative
response


Please smile &
talk politely


Please smile
&
talk politely

39

OBSERVATION & COMMUNICATION TO CORRECT UNSAFE
BEHAVIOUR

Observation Skill

Observing to correct unsafe behaviour is a skilled activity. It requires ability to
concentrate. Concentration is nothing but focusing attention to particular aspects
such as Workers actions / movements while doing a job, his use of PPEs and
sequence with which job is done by him. In order to focus on safety aspects only,
check-list of safe behaviour on a particular job will help concentration and
observations can be noted down for correction. Observations should be noted
down with the knowledge of worker and his co-operation should be enlisted during
observations. Workers involvement is this exercise will also help in correcting
wrong observations if any observations can be made on particular part of whole job
also especially in case of longer duration of jobs or if certain portion of job is very
important or critical from safety point of view.

Observations can be made by colleague of a worker also and hence check-list can
be very useful. The same check-list can be used by more than one person or a
team of persons when observations are to be made by such persons. These
observations are used as soon as possible to provide feedback for reinforcement or
correction of behaviors. Observations are required to be noted down in a format
called observation sheets which forms a part of guidelines for observers. Written
observations also serve as record for future reference. Guidelines should be
prepared covering aspects such as purpose, approaches & methods of
observations, its use in communicating to workers & importance of follow-up etc.
Managers skill will be increased through practice of observing behaviours by using
check-list because skills are developed through practice. Managers can also
develop their observations skill by conducting certain eye exercises or do
Yogasanas as well as meditation and similar activities in their personal spare time.

Communication difficulties

In order to prevent unsafe acts & promote safe practices at workplace, managers
have to use their communication skill also. Unless the observations are
communicated properly and discussed with workers, the desired purpose of
correcting behaviour is not likely to be achieved. Some of the barriers in
communication are as follows:

1. Unsuitable language:
Too technical or jargons are used which makes other person difficult to understand
if he is not a technical person.

2. Different evaluation & meanings:
Due to differences in background, people attach different meanings and
evaluations to words. A semi-literate person may give a different meaning to a word
used by a well-educated manager.



40

3. In-attention:
If the receiver is preoccupied with other matters, he can not properly listen to or
attend to what is being said.

4. Status relationships:
The hierarchical consciousness comes in the way of effective communication.

5. Lack of time:
Due to overwork or otherwise employees express their inability to communicate
stating that there is no time. This dampers enthusiasm to communicate.

6. Lack of openness:
Sometimes lack of openness comes in the way of free flow of communication due
to unfavourable attitude.

7. Lack of incentive:
Sometimes employees do not feel impelled for want of incentive.

Effective communication for correction:

Some of the principles for effective communication are given below which can
minimize difficulties in correcting unsafe behaviour.

1. Clarity
Manager should be absolutely clear of his purpose in communicating. His
communication should be simple, clear which is commonly understood.

2. Attention
Manager should aim at making the message understood by the recipient.

3. Consistency
The main message or whatever is communicated should not have contradiction. It
should be impersonal.

4. Adequacy
The message should be adequate and complete for proper comprehension by
receiver.

5. Timeliness
Prompt communication is required to convey its importance.

6. Follow-up
In order to ensure that the receiver has understood correctly, it is desirable to
receive verbal feed-back from the worker as well as through his further action of
safe practices.

***


41

SAFETY COACHING & ACTIVE LISTENING

a) Safety Coaching: This method is based on behaviour & person which
includes observation, analysis and helping person to perform safely. It is different
from advising him how to do better. The real coaching concern itself to a question
of making worker aware of how he is doing work leading to certain consequences.
This means getting worker to analyse his work method, discuss alternatives and
when request for advice is genuine, spelling out possibilities leaving the worker to
make his own decision. Main objective of coaching is to make worker think various
aspects & his mental blocks to decide on safe action and correct himself. This can
be achieved through discussions with him immediately after occurrence of
significant behaviour or as soon as possible. Some workers are particularly
sensitive on some issues and hence attempt of coaching them on those aspects
should be carefully made and timed to prevent reaction which is unproductive.

Prof.Getter E. Scott in his article titled "principles for achieving a total safety culture"
(Professional safety, Sept. 1994 : 18-24 issue) considers safety coaching similar to
athletic coaching. Coach has to reinforce positive behaviours and discourage
unacceptable performance. He has to clearly indicate what needs to be improved
and advise to perform at a higher level with positive suggestions or guidelines.
Compliments for following safety practice with achievements of expected results
and praise for improvement in specific behaviours are key points in coaching. The
main purpose in coaching is to ensure that work is performed safely and according
to established guidelines to minimize unacceptable behaviour.

b) Active Listening: Most communication education has focused on skills of
self expression and persuasion; until quite recently, little attention has been paid to
listening. This overemphasis on the skills of expression has led most people to
underemphasize the importance of listening in their daily communication activities.
However, each person needs information that can be acquired only through the
process of listening. Apart from observations, managers need to listen well when
other person talks. But most managers are not good listeners. People strongly
desire to be understood; yet often do not put in efforts to understand others.

Real listening requires giving utmost attention to what others communicate.
Listening skill can be acquired by practicing meditation. Managers in their private
life or personal time should engage themselves in off-the-work activities such as
sports, listening to music, solving puzzles, prayers etc. which refreshes brain.
Certain of these activities act as tranquilizers and help in developing listening skill.

Listening, of course, is much more complicated than the physical process of
hearing. Hearing is done with the ears, while listening is an intellectual and
emotional process. Several principles can aid in increasing essential listening skills.
These are given below:

1) The listener should have a reason or purpose for listening.

2) It is important for the listener to suspend judgement initially.

42


3) The listener should resist distractions - noises, views, and focus on the
speaker.

4) The listener should wait before responding to the speaker. Too prompt a
response reduces listening effectiveness.

5) The listener should use the time differential between the rate of speech (100-
150 words per minute) and the rate of thought (400-500 words per minute) to
understand and to search for meaning.

***


43

MOTIVATING FOR SAFE BEHAVIOUR AT WORKPLACE

Introduction: Why do people work with safe practice? Why do they develop
positive or negative attitude towards each other and towards safety? Why do they
refuse to co-operate? What determines the amount of effort they put into their jobs?
These, and many others, are the questions of motivation which affect management
at all levels in the organisation. We know from our own experience and from our
observation of others that a motivated person works more effectively with
observance of safe practice than someone who is uncommitted and unwilling. Many
of the problems facing us at work are connected with lack of motivation, and
therefore some understanding of the complex motivation of our fellow human
beings might help us in our management role.

Sources of Motivation:- Motivation springs from the existence of needs within
people which demand satisfaction. Human needs can be categorized into five basic
groups :

(a) The physiological needs, i.e. food, rest, sex, warmth, air, shelter, exercise
etc.

(b) Safety and security needs, i.e. protection from danger, threat or
deprivation, freedom from fear.

(c) Social needs of belonging, i.e. association and acceptance by ones fellows,
giving and receiving friendship and love.

(d) Ego needs, which are of two types :
(i) Self esteem The need for self-respect, self-confidence, personal
achievement and knowledge.

(ii) Reputation The need for status and recognition, for appreciation and the
deserved respect of others whom we recognize as important to us,

(e) Self-Fulfillment needs, i.e. The need to realize ones potential for continued
self-development and growth.

The Effect of Needs on Behaviour:- When a need is unsatisfied, a drive is
aroused within people which makes them seek certain goals with increased efforts.
A simple example of this is the hunger drive. When their need for food has not been
satisfied for some time, they become hungry and direct their efforts towards
seeking food. Once the need is satisfied by eating, their hunger subsides for the
time being.

Satisfied needs, therefore, cease to motivate people. Unless, of course, their
satisfaction is threatened by new or adverse circumstances or consequences. For
example, the safety need might be threatened by recent accident during
introduction of a new system.


44

If one observes the behaviour of people (including his own), it may give him some
indication that what is motivating to them. People are not always consciously aware
of the goals or consequences, and it is often only from their behaviour that the
motivation can be deduced. For example, someones behaviour may be more
concerned with being liked and accepted by his colleagues than with the task, or he
may constantly seek reassurance from his boss if he lacks emotional security.

The Behaviour Consequences of unsatisfied Needs:- It is mentioned above that
satisfied needs no longer motivate. But one also has to talk about what happened;
when his needs are not being met. The likely results of people being unable to
meet their needs are:

(a) Insecurity Anxiety that current satisfaction will be lost in the future. This
leads to defensive behaviour, lack of co-operation and hostility.

(b) Conflict The opposition of two strong needs and drives. This often results
in indecisiveness or escapist behaviour.

(c) Aggression This is commonly encountered and acts as a release from
tension. The aggression can either be leveled directly against the source of
the frustration or displaced against a substitute. If, because all external
outlets are barred, or the source of the frustration is also admired, or the
individual has been brought up believes that any form of aggressiveness is
wrong, then the aggression may turn inwards causing anxiety, self-hatred
and depression.

(d) Regression This takes the form of primitive and childish behaviour.
Examples of this are tantrums, sulking, pettiness, and hyper-sensitivity.

(e) Fixation The overwhelming compulsion or desire to continue repeating a
useless action or habit i.e. a person who has a fixation will tend to carry out
the same action repeatedly although experience has shown at an early
stage that it will achieve nothing. Where punishment or sanctions are
applied, the fixation may become even stronger and therefore the effect of
the punishment will be the opposite of what was intended.

(f) Apathy This occurs after prolonged frustration and can affect the
individuals whole attitude to life. He may well give up the struggle and
simply cease to care any more.

In the work situation, motivational disturbances such as these often leave behind
poor personal relationships, inter-group conflict, sickness, absenteeism, accidents
etc. Just as one deduces motivation from behaviour, he can also tell when a
persons needs are not being met. The likely consequence of this will be
deterioration in work performance, unsafe act, and in the long term, possible
disruption to the task and the work group.

Motivating an employee for increasing safety standards is one of the difficult task of
managers. According to Dr. Herzbergs theory of motivation, the real motivating

45

factors of human being are: Achievement, Responsibility, Recognition, challenge,
creativity, and Advancement. Money as motivator is debatable. In certain cases,
money was found as real motivator whereas in certain cases it was not.

If people feel that they have achieved safety standard with great efforts which was
earlier felt as rather impossible, then their psychological need of achievement is
satisfied. Setting a little difficult safety target in reducing accidents or injuries and
providing help to achieve the same will motivate people to a great extent. Similarly,
encouraging people to give suggestions and extending help to implement these by
themselves with shared responsibility is also one of the ways to motivate. This will
satisfy their need to advance.

Appreciation of efforts by way of praising the improved behaviour satisfies need for
recognition & it motivates men. For this purpose, safety incentive schemes can be
promoted. However these are to be designed and used correctly. For incentive
programmes, the following points should be borne in mind.

i) Safety incentive schemes need to focus behaviour with specific performance
requirement.
ii) It is desirable to give small rewards to many than to give big rewards to a
few individuals.
iii) Ensure that penalty to group due to failure of an individual is not given.
iv) Safety targets should be focused on achieving success rather than avoiding
failure.
v) Individuals should not be held accountable for things outside their control.

CONCLUSION

How does an understanding of motivation help the manager? Firstly, it can make
him more observant and give him increased understanding of his subordinates
behaviour. Secondly, although he is often unable to control financial incentives,
there is much the manager can do to simulate motivation. Money is a versatile
incentive since it offers the means of satisfying a wide range of needs but it does
have the disadvantage of concentrating attention on the financial reward rather
than on the accomplishment of the task. This can result in attempts to obtain the
reward without doing the work.

The two main approaches the supervisor or manager can adopt are through
improving working conditions and encouraging safe behaviour as well as building
personal and group morale. Some of the ways he can do this, depending on the
persons needs, are by delegating, training, praising, encouraging, giving a sense
of purpose, giving variety of work, recognizing and using individual talents, ensuring
communication within the group, consulting or involving subordinates in decisions,
helping to integrate new starters, resolving inter-personal conflicts within the group,
attending to personal problems etc. There is much, therefore, that a manager can
do to encourage positive motivation and avoid the disruptive unsafe behaviour.




46


Game

Objective : To bring out different motivating factors responsible for safe or
unsafe behaviours and evolve the most important factor which
leads to safe practice at workplace.

Title and outline in
brief
: Game of Cricket:
Participants form two teams and they play either 20-20 or one-
day cricket in a novel way. Each team player score runs by
dropping a ball in a bucket. The team which scores more runs
than the other wins the match. Each players behaviour pattern
and results in terms of scored runs are analyzed to bring out
various intra-personal motivating factors for safe and unsafe
behaviours. A consensus is then reached to understand the
most important motivational factor which prompts an individual
for safe practice at workplace.
Importance of team-work in BBSM is also demonstrated
through this game.


***

47

EFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE BEHAVIOUR IN GROUP BY MEN

Effective Behaviour in Groups Ineffective Behaviour in Groups
Harmonizing : Attempting to reconcile
disagreements; reducing tension;
Initiating: Proposing goals or actions;
suggesting a procedure.

Displays of aggression; Deflating
others status; attacking the group or its
values;
Initiating: Proposing goals or actions;
suggesting a procedure.

Gate Keeping: Facilitating the
participation of others.

Blocking: Disagreeing and opposing
beyond reason; resisting stubbornly
the group wish (for personally oriented
reasons); Using a hidden agenda to
thwart the progress of the group.

Information giving: Offering facts; giving
an opinion.

Checking for meaning: Is this what you
mean? Are you implying that?
Dominating: Asserting authority or
superiority to manipulate the group or
certain of its member interrupting
contribution of others; controlling by
means of flattery or other forms of
patronizing behaviour.

Consensus testing: Checking to see if a
group is nearing a decision;

Playboy behaviour; Displaying, in
playboy fashion, seeking recognition
in Ways not relevant to the group task.

Clarifying: Interpreting ideas or
suggestion; issues before group.

Encouraging: Being friendly, warm and
responsive to others; remark for the
acceptance of others contributions.

Compromising: Offering an alternative;
admitting errors; modifying in the
interest of group decision or progress.

Avoidance behaviour: Pursuing special
interest not related to task; staying off
the subject to avoid commitment;
preventing the group from facing up to
controversy.

Source: Kennath D. Barne & Paul Sheats, Functional Roles of Group
Members The Journal of Social Issues.


48

BEHAVIOURAL ADJUSTMENT TO FRUSTRATION

Frustration is the state of being prevented from attaining a goal. From the moment
people are born until the day they die, frustrations of one kind or another are
usually with them. People quickly learn what patterns of behaviour will work to
relieve the frustrations. A baby finds a few loud cries to bring his food. Crying is an
indirect path to the satisfaction of the hunger drive. And as we grow older there are
many times when we cant directly get that what we want. In a small child the cry
becomes a tantrum. A child will continue to have tantrums when he is frustrated as
long as they bring him what he wants. If the tantrum does not bring him satisfaction,
he will try in some other way to satisfy his needs. People quickly learn what
behaviour will satisfy their needs and they tend to use that same behaviour
whenever they become frustrated. The crying tantrum adjustment becomes loss of
temper in an adult if this adjustment has been satisfactory. So by trial and error,
people build up habits of adjusting to obstacles and difficulties. There are many
paths their, behaviour might take in attempting to adjust to frustration. The most
common adjustments are given below:

A very common reaction to frustration is explosion; like the baby wanting food,
they get mad. In a work situation, if a person is the barrier to a goal, some people
will haul off and slug this supposed barrier. Another common path is escape;
people try to run away and forget. In life, many people try to escape by turning to
alcohol or drugs. Many perhaps run away, quit, their jobs, or leave town.
Unfortunately escape cannot be anything more than a temporary adjustment, for
the problem is still there when they sober up or go to another town.

Another path is Rationalization. It is nothing but the process of fooling themselves
and others as to the real reasons for their actions or failures. When a person makes
a poor shot in golf, frequently he blames his club, the course, the wind, the sun or
almost anything. Seldom it is his own fault. Or in work, perhaps he wants the bosss
job and he cant get it. So he talks that he does not want it because it isnt worth the
price. The boss doesnt get anything out of life, he has too much work to do, etc.
The real reason he cant get the job might be because he lacks sufficient ability, but
he cant tell himself that, so he rationalizes.

Another type of behaviour due to frustration that is very common is introversion.
People cant reach their goals in real life, so they reach them in their dreams. So in
their imagination they see themselves making that impossible shot or winning the
tournament. So if you catch a person day-dreaming, you will know why. Imaginary
satisfaction is fine, but again the problem is still there when they wake up. Another
method of adjustment is known as sublimation. When people take this path, they
find a new goal that will satisfy their need. Perhaps they are playing cricket because
they want the prestige of beating their friends. They find they cant beat anyone. So
they decide to grow roses and become the best rose growers in the world. Thus,
their friends will look up to them. Another path is compensation. People might
compensate for their poor cricket by wearing nice clothes. At work it might be that
the boss is mean to them all day and they cant get back at him so they go home
and pick on their wife.


49

These are the common paths or behavioural adjustments to frustration. There are
many more. Some of the other paths are:

1. Defence mechanisms People do not like something, so develop a headache.

2. Surrender Give up completely, admit failure, do not even try.

3. Regression Revert to behaviour that produced satisfaction earlier in ones
development. He is frustrated and unhappy today but he was happy in the
past, so he talks more about the past than present.

Probably the best way to adjust to frustration is to try to overcome the barriers.
Figure out what is causing the barrier, then set out to remove it.

***


50

BEHAVIOURAL QUALITIES OF MANAGERS

Managers are required to display positive behaviour qualities rather than negative in establishing safe practices and
enhancing safety standards. This is a proactive approach in interacting with other people. This encourages others to
respond similar way. Some of the desirable positive behaviours are listed below

Element Positive Behaviour Negative Behaviour

1. Self Motivation 1. Displays optimism & infects it in others. 1. Is critical without suggestions & spreads
pessimism.
2. Change Management 2. Aware of changing environment and is trying
to cope with it.
2. Rigid and resists change.
3. Help 3. Is available; prepared to help & advice. 3. Selfish, finds excuses or tells why it should
not be done.
4. Initiative 4. Takes initiative as self-starter

4. Happy & contented with routine.
5. Acceptance of Ideas 5. Ready to discuss ideas with an open mind. 5. Argues why ideas would not work.
6. Knowledge 6. Continuously acquiring knowledge & learning
from it to prepare for increased
responsibilities.
6. Considers himself "Mr know-all"
7. Managing Mistakes 7. Coaches, teaches, reviews for correction &
makes changes if necessary.
7. Uses it as stick to punish.
8. Criticism 8. Courage to accept criticism if well
intentioned.
8. Rejects all criticism.
9. Managing Conflicts 9. Understands what is right rather than who is
right and tries to resolve without fear.
9. Generates conflicts; displays non-problem
solving attitude.
10. Work 10. Obtains information, materials and other
required resources to complete task; enjoys
working, shows alertness to crisis,
Anticipates likely problems and finds
tentative solutions.
10. Finds excuses why work cannot /could not
be done, unpleasant to work with, Delays
decision indefinitely.
* MENTAL HEALTH IS AS IMPORTANT AS PHYSICAL HEALTH IN SAFE WORKING *
***



51
IMPLEMENTATION OF BEHAVIOUR BASED SAFETY
IN THE ORGANISATION

Successfully implementing the behavior-based safety process at a site requires a
combination of necessary conditions or factors, one of which is the reaction of an
outside guide. This person may be a corporate resource or an experienced advisor
from an independent consulting firm. Although the input of such a consultant can be
essential to success, it is merely necessary but not sufficient. Ultimately the
success of the initiative is the responsibility of the site personnel. Nonetheless, the
task of providing the necessary consultative input is critical.

Successful implementation of the behavior-based safety process at a particular site
involves the clear handling of roles and responsibilities of two kinds 1)
organization responsibilities to the implementation efforts, and 2) the role and
responsibilities for the behavioral safety process itself.

Implementation of behaviour based safety management is most straight forward in
organizations where responsibility for safety already clearly resides with line
management and where there is an ongoing management system that includes
accountability for safety related issues.

The site manager ultimately has responsibility for the success of implementation.
Working with department heads and safety staff the manager sets the specific
criteria for support of implementation. These criteria in turn imply supportive roles
from lower level managers down to the level of first line supervisor or team leader.
Effective management avoids the common problem with safety goals setting them
in terms of the wrong objectives. Instead of setting goals such as specific percent-
safe rating or specific injury rates, proper early objectives are activities and
outcomes which support implementation itself.

Organizational Responsibilities for Implementation

Employees

Workers often have a variety of views about safety, not all of them consistent. On
the one had, workers want to avoid injury; they want equipment and sites to be
safe; and they want co-workers who do not expose them to injury. On the other
hand, workers can view the enforcement of safety rules negatively especially
when enforcement is inconsistent. This can lead to an adversarial attitude in which
workers think of safety as managements responsibility and injury as managements
fault. Insofar as virtually all injuries involve some at-risk behavior, it is clearly
impossible for supervisors to directly prevent most injuries. This means that
involvement of employees is essential to success of the behavior-based approach.
This can be a delicate matter at first because workers often hear the emphasis on
changing at-risk behavior as a way of blaming them for injuries.

It is not a simple thing to establish an atmosphere in which workers are more open
to the behavior-based approach. It helps to recruit workers for participation in the
planning, implementation, and maintenance of the process; and effective way of



52
organizing this involvement is the use of an implementation steering committee that
has significant representation from the ranks of workers.

Not all organizations are well prepared to involve personnel in a significant way.
Organizations managed in a traditional manner find that neither workers nor
managers are ready for a major safety effort requiring participation by employees.
Also, as important as worker involvement is, it cannot not be at the expense of
management participation. A balance of the two is necessary, and management
personnel, especially first line supervisors, cannot be ignored or bypassed.

By assigning employees significant roles and responsibilities during
implementation, management assures their involvement and participation in a way
that is commensurate with their importance to success. By assuring the active
involvement of employees, the implementation effort gains access to some of the
best and most detailed information about safety-related behaviors at the site.
Employees are often closest to the work, and their untapped knowledge represents
a wasted resource.

Employees with strong credibility among their peers are some of the best
candidates for key roles of the safety process. The behavior-based safety process
not only depends on employee involvement, it is geared to employee involvement.

First line Supervisors

Since the first line supervisors must be familiar with the observation process they
usually receive observer training, and they may also go through advanced observer
training.

Since the first line supervisors are responsible for conducting workgroup safety
meetings, they also received training as meeting facilitators training that focuses
on using observation data to identify problem areas and on communication and
problem-solving skill.

At sites where first line supervisors do not have responsibility for conducting
workgroup safety meetings, they usually work with a team leader or team safety
representative who is responsible for the meetings. In these cases the supervisor
functions as a coach and as a resource to team leader. Training in coaching for
skills development can improve the communication skill and effectiveness of the
supervisor is required.

The first line supervisor is responsible for providing support for the process and for
creating an environment which fosters employee involvement by doing such things
as:

Allocating sufficient time throughout the implementation effort to see that
necessary steps are taken.
Encouraging designated observers by giving feedback and consequences
that are soon, certain, and positive in favor of consistent, timely
observations.



53
Making sure that follow-up occurs for safety-related maintenance items.
Ensuring that observation data is used effectively in safety meetings.
Assisting in the review of the sites behavioral inventory to keep it current.

In organizations where the first line supervisors function is very direct, supervisors
function is very direct, supervisory behavioral process responsibilities may include :

Doing observations
Writing work orders and providing follow-up on safety-related maintenance
items where there is no effective existing system for initiating and
communicating about safety-related maintenance.
Conducting safety meetings.
Conducting sessions on problem identification and problem-solving.
Accident investigation
Revising the sites behavioral inventory as needed.
Overseeing proper implementation of the process.

Middle Managers

Managers at the second level and above usually do not get involved in
implementation to the same degree as do first line supervisors. At a minimum,
however, these managers need training in the foundation concepts of the
continuous improvement process and its practical application. Though they are less
involved than the first line supervisors, middle managers are nonetheless
encouraged to participate in the skill-oriented training sessions on observation,
feedback, and so on. Their presence in such sessions has both practical and
symbolic impact. In terms of practice, the more exposure middle managers have to
the details of the behavior-based process, the more supportive they can be of
implementation. Symbolically, attendance by managers at observer training
sessions sends a powerful message about the importance of the safety effort.

Beyond the special considerations listed above, the middle managers roles and
responsibilities are much like those of the first line supervisor but at a higher level.
Middle managers make sure that their first line supervisors are accomplishing their
roles and responsibilities. Their duties as a facilitators for their first line supervisors
may require that they draft, present, and pursue structural changes in the
organization in order to provide an environment in which the first line supervisors
can perform their duties. It is worth emphasizing that for middle managers to give
effective support to their first line supervisors and foremen it is essential that the
middle managers have a thorough understanding of the basic concepts, principles
and working mechanisms of the behavior-based process. This caliber of
understanding requires specific training, not general knowledge.









54
Site Manager

At sites of up to approximately 200 employees, the site manager usually sponsors
the implementation effort. In large plant his sponsorship is often the responsibility of
the department or division manager. This means that the site manager not only
knows the basic concepts of this upstream approach to safety performance, but
clearly sees the scope of their application to the site. With this overview, the site
manager provides leadership and direction, encouraging the site as a whole to
endorse the behavior-based approach. The site manager is resolved to stay the
course, communicating clearly that the resources required to make the process
effective in the long run will be provided. The site manager must also be ready to
pursue organizational development measures, especially in relation to his middle
managers.

Middle managers may feel threatened by an approach that depends on such high
levels of involvement by employees. In addition, middle managers and first line
supervisors are often the hardest to get to buy into the benefits of the behavior-
based approach to safety. These managers often mistrust any new initiative. They
have become skeptical of the organizations ability to really improve. Middle
managers and firstling supervisors are primarily responsible for balancing the
pressure for production, quality, cost, and training. This makes them most
vulnerable to a new initiative that is temporary they put resources into it only to
see it abandoned later.

To ensure that middle managers and first line supervisors are effective decision
makers, the site manager provides the resources for them to receive through
training in the basic concepts of the behavior-based approach. Once they
understand the principles, the site manager makes it clear to middle managers and
supervisors that decisions which compromise the safety effort are not acceptable.

The Steering Committee

Implementing and maintaining this process requires planning, good organization,
and a time commitment. There are two primary ways to accomplish the task. A
project team approach such as a steering committee can be employed or existing
organizational structures such as the safety department may be used. Although
each approach has advantages and disadvantages, most organization opt for a
steering committee since it allows for strong representation of a cross section of the
site, a factor which helps foster ownership of the implementation effort at all levels.

There are some disadvantages to using a committee instead of an existing
organizational structure; the committee may be less efficient. The people on a
committee may be less accustomed to doing some of its required functions and so
may do them less well or take longer to do them well. A committee usually takes
longer to organize for smooth functioning and may require training in the skills
needed to conduct an effective meeting. In addition, a committee presents logistical
difficulties. Committee members may have to be released from their normal work
assignments or else be paid for overtime work. If the organization has no recent
history of using such project teams, a committee may pose real challenges. People



55
often feel threatened by organizational structures which cut across normal lines of
authority.

An alternative to both the safety department and to the project team approach is
the site safety committee. Most sites have a safety committee of some kind, and it
may be suitable for overseeing implementation. An important consideration is
whether the safety committee members can genuinely support the effort. Using an
existing committee for the sake of convenience is not advantage if the members of
that body do not support implementation. Nothing is gained either if the safety
committee is ineffective as a group due to political issues. Another consideration is
the perceived status of the safety committee. If the safety committee members are
not well regarded by their peers, it is detrimental to entrust the committee with
direction of the implementation effort.

The following description of responsibilities proceeds on the model of an
implementation steering committee. Facilities that do not use a steering committee.
Facilities that do not use a steering committee, must nonetheless accomplish, by
some other means, the same things that a steering committee accomplishes.

Planning, Communication, and Logical Support

Planning, communication, and logistical support are the three major organizational
tasks of implementation. The steering committee typically handles all of these.

Planning/Decision-making: It is most effective for a committee to do the planning
and to make the important decisions of implementation. Implementation means that
change and acceptance of change is more likely when there is representative input
from cross section of the site. When a steering committee is used for this purpose it
is formed as early as possible so that it can contribute from the beginning of the
implementation effort.

Communication. One of the key challenges that the steering committee must
effectively address is how to keep the entire site and all levels of the organization
properly informed and involved in every step of the implementation effort. No group
can be left out. The effective steering committee devises ways of reporting its own
activities to the plant, of keeping the plant interested in ongoing developments, and
of eliciting input from the plant when it is appropriate. The ease with which the site
accepts the behavioral safety process depends in large part on how well the
steering committee communicates with the rest of the plant.

Logistical Support. Logistical support covers the nuts and bolts of implementation.
These include many aspects of training such as: preparing slides, giving talks and
presentations, training planners, observers, meeting facilitators and trainers,
making charts, etc. In some cases, members of the implementation steering
committee do virtually all of the support themselves. In other cases, the steering
committee is primarily an advisory or decision making body, and the logistical
support is done by specialists within the site the safety department, and so on.
When the steering committee relies on departmental resources for logistical support
for implementation, resource allocation also becomes a matter for decision making.



56
Generally it is most effective to have the steering committee fill as many of the
implementation roles as possible.


Key Decisions about the Committee

Reporting to the site manager. The steering committee needs to fit into the
organizational structure. Implementation requires phased resource allocation, which
brings up multiple factors for consideration. It is rare that the steering committee
can make the necessary resource decisions by itself. Usually its recommendations
are presented for review and consideration. It is most effective to the manager of
the unit where implementation is under way. Depending on the size of the site, this
is either the site manager or the departmental manager.

The reporting relationship has both practical and symbolic effects. The level at
which the committee reports communicates a message throughout the
organization. There is beneficial symbolic impact in having the steering committee
report directly to the site manger. Because it is common for safety to be the
responsibility of the safety department, whose head often does not report directly to
the site manager, a direct reporting relationship from steering committee to the site
manager can highlight the importance that is given to safety. In addition to the
symbolic benefit, the practical advantage is that is preferable to have steering
committee recommendations immediately reviewed and decided on, and the level
at which this can happen is usually that of the site manager or department head.

On the other hand, where the implementation steering committee does report
directly to the site manger, input from all the level of management is very important
to success. For instance, if middle managers and first line supervisors are
inadvertently overlooked, they may see the implementation effort as one that is
driven principally by employees. Middle managers and first line supervisors need to
have a voice.

The steering committee facilitator. The person who facilitates the committee is
clearly very important. The facilitator must have the skill necessary to manage large
project and to work effectively with other people. The safety head is often thought
of as a logical choice for the job. Whatever the merits of that individual may be, the
safety head may not be the best choice. Having the safety head facilitate the
implementation steering committee may lead people to think that behavior-based
safety management is just another program from the safety department. Someone
else in the management position that also has the skills for the project can make a
good facilitator. However, a potential drawback to having a manager facilitate the
committee is that the employees on the committee might not participate as freely if
a manager is the facilitator. Having someone from the ranks act as facilitator of the
committee has powerful symbolic value. Acceptance by the workforce can be
enhanced by having an employee coordinate the implementation effort. The
possible drawback is that workers have less experience in such roles. In this
situation it is helpful to establish a coaching and advisory role between an
appropriate manager and the employee who is facilitating the steering committee.
The facilitator would report directly to the site manager, and the lower level



57
manager who is the coach and advisor is there to interact with the facilitator about
process issues.

The steering committee facilitator has several important tasks. Concerning the
steering committee/s, he or she attends liaisons meetings and provides leadership
and coordination. The facilitator also must be able to assess the implementation
training needs of employees and to monitor the reliability of the observers data. In
addition, the steering committee facilitator does monthly reports, keeps
implementation moving, makes routine management presentation, and keeps up
with consultant developments.

Selection of the committees facilitator is done in time to allow him or her to have a
role in selecting the other members. The pitfall for any facilitator is that he or she
will assume too much responsibility for the implementation effort. This is not good
for long-term success. These and related issues can be addressed at the outset by
selecting a facilitator who has good delegating skills, by arranging for some
concentrated coaching for the facilitator, and by giving the committee a clear
charter.

The committees charter. To save the implementation steering committee from
floundering, it is important to provide structure from the outset. A charter is one way
of doing this. Details of the charter will be modified as implementation progresses;
however it is best to anticipate the major issues and to make clear to all parties
what the committee will be responsible for in the way of results and timeliness. An
important issue to address explicitly in the committees charter is the relationship of
the committee to line management, especially first line supervisors. It is best to
develop a clearly defined procedure for having steering committee
recommendations reviewed and endorsed by all levels of management.

Steering committee size. There are so many variables of organizational culture
and site that it is not possible to specify steering committee composition in detail.
There are, however, some general rules. A single plant-wide steering committee is
usually sufficient for sites with fewer than 200 employees. At a site with more than
200 employees a single plant wide steering committee may not effective, and
additional steering committees need to be established at the departmental level.
Roles and responsibilities of each steering committee must be well defined.

Within the limits of efficient committee function, the number of people on the
committee depends on the size of the site and on how much of the implementation
logistical support the members are expected to do themselves. At the high and low
end, however, committees of this type rarely function well with more than twelve
members or with fewer than five. The most effective steering committee involves
from eight to twelve members.

At some very large sites, separate implementation steering committees are set up
for different departments. In such cases it is important to have strong coordination
between the committees in order to maintain consistency of implementation. One
coordinating approach at very large sites is to have one steering committee at the



58
site level and sub-committees as needed by area. Each subcommittee is then
facilitated or led by a member of the overall steering committee.

The single plant wide steering committee generally has responsibility for the overall
process and issues that are common to all departments. This oversight function
includes:
Outlining the fundamental elements of the behavioral process that each
department must work towards.
Stating the objective methods for measuring departmental success.
Providing coordination and resources as needed.
Taking general responsibility to make the process work.

The departmental steering committee ensures that the process is working
effectively at the departmental level. This includes:
Conducting introductory presentations.
Developing the departmental behavioral inventory.
Training observers in the operational definitions and in data sheet use.
Skills development training for observer and supervisors in verbal feedback,
interviewing, managing resistance to change, and safety meeting
participation.
Ensuring that observation data is used effectively in safety meetings.
Incorporating accident investigation data into the behavioral inventory and
the observer data sheet.
Taking general responsibility to make the process work.

In addition the department steering committee takes the pulse of implementation
effort to be sure that communications are clear and that employees understand and
support the basic process. During implementation, communications issues almost
always arise incidents occur which are misunderstood or misinterpreted, rumours
spread. The steering committee closest to these developments stays on top of
them and acts to dispel rumors and to keep communications clear and open.

Composition and selection of the steering committee. The make up of the
committee has a strong influence on where the ownership of the continuous
improvement process will eventually reside in the organization. In order to work, the
behavior-based process requires significant worker involvement, and this means
that workers make up a high proportion of committee members. Furthermore, as
many important constituencies as possible need to be represented. To the extent
that these differences are important at the site, all of those organizational units
need to be represented in some way on the steering committee. First line
supervisors and middle managers need to be represented. Given the membership
constrains of eight to twelve people representative selection requires a balancing
act.

Care is also given to how the committee members are selected. The best people
are the opinion leaders, people who are respected by their co-workers and whose
endorsement will carry weight. Opinion leaders are not necessarily in formal



59
leadership roles, however, Supervisors and managers usually have a sense of who
the opinion leaders are.

Tenure of steering committee members. The heaviest time demand of
implementation is getting successfully through the kickoff meeting. It is misleading,
however, for the committee to focus solely on the kickoff meetings, because the
quality of effort after those meetings also has a great deal to do with determining
the long-term success of the effort. It is typical for the committee members to
experience a letdown after the observation process becomes more routine. To
combat this slackening of the committees focus, it is usually a good idea to set
committee tenure at some period that extends past the kickoff meetings. Some
sites establish the committee for an indefinitely long time, rotating the membership
and the facilitator on a predetermined schedule. The facilitator needs to rotate so
that safety does not become one persons pet project.

Knowing and Communicating the Process

Successful champions of the process are people who understand and
communicate the signature traits of behavior-based safety to their respective sites.
They become fluent spokespersons for implementation because they can translate
the process for their company culture, introducing it to others and sketching clear
applications of the process to existing challenges. An implementation effort based
on a mistaken understanding of the behavior-based process or even one that is
merely unclear is likely to go off on ineffective tangents.

Signature traits

A number of important characteristics follow from the central focus of the behavior-
based safety. Chief among them are:

Employee Involvement
Communication
Emphasis on Skill Development

Employee Involvement

Successful implementation requires the input and ownership of all personnel. In
terms of sheer potential for making gains, genuinely involved worker are probably
the most powerful force at a site. Nonetheless, an employee-driven process means
all levels employed at the site are involved. On the other hand, management
involvement cannot afford to be overbearing either.

Involvement is more than participation. Employee involvement happens when
employees truly get involved from the very start, in the planning, the decision
making and in the implementation.

Ownership sells itself. Facilitators of successful implementation efforts develop
process ownership from the start. They know that if they do not take the time to
truly involve the people in developing the safety process, they are going to spend a



60
great deal more time trying to sell it. Selling is hard while ownership, on the other
hand, does not require selling. Ownership sells itself.

Communication

Each of these behavior-based strategies translates into higher quality, better
production, and continuous improvement in safety performance. But it takes time to
demonstrate the linkage. Getting the proper time takes involvement and
ownership. Demonstrating the linkage takes feedback and communication. The
two things are closely related. Successful implementation effort sponsor
communication through ownership, and they develop ownership through
communication. This is true involvement and the gains can be unprecedented.

Even very sober observers of successful implementation efforts are sometimes
surprised by just how much enthusiasm the behavior-based process engages.

Emphases on Skill Development

Successful implementation efforts place a strong emphasis on skills development.
Although professional consultants could more quickly develop a sites behavioral
inventory, the steering committee would miss a crucial learning opportunity. Skills
development is an important objective. Successful implementation efforts involve
groups of people who are proud to say We are part of this.

Knowing and Communicating the Goals

Effective implementation goals are both specific and achievable. A mission
statement is different from a vision statement. A high-sounding, vague statement
may make people feel good about the effort they are engaged in, but in short order
it becomes counterproductive. It offers no practical guidelines. At the other extreme
is the laundry list of specific points so numerous or scattered that they are
impossible to achieve in one concerted effort. Groups that are smart from the start
avoid both of these pitfalls by:

Developing a focused mission statement.
Getting widespread mission agreement.
Balancing results and individual satisfaction.

Developing a Focused Mission Statement

Some mission statements are so general they are almost meaningless. When
framing a mission statement or purpose or objective, the steering committee needs
to remember that as the implementation proceeds they should be able to tell from
the statement whether they are on the right track.

Ready-made is poorly made. In addition to being focused and achievable, the
effective mission statement develops or emerges from the implementation steering
committee. Their mutual understanding needs to be developed into a forward
mission statement that incorporates the best that everybody needs to contribute.



61



Widespread Agreement Clear Objectives

The issue here is how to develop organizational support. The steering committee
that sees itself as handing down the law to the site is breaking the same rule as the
manager who hands down the implementation charter. At every important point of
application a successful employee-driven effort involves adaptation versus
adoption. The ripple effect of this strategy shows up everywhere. Readymade is
poorly made. This is true at every level of the organization. In the heart and mind of
anyone whose support worth having, support follows understanding. Buy-in follows
knowledge. Ownership sells itself.

Business Results and Individual Satisfaction Striking the Balance

It has seen that many steering committees setting where one or the other of these
two factors business results or individuals satisfaction took precedence over the
other. In a setting where the business needs completely override the needs of the
individual, the steering committee members begin to withdraw. They quit putting out
the necessary effort. They lose steam. At the opposite extreme, the needs of the
individual completely overshadow the achievement of the objective. The steering
committee is off in ten different directions; they get off track. Even their peers are
wondering, Where are these people heading?

Guided or sponsored self-management. In an employee-driven process, self
management is the mode that most people favor. The idea sounds good but many
times self-management actually means that nobody manages. The steering
committee that reports to no one can get so far of track that even its own members
become disillusioned with self-management. Successful self-management is
possible, however, through active liaison with site management personnel.
Direction-holding is something that a management liaison person can help the
steering committee accomplish. Steering committee conformance to its own
charter, roles, and responsibilities is the kind of accountability that is an aid to
performance. In effect, the management sponsor or mentor to the steering
committee helps them keep their attention focused on their customers.

Knowing the Barriers to Implementation

Resistance to change is a natural human traits. Psychological research has shown
that people resist change even when they know that it promises an eventual
improvement in their situation. Among other things this means that resistance to
change is not a sign of a bad attitude. Successful steering committees do not take it
personally when they remain proactive. At the outset they:
Identify the sequence of likely barriers.
Stay in motion by addressing the nearest barrier/s
Have a plan for each future barrier.




62
Identify likely implementation barriers. In an explicit, very methodical way the
steering committee determines when the implementation barriers are. Whose
cooperation is crucial for implementation success? What do those crucial people
need to hear and see so that they can give the effort their informed cooperation?
There are different reactions here. People for whom the new safety process
represent most change perceived or actual will require the most attention. In
addition to questions of individual resistance to change there are the challenges of
organizational resistance to change. What systems and organizational
consequences already in place will need attention? The steering committee takes
stock and develops an action plan to address each implementation barrier.

Stay in motion. The implementation steering committee addresses each barrier
as it arises. They get their action plan in place and move forward. Barriers that can
be fixed after implementations are under way can be addressed later. They are
identified, however, so they do not ambush the implementation effort. The point of
planning is to minimize surprise.

Plan for each identified barrier. Steering committees that wait until they run into
a barrier before they act, spend all of their energy overcoming that one barrier,
move another six inches, hit another one, and stop and fix that one. That tactic is
an energy burner. The effective steering committee actively solicits and builds the
commitment of other groups for the implementation effort. Effective steering
committee spokespersons learn to see and say the behavior-based safety process
from every perspective that is relevant to their implementation effort. They translate
the message for each important constituency at their site. The aim is
understanding, buy-in, ownership. Each barrier to implementation points to at least
one of these challenges of translation. Each success enlists a new constituency for
the safety effort.

KNOWING THE IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS

Finally, implementation prospers when it has a steady stream of accurate short-
term answers to the overriding question: How are we doing? The imitative cannot
afford to wait for the very important long-term indicators such as falling incidence
rates. Those will indeed emerge but their arc is so sufficiently long term that they
will never represent sustaining feedback even after the behaviour-based safety
process is installed. Realizing this, effective steering committees develop
numerous short-term measures of performance that are consistent with long-term
improvement and supportive of it.

The other source of implementation progress reports is feedback from the
workforce. Although genuine feedback is an invaluable source of information that
requires careful cultivation, too often steering committees are slow to ask for
workforce feedback, and then when they do get around to it they ask in a half-
hearted way. Effective steering committees actively solicit feedback. Because
what they hear may not always be positive, most people feel a natural reluctance to
ask for feedback. Successful steering committees nonetheless learn to go past
their natural tendency to avoid negative news-they ask anyway.




63
They do more than ask. The steering committee members carefully work out ways
of giving their customers---the workforcesoon-certain-positive consequences for
giving the steering committee feedback. In an employee-driven effort this strategy
is crucial. It demonstrates a willingness to listen and learn. It shows resolve and
builds credibility. And it leaves no doubt that everybody is really in this initiative
together with the same rules for everyone, observed and observers alike.



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TRAINING OF OBSERVERS

Peer-to-peer observation with feedback is a powerful tool for safety behavior
change. It is difficult to overstate its importance. Incidents arise from exposure
levels, and those exposure levels and related injury rates can be reduced
dramatically using this tool. Safety leaders and managers who use this tool
correctly can achieve an injury-free environment by controlling injury rates.

PREPARING FOR OBSERVATION

It is important to note that successful implementation of a peer-to-peer observation
system requires addressing a number of issues. Depending on the level of
organization function those implementation issues may be more or less difficult to
resolve adequately. The most challenging environment in which to implement peer-
to-peer observation is one where there is little trust between levels of the
organization, and where the safety culture is weak.

In all cases peer-to-peer observation needs to be introduced carefully, getting buy-
in from the workforce early, communicating and clarifying relevant questions. In
some cases reservations or anxiety about observation present a barrier to the
implementation effort itself. Key employees can be so reluctant to cooperate with
observation that management loses confidence in its ability to achieve adequate
buy-in. In those cases it is worthwhile to prepare for observation, laying the
groundwork and building trust and confidence prior to the start of actual
observations. The best way to lay this groundwork is to put more emphasis on other
aspects of the behavior-based safety process first, until people feel comfortable
with new safety initiative. This shift of emphasis is a fairly straightforward thing to
do. The most common implementation sequence is the following:

1. After Overview Training, there is the decision to begin implementation.
2. The behavioral safety assessment is conducted.
3. The steering committee is formed and trained in the foundations of behavior-
based safety.
4. With the assistance of a consultant, the steering committee develops the
sites behavioral inventory.
5. The steering committee then conducts the inventory review and buy-in
meeting.
6. The observer group is recruited and trained.
7. Ongoing observation and feedback begins.
8. Workgroups use the accumulating data for problem solving and action
planning.

In the modified implementation sequence, steps 1 to 5 above are the same,
however, step6 postponed to make room for the insertion of some intermediary
preparation. Instead of the transitioning directly to observer training, the steering
committee members themselves receive coaching for conducting safety meetings
using behavioral data. They then use their new facilitating skills to make workgroup
safety meetings a place to do action planning to meet new targets and overcome
existing barriers to safety performance. The steering committee then leads a



65
thoroughgoing improvement effort to remove or minimize identified barriers,
reporting back to the workgroup safety meetings on progress. This more gradual
approach builds creditability for the implementation effort. By discussing in safety
meeting the concept of critical behaviors, the steering committee gets valuable
input from the workforce and creates an opportunity to demonstrate its resoluteness
and intentions. The safety meeting discussions can easily lead to suggestions that
pave the way for observation later. This round of activities builds interest and trust
in the new safety initiative. At that point, the more common sequence can resume
with the recruitment and training of the observer group.

The Role of the Observer

The observer is a key player in behavior-based accident prevention. The observer
makes the regular observations which provide measurement and immediate
feedback about safety performance as well. These observations are also the basis
for ongoing safety problem-solving and continuous improvement. In addition the
observer is the champion for the accident prevention process itself. This second
function is very important. Credibility in the organization, especially with peers, is
essential in an effective observer. For persons of employee involvement, a high
proportion of observer at least 50 percent should be employees. Managers can
also be especially effective advocates of the safety process when they have had
observer training. It gives them hands-on experience with the process and puts
them in a position to understand fully what the inventory and data sheet are like to
work with. They learn that behavior-based observation is harder than it sounds at
first. There is room for mutual respect here.

The ideal observer is a person who:
Has high credibility with peers
Is knowledgeable about the work to be observed
Has good verbal and interpersonal skills

The effect of those traits is that people will listen. This is a very important factory.
The most effective way to change a behavior is to change its consequences. One
of the most powerful consequences is information or feedback about performance,
especially since workers are often unaware of ways in which they expose
themselves to injury.

Purpose of Observation

The three main purposes of observation are:
1. Regular sampling of the safety process
2. Feedback, primarily to individual workers, and
3. Data gathering to identify improvement targets.

Injuries are the product of a system, a complicated human behavioral system with
elements such as equipment maintenance, production pressures, safety training,
and so on. When injuries occur, the system is out of control. When a machine is
producing a defective product, it needs adjustment. One way of discovering
whether a production process is out of control is to sample the product. When it is



66
possible, however, a better way is to sample upstream process indicators, such as
temperature or pressure. Steering by reliable upstream indicators allows
adjustment of the process before defective product is made. Similarly, a system
that is producing injuries needs to be adjusted. However, adjusting the system only
in response to injuries introduces an unnecessary delay. When the system is out of
control, this fact is first shown by high levels of at-risk behavior level or frequencies
of at ------- behavior are leading indicators of injuries.

This at-risk behavior may be the kind which directly exposes a worker to injury. Or it
may be behavior which indirectly exposes other workers to injury the mechanic
who fails to reinstall a safety guard removed while fixing a machine. In the first
case, the percent-safe raters can be measured for lifting by observing numbers of
workers who are standing in the line of fire or who are standing in a safe position. In
the second case, the mechanic might be directly observed to walk away from the
machine without replacing the safety guard, or the observer might later note the
footprints of the mechanics behavior by observing of safe and at-risk behaviors is
a way of monitoring whether a sites safety system needs adjustment because it
has begun to go out of control.

The second reason for doing systematic observations is to provide feedback to
individuals. Injuries often occur during the performance of routine jobs that people
do in an at-risk manner. Workers are often unaware that they are doing a job in a
way that puts them at-risk; their at-risk routine has become a habit. A systematic
observation procedure ensures that workers regularly receive information from an
observer about their safety-related behaviors. Since this information emphasizes
the positive aspects of safety performance by consistently noting area of improving
by consistently noting areas of improvement, observer feedback becomes a soon-
certain-positive consequence for safe behavior.

The third reason for doing systematic observations is ultimately the most important
one : gathering data to identify targets for the improvement. This kind of data is
impossible to get in any other way. Behavioral data of this kind is the single most
reliable source of information about the state of safety at a site. This is what it
means to say that behavior is the final common pathway for incidents. Workforce
behavior is the common thread that runs through all management, production, and
quality considerations.

Although it might seem that a formal feedback system is not necessary, that a
foreman could give feedback to workers in the normal course of events, the
problem is that in the normal course of events there are very few natural
consequences that support and maintain this kind of foreman behavior. When
foremen are asked how often they say something to workers about safety during
the course of shift, most of them estimate that they say something to workers about
safety during the course of a shift, most of them estimate that they say something
once every week or two weeks. This is not nearly often enough to change at-risk
behaviors that have become habitual. Furthermore, most foremen admit that when
they do talk about safety with crew it is almost always to say something negative,
not something positive. In the normal course of events a foremans remarks



67
provided consequence for safety that is infrequent, uncertain and negative the
weakest kind of consequences there is.

Observation Procedures and Schedules

Many companies have some kind of safety inspection program. These programs
are useful in identifying certain kinds of hazards, but there are three factors which
limit their utility in reducing injuries: focus, frequency, and thoroughness. Most
safety inspection programs focus on facilities, equipment, and housekeeping,
because the goal of the inspection is to identify static hazards things that need
repair replacement, or cleaning up. These are important problems to correct:
however, the typical safety inspection ignores the issue involved in most injuries --
behavior.

A second problem with safety and housekeeping inspections is that they are done
relatively infrequently. Monthly inspections are unusual, most of them being done
quarterly or annually. This inspection schedule is probably warranted in the case of
sit conditions and equipment. These things change fairly slowly, and repairs and
modifications of these also take time. Consequently, more frequently inspections
might not be worthwhile. Housekeeping, however, is a different matter. It is quite
common to see workers scurrying around before a housekeeping inspection,
cleaning up their area so that it will look good for the inspector. Poor housekeeping
often represents a safety hazard, and therefore the work area needs to be
maintained in an orderly state at all times, not just before a quarterly inspection.
Infrequent housekeeping inspections can do little to encourage better routine
housekeeping. High standards of routine housekeeping are a product of individual
behavior, and individual behavior and individual behavior is unlikely to change with
only quarterly feedback. The same holds true of infrequent safety inspections.

Finally, many existing programs fail to realize their potential because the
inspections are not sufficiently thorough or rigorous. The most common type of
inspection procedure consists of a group of people unsystematically looking around
in an area to see what they can see. Hazards are bound to be overlooked with this
kind f approach, especially at-risk behaviors.

Without a systematic approach many critical events are simply missed. An effective
system of direct inspection needs to be focused, frequent, and thorough. This is all
the more true when the goal is the observation of safety-related behaviors. As part
of a systemic approach observers need to be trained. Something that is rare in
most inspection programs.

Observer Training

After the inventory review meetings have concluded, and the steering committee
has had a chance to incorporate any improvements into the inventory and data
sheet, observer training sessions begin. The purpose of these sessions is to
provide knowledge, skill, and practice in basic observation techniques to observes,
supervisors, and other managers. The six skills of observations are:
1. How to see safe and at-risk behaviors.



68
2. How to record what they observe the scoring procedures.
3. How to calculate percent-safe.
4. How to chart percent-safe.
5. How to provide feedback on what they observe.
6. How to enter data into the system for analysis.

What is Behavior-Based Observation?

Behavior-based observation requires registering what is going on in the work place
and judging it as either safe or at-risk on the basis of the site inventory. When
observations are done in a standardized, systematic, scientific way, they provide a
measure of work place safety. One observation by itself is a sample of work place
safety. The accumulation of these samples begins to develop a reliable picture of
the sites safety as a whole. High quality observation done over a period of time
sketches a trend, a picture of how the site is changing in time, either growing safer
or less safe. This trend phenomenon is very important. The trend toward at-risk
performance is a warning to the site that it is asking for an incident to happen. On
the other hand the trend may be toward higher and higher levels of safe
performance.

Obstacles to Observation

Behavior-based observation takes times to learn, and there are a number of
obstacles to doing it well.

1. Over-familiarity with the work. An observer who knows the work too well
may be complacent about the way that co-workers are doing it. In effect, in
this case the observer trusts habit more than the data sheet. In this respect,
observation is a bit like being a pilot who is flying by instruments. The pilot
learns to trust them and respond according.
2. Unfamiliarity with the work. On the other hand, if the observers are not
familiar with the work they are observing, they do not know what is going on.
They are faced with additional work they must grasp the situation, not just
recognize hazards that they already understand.
3. Unfamiliarity with the sites data sheet. Another problem that observer
have is that they ------- the looking at the work than at the data sheet.
Thorough familiarity with the data sheet and with the ----- critical behaviors
cure than difficulty.
4. Behaviors happen fast. It does not take very long for a worker to bend over
and grab something from the floor. Did she do it properly? Before the driver
changed lanes, did he look over his shoulder as he should have, or did he
just glance in the side rearview mirror? Little things, and the absence of little
things, count. There is really no time to notice unless the observer has
become very attuned to safety issues.
5. Little things add up. This problem is compounded by the fact that when
things go wrong they can go from safety to at-risk instantly. The importance
of little things is magnified in a crisis. A door that is half open may not appear
to be hazard, but when some unexpected thing happens, that door can
become a serious danger. People have been injured walking headlong into



69
the edge of such doors when the lights went out. A wheelbarrow in an aisle
may not amount to much of a hazard, until there is a fire and that escape
route is obstructed. Not wearing a seat belt can seem like a little thing; but
on average, approximately once every fifty years of driving it may suddenly
become a matter of life and death. Not cleaning up a spill right away can
seem like a little thing that does no harm, but the law of averages is at work
here too, and that harmless little spill of water or oil on the floor can suddenly
become a critical contributing factor in an accident.

Two Kinds of Observation

To counteract the obstacles to observation there are two strategies, both of which
require a trained eye. They are situation-centered observation and data sheet-
centered observation.

Situation-centered observation. In situation-centered observation the situation itself
guides observers. Standing back, taking their time, they let the situation show itself,
as though they were seeing it for the first time. The primary question for the
observer is, What is the potential for injury here? This type of observation is a good
antidote to being overly familiar with a work situation. The observers see things
they never noticed before. Situation-centered observation requires real discipline.
Inexperienced observer tends to skip over this kind of observation because it can
be frustrating and can seem unproductive. They find it difficult to really look without
knowing quite what they are looking for. The due lies in the question, what is the
potential for injury here? The operative word in the question is potential. In
behavior-based safety management, potential does not mean may be. The injury
potential is more urgent than that. It refers to how people will get hurt, given enough
time and the right conditions. The potential exists at the moment of observation. It
is there fore the skilled observer to see.

Data sheet-centered observation. In data sheet-centered observation, the data
sheet is used like a check list, ensuring thoroughness of observation. This type of
observation is easier than situation-centered observation. Nonetheless, in order to
be truly accurate at it, observes need to know the data sheet from memory.
Otherwise they are looking at it and not at the workers.

THE 7-Step Observation Procedure

The goal of the seven-step observation procedure is standardization and
thoroughness. It is important that all observers do their observations in the same
way. And thoroughness is important because the observations need to cover all of
the same ground. Thoroughness is achieved by having the observer do both
situation-centered and data sheet-centered observation in one procedure.

1. Go to the action. This means doing the observation where things are
happening the observer looks for action.
2. Look at people as much as possible. This does not mean that the
observers should not look at things and conditions. When they look at them,
however, they must consider what the conditions indicate about the behavior



70
of people. The way the boxes are stacked over there, is it a sign that
someone has moved them by hand or with a lift? This is the kind of question
the observer asks continually.
3. Introduce yourself. When observers begin, they introduce themselves to
the workers and explain what they are doing. They are not spies, and they
show people their data sheet and talk with them about the observation
process, telling people to continue with their work and that they will be told
what ws observed when the observation is finished. If the workers express
concern about being observed, they are assured that no names are logged
and that no disciplinary action will result from the observation.
4. Situation-centered observation. The observer takes time and studies the
situation, looking for potential injuries. Effective observers do not go on to
the next step until they either have a sense of potential injuries in the
situation, or see that the situation is fundamentally safe.
5. Data sheet-centered observation. Now the observer goes down the data
sheet like a check list, very systematically.
6. Give verbal feedback. After the observer has logged the safes and at-risks
and has calculated the percent-safe, he or she is ready to give feedback on
what was observed.
7. From start to finish 20 to 30 minutes. The whole procedure including
calculations and feedback, should take only 20 to 30 minutes.

Verbal Feedback -- Tips for Talking

Observers provide verbal feedback and discussion following an observation. This
amounts to talking with the employees observed about what they have seen and
noted on the critical behaviors data sheet, and why they noted what they did. The
technique for providing this feedback follows a proven sequence. Positive feedback
is given first. The observer talks with the employees about the safe things he saw,
emphasizing especially those things that demonstrate improvement over previous
observations. The observer then talks about areas that need improvement. Their
manner is helpful throughout, making suggestions, asking questions, encouraging
questions from the employees, and actively engaging in problem-solving with the
workers observed.

The following are some Tips for Talking that observers practice during observer
training:

Prevent the accident. Observers who see that someone is about to get hurt stop
the accident from happening.
Respect the people who are being observed. They know what they are doing,
and they probably have reasons for doing the job the way they are. It is not the
observers job to boss them. The observer and the workforce share a common
ground no one wants an accident.

Stick to the fact. When observers are discussing behavior, they stick to the facts
and do not talk about people or preach to them about safety.




71
Be specific. The observer cites specific things so that people know what the
feedback means.

Acknowledge peoples progress. The observer emphasizes improved
performance as well as discussing areas for further improvement.

Discuss and ask. When something that workers are doing looks at-risk to the
observer, the observer discusses it with the workers and asks questions about the
situation. In such a discussion the observer is engaged in the first step of ABC
Analysis the aim is to determine what antecedents are triggering the at-risk
behavior, and what consequences are reinforcing it.

Do not argue. The observer does not argue with someone who is resistant to the
observation process.

Other Contributions of the Observer

Initiating job actions. It may be the observers job to initiate action on safety-
related maintenance items. Even in cases where it is the supervisors responsibility
to initiate such action, the observers role is to make sure that the information is
presented clearly to whoever will take action. Often the observer also has the
responsibility of following up the action.

Safety meeting resource. The observer has an important role at safety meetings
when the behavioral data is analyzed by the group for the purpose of problem-
solving. The observer amplifies the information contained in the summary data
sheet reports. Providing general impressions and giving the benefit of his or her
unique perspective based on experience with the observations in question.

No spying. The effective observer is not a safety cop or authoritarian of any kind.
The observer does not sneak around trying to catch people doing something
wrong. The observer does not report the names of observed employees to anyone
for any reason. Nor is the observer expected to force behavioral change on the
people observed. The observer is there to provide a measurement of safety
performance, to make suggestions for improvement as well as to recognize
improvement with feedback that is soon, certain, and positive.

Rotation. It is a good idea to change observers periodically. However, care should
be taken not to do this too frequently. Six to twelve months is a good period for an
observer. Rotating observer periodically provides an ongoing source of renewal for
the accident prevention process and the benefit of different points of view. There is
also the fact that people who have been trained as observers become more
sensitive to their own behavior. For this reasons companies often train an entire
workforce to be observers even though only a portion of the employees function as
designated observer at any given time. It can be very helpful for the workforce to
know from the outset that eventually everyone will be an observer. This expectation
makes the work of the first group of observers easier, and it makes it easier for the
other workers to accept the idea of being observed.




72
Necessary Skills and Knowledge

Foundation Concepts
Observation Techniques
Seeing Behavior versus Condition
Familiarity with the data sheet and Definitions
Consistency of observation procedure
Feedback Techniques

Foundation concepts. Since observers are champions for the safety process,
especially during the early phases of implementation, it is very important that the
observers understand the rationale behind the behavioral approach. An observer
needs to know why the approach works the way that it does, what the basic
concepts are translated into action through the behavioral process.

Observation techniques seeing behavior versus conditions. Behavioral
observation is an acquired skill. Experienced observers understand what the basic
issues are in being able to see behavior. They have developed the ability to look
with discrimination at any activity and to see the aspects of it that are representative
of the behaviors targeted on the sites data sheet. The inexperienced observer,
whether employee or plant manager, finds it very difficult to focus on behaviors.
This is because the inexperienced observer is much more inclined to look at the
site and its condition rather than at the actions of the employees.

This inclination is natural. There are a number of reasons that an untrained or
inexperienced observer tends to register things rather than behaviors. For one
thing, behavior happens fast. Oftentimes critical safety-related behavior happens
very fast like a play in a basketball or football, and this makes it hard to obsere
this behavior with certainty. Compared to the confidence observers feel in reporting
on the physical plant, their confidence in themselves as observers of behavior can
be quite low to start with. For example, was the observed employee really standing
in the line-of-fire? This behavior may occur for only a brief moment of time, and yet
it is very significant. Is the observed employee lifting properly? The duration of the
actual lift may be very short but nonetheless of critical importance to the safety of
the employee. Skilled observers learn to see the critical behaviors, to have
confidence in their ability to record the behavior, to have confidence in their ability
to record the behavior they have seen, to convey with appropriate feedback what
they have seen.

Observation techniques familiarity with the data sheet. Experienced, well
trained observers produce an accurate measure of safety performance because
they have achieved fluency in their use of the data sheet. They are well acquainted
with operational definitions for each of these items during every observation that
they conduct. The observers who have not yet learned their data sheet have a
tendency to be distracted and to fall back to looking at conditions. They become
sidetracked by various issues other than behavior and the result is a measure of
decreased reliability.




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Observation techniques consistency of observation procedure. Experienced
and reliable observers are knowledgeable about the proper steps of the
observation, careful to perform all the steps and in sequence. This carefulness
extends from the larger issues of focusing on behavior and familiarity with the data
sheet to such smaller procedural questions such as where to obtain fresh copies
of the data sheet, how to mark them, and where to submit them for compilation. In
addition the observers should be clear about the number of observations they are
to conduct and at what intervals. Skilled observers make it their responsibility to
observe at desired frequency as determined by the steering committee. The
observation schedule is fulfilled even when the workgroup is busy on a special
project.

Feedback technique. The critical point here is that the observer knows how to talk
to other employees so that:
They listen and join the discussion and
The discussion is productive of improved safety performance.

Training Strategies

In addressing the training needs of observers, several approaches are possible
each of them has its pluses and minuses.

Individual self-instruction. Individual self-instruction provides the observer trainee
with a set of training materials manuals, workbooks, and video tapes arranged
in a series of presentations. The advantage of this approach is that it can be self-
paced, and therefore meet the needs of a broad range of individuals. There are
several disadvantages to this approach. It is dependent on the individual trainee to
maintain a high level of motivation. It is hard to monitor. In addition it does not
develop a group spirit, and as a consequence the individual may develop
misconceptions without anyone else knowing about it. There may be such
inconsistencies between observers that their observations are not reliable.
Tutorial. Another approach is the tutorial format small groups of four to six
trainees with a trainer. This training method affords each trainee the opportunity to
ask many questions and to go into the material in depth. Practicing new skills in
small groups rapidly builds observer confidence and increases inter observer
consistency and reliability. The tutorial approach does not have the disadvantage of
individual self-instruction. All other considerations being equal, the tutorial approach
is probably the most effective.
Large group. The third method is to train all observers as one group. This has the
benefit of developing a spirit among the group which could add to the overall
visibility of the effort. It also increases the likelihood of consistency of observation
across the observer pool, an important consideration. The disadvantage of this
approach is that individuals may not receive the attention from the trainer that they
need.

Skill Acquisition

The important functions for the trainer here are coaching and motivation. What the
trainees need most of all is a clear explanation of the material in terms of its related



74
skill, an opportunity to practice these new skills under controlled conditions, and
motivation to us their new skills on the job. The best sequence for the acquisition of
a skill is:
Model
Practice
Feedback
Re-practice

During modeling, the trainee watches someone exercising the skill to be learned.
The trainee then practices the skill in the presence of others. The others who saw
the practice session then give the trainee feedback on his or her performance of
the skill. Then the trainee re-practices the skill in the presence of the same group.

Such a presentation of the skill scoring the data sheet would have the following
steps. During the modeling phase, data-sheet scoring is discussed and
demonstrated by the trainer, using a slide presentation and data sheet forms
appropriate to the site or target area. During the practice phase, the trainer
conducts a scoring exercise presenting slides of behavior to be observed while the
trainees mark the data sheet. Then the trainees pair up and practice an actual
observation while the rest of the class watches their performance. (An intermediate
step is to have the trainees watch a video presentation of critical behavior body
position, lifting, personal protective equipment, etc.) During the feedback phase, the
trainer and class give feedback on how the trainee/s performed the observation.
Then the trainees re-practice what they have learned through their discussion of
issues and compared notes.

Calibration and reliability Does variation in the observation data comer from the
observer or from the observed behavior? If it is the former, there is a calibration
problem. The best technique for developing calibration is to have observers make
observations in pairs.

Practice improving feedback skills -- In spite of training in how to provide positive
feedback and how to make suggestions for improvement, observers often remain
weak in this area. They feel awkward and uncomfortable, and they shy away from
one-to-one contact. The best strategy for upgrading observer verbal feedback skill
is for observer and/or facilitators who are skilled in feedback in accompany less
skilled observers and coach them in verbal feedback.

Effective kickoff meetings are crucial to the success of the implementation effort. To
use an image, if the inventory review meetings are a sort of dress rehearsal, the
kickoff meetings are the grand opening.

The Kickoff Meeting Introducing the Process to the Workforce.

Implementation of the behavior-based safety process reaches a very important step
with the kickoff meetings that formally launch the process in the target areas.
However, this is not the first time that the workforce has encountered the process.
By now the workforce has been involved in the assessment and in the inventory
review meetings, and it has received various communications from the steering



75
committee. By this point in the implementation sequence observers have been
trained and have used the data sheets for five or six weeks to learn observation
procedures and techniques. The workforce will also have some acquaintance with
the training process, based on publicity designed by the steering committee.
However, it is during the kickoff meeting that all of the workers as a group get their
first formal introduction to the basic concepts of the behavior-based safety process
and to their sites behavioral inventory and data sheet. Therefore the kickoff
meeting is an integral part of the behavior-based safety process itself. Typically
conducted workgroup by workgroup, the primary objective of the meeting is to gain
the enthusiastic endorsement of the safety process by the workforce.

With such important matters at stake the successful kickoff meeting requires
thorough planning and the meeting facilitator needs to be skilled. The following
discussion covers a list of things to consider and/or accomplish in preparation for
the kickoff meeting/s.

Planning and Conducting the Kickoff Meeting

Advance Publicity. The more that people know about the behavior-based safety
process, the better. Articles, before and after kickoff, in site newsletters can be
very helpful in alerting workforce to progress in the implementation effort.
Announcements at regular safety meetings are another avenue for providing
advance publicity for the kickoff meeting/s, as are letters and circulars.

Photographic slides/video tapes. Slides or video tapes of the sites critical
behaviors can be a very helpful way to introduce the workgroup to the safety
process. The presentation need not be elaborate or fancy; in fact, the emphasis is
on clarity of demonstration. It is important that the kickoff meeting presenter not
assume that people already know which behaviors are safe and which are at-risk.

Targeted Feedback

The kickoff meeting is the first presentation of observation and feedback to a
workgroup. The important consideration is that workers must feel that the feedback
is relevant to them. Especially when the baseline percent-safe figures are very low,
the workers need to be sure that the figures are not the fault of some other
workgroup. Therefore the appropriate organizational level for the kickoff meeting is
usually that of the first line supervisor and the workgroup.

Points Covered in the Kickoff Meeting

The steering committee usually presents the kickoff meeting. It selects a variety of
its members to cover the needed topics. The presenters may not be accustomed to
speaking in such situations. In most cases it is worthwhile to have a rehearsal.
Rehearsal gives the presenters a chance to become more comfortable with their ---
and it offers an opportunity for the meeting facilitator to do some coaching and
make sure that each presenter covers the subject matter in its proper order. Some
presenters may even need written scripts or outlines at the least. It is best --- to
slight these preparation.



76

Review the purpose. The kickoff facilitator reviews the purpose of the meeting and
discusses the agenda. Some people at the meeting will know what it is about, but
an effective facilitator spells out the purpose of meeting.

Statement of management support. The support of the site manager is critical to
long-term success of any process. It is important that the employees be clear about
the commitment of top management to the safety process.

Introducing the steering committee. The steering committee not only facilitates
the kickoff meetings, it introduces it members and its work at these meetings. The
employees on the steering committee can lend great credibility to these meetings in
particular and to the process as a whole. They should be fully involved in the kickoff
meeting preparations and in the reports and presentations made during the
meetings.

Introducing the foundation concept. These concepts need to be covered, but not
in great detail. A member of the steering committee reviews the basic theory behind
the behavior-based approach to safety management. This is usually done in a
condensed summary, leaving time for a question and answer period.

Review of the behavioral inventory. This is the heart of the kickoff meeting and
usually it takes and the most time of any of the meetings elements. The presence
of the behavior-based safety process is letting workers know how to perform key
tasks and then giving them feedback on how well they are doing. The review of the
sites behavioral inventory provides a perfect opportunity to let the workforce as a
whole know to behave safely.

SUMMARY

Effective kickoff meetings set the stage for the implementation effort. The
observation procedures gain momentum. Supervisors, observers and the
workforce at large, learn what to expect, and they learn what is expected of them.
The observation data is posted regularly for the various workgroups. The
workgroups begin to watch their progress as reflected in the charted feedback.
They note their performance marks in relation to their own past performance and in
relation to the performance ratings of other workgroups. In the meantime the
workforce grows accustomed to the principles of the behaviour-based process in
the most practical way possible as the injury rate declines. This situation
represents a successful implementation effort. Such a workforce is primed to play
its part in the self-regulating safety mechanism. The establishment of this
mechanism is the point at which the behaviour-based process becomes a closed
loop of continuous point at which the behaviour-based process becomes a closed
loop of continuous improvement.








77





















Additional Reading Material



78
BEHAVIOURAL MANAGEMENT OF SAFETY

1. Introduction

MACE have decided to develop their own product for Behavioural Management of
Safety (referred to by the acronym BMOS from now on). There are various
reasons why this development has taken place. However, the principal ones
are as follows:

Successive years of research have shown that in excess of 80% of accidents in
the wor k pl ac e ar e caus ed by uns af e behaviours. In order to improve
safety performance, an effective methodology has to be implemented, which
addresses this.

Existing 'Behavioural Based Safety' (BBS) products have been found wanting,
and have not delivered sufficient improvements for the investment taking place.
As a result, accidents have occurred on sites running BBS interventions, which
would have been avoided.

As a consequence, the only sustainable way to develop a true 'zero accident'
environment is to approach safety using sound, effective principles of Behavioural
Management which have been developed and proven over many years, through
academic research and practice in the commercial arena.

This hinges on setting out an expectation on safe behaviour to be delivered, and
reinforcing it when it is delivered. It involves a fundamental shift away from
traditional safety practice, which has used an enforcement mentality, usually
imposed by negative means, where the outcome is focused on catching people
doing the wrong things, and punishing them for it.

This protocol sets out to achieve two main objectives, namely:

1. Act as a reference document which will provide points of instruction
and clarification for anyone reading it.
2. Equip practitioners to understand how BMOS should be implemented on
site.

Do not make the mistake of believing that BMOS is a 'magic bullet'
which will turn safety performance into an easy achievement. BMOS
involves engaging the people working on your project, with the emotions as
well as the intellect, to help to demonstrate safety as a value, not a priority.
3MO5J has to be delivered with genuine sincerity and passion, and led from
the very top of the organisation. No written protocol can substitute for providing
the correct leadership - the skill which sets the tone for the performance that
follows. Good leadership costs nothing and yet will get t he maxi mum benef i t
i n saf et y performance.







79
2. Behavioural Management theory and practice

This section sets out basic Behavioural Management principles, and how these
relate "to BMOS.

These arc not difficult to absorb in theory, but can be difficult to practice. The reason
for t hi s is your existing behaviours have got you where you are; all of us are driven
to achieve the things we like, and to do something different will be strange for us.
However, if this gels you better outcomes - whether on a personal or business
basis -they are worth pursuing. The key to (his is simple - practice whenever you
can.

2.1 Strategy, Process, Behaviour

Underpinning the correct practice is the belief that to have a high performing team
of people, it is necessary to have a clear strategy for what they are trying to
achieve, solid work processes and a clear understanding of how to bring the best
out of i t s people (behaviour). In the safety arena, the Strategy is normally defined
by parameters such as company H&S policy, mission statements, business plans
and Critical Success Factors (CSF' s -sometimes equated to KPT's). Typically,
these will be statements such as 'Zero accidents by 2008' or 'Be the best
performing company in our industry sector'.



The Processes are normally laid down by procedures operating within the business,
whether or not these have been derived by the team operating them; typically, this
includes the H&S manual, other company policies, safety policies etc.

Work place Behaviour is simply defined as what people say and do. It is
observable, noticeable and measurable. The expectation on how people behave is
laid down by factors such as company or team values, performance improvement
initiatives and the written or verbal processes. Whether or not the people involved
actually live these values by what they say and do, is another issue. So the
Mission, Statement, Business Plan,
CSFs / KPIs
H & S Policies, manuals, toolbox
talks, method statement etc.
What actually happens in
the business / on site etc.



80
organisation may say 'we will operate on the basis of safety first'; in practice, the
management behaviours may actually encourage production in preference to
safety.

2.2 The ABC model

The major driving principles in Behavioural Management are summarized in the
acronym ABC as shown below:

'A' stands for Antecedent
'B' stands for Behaviour
'C stands for Consequences

Antecedent

An antecedent is something that happens before behaviour occurs. It sets the
stage for, and influences whether, that behaviour results. Extensive research shows
that antecedents only have a 20% influence over behaviour. Examples of
antecedents in safety management are: inductions, training, safety policies,
notices, toolbox talks, briefings or being asked to do something verbally.

Antecedents can be quite effective the first few times they are used. They remain
effective, however, only if they are backed up with consequences. To use an
everyday example, a 30mph sign is a classic antecedent; it has a very limited effect
on getting the speeding driver to slow down to the required speed, since most
people will not believe there are any consequences from continuing to drive at a
speed above the limit. However, a speed camera has a much higher chance of
getting the driver to comply with the limit, since there is a high chance of a speeding
ticket being issued as a consequence of speeding. Likewise, staffs are prone to
ignoring requests to behave in a certain way unless the antecedents in that
situation are supported by consequences.

Behaviour

Behaviour is what a person does or says. A good definition of behaviour describes
what is clone in observable and measurable terms; for example, when a phone
rings you can observe the behaviour of someone picking up the receiver, to answer
the call. A business meeting may consist of someone talking, someone nodding,
someone smiling, someone looking through the window, someone fiddling with a
pen, someone writing. All these events are behaviours, and can be observed. This
information can be recorded, and used for feedback immediately or at a later point.
In the safety arena, behaviours may include someone lifting items, someone
walking across a site without PPE, someone working at a height with proper
harness security, someone working without a banks man. Again, all these
behaviours can be observed, recorded, and used for feedback immediately or at a
later point.






81
Consequence

A consequence is something that a person receives after displaying a particular
behaviour, and which occurs as a direct result of that behaviour. Behavioural
Management theory shows that consequences have an 80% influence over
behaviour. The effectiveness of a consequence depends upon whether it is positive
or negative, immediate or future, certain or uncertain. A strong consequence is
one that is immediate and certain. Immediate and certain consequences win
every time over those which arc future and uncertain. It is people's perception of
the possible consequences that give the consequences strength. We have stated
that consequences are the most influential means by which to shape behaviour, or
patterns of behaviour in individuals or groups. Consequences, by definition, are
delivered and received after the behaviour occurs and will have a provider and a
receiver. Sometimes, the provider and the receiver can be one and the same
person.

There arc four types of consequences you can receive, that can result from any
particular behaviour, as outlined on the following page. They are further explained
in the text which follows the diagram at the top of the following page:















Positive reinforcement (R+): This is gelling something you like, It should be used
to recognise and reward the behaviour YOU seek.


Behaviour
Positive
Reinforcement (R+)
Negative
Reinforcement (R-)

Punishment (P)

Extinction (E)



82

If you are the giver....
People want to deal with you more.
You feel good about giving out R+.

If you are the receiver....
You will want to do more of the same behaviour, to net more R+ .
Your performance on that behaviour improves.
The more you get, the happier you are - your surrounding 'environment'
becomes more rewarding.

Negative reinforcement (R-) This is avoidance of punishment. It should be
used where a behaviour you seek is no! taking place, and you want to get the
message across that you are serious about wanting it to happen.



If you are the giver....
You will gel short term improvement - therefore use it again.
If you use it constantly, you will be seen as threatening or feared.

If you are the receiver....
You will only do as much as you need to escape a perceived or actual
punishment.
You will build up hostility over time, and feel devalued.

Extinction (E): This is not getting any recognition, or feeling ignored. It should
be used to diminish poor behaviour over time, primarily by ignoring it. However,
there is a danger that you practice it inadvertently if you do not issue Positive
Reinforcement when a behaviour you seek takes place.




83


If you are the giver....
People will find other ways of getting your attention.
You will have to be very patient to see the behaviour change over time.

If you are the receiver....
You will become very frustrated at not getting what you seek.
Your behaviour will change to seek alternative reinforcement.
You may undergo an 'extinction burst' where you vent your frustration at
not getting what you seek.

Punishment (P): This is getting something you don't want, It should be used
when you want to stop a behaviour in its tracks.







84
If you are the giver....
People will avoid and fear you.
You may experience revenge (although this is normally taken out on
the wider organisation).

If you are the receiver....
You will go through a wide range of emotions - anger, fear, hostility,
resentment.
You will not repeat that particular behaviour.

Both positive and negative reinforcement will increase performance. To create a
true positive environment, they should be used in the ratio of 4 to 1. This means
that you are balancing the rewards for the right behaviour (R+) with the occasional
correction of poor behaviour (R-).



2.3 PIC/NIC analysis (developed by Aubrey Daniels)

The other dimension to management of consequences is that their power of
delivery is dependent on timing, and how certain you are that they will actually
happen. To analyse this, we use a tool labeled PIC/NIC to decide whether
consequences are positive or negative, immediate or future, certain or uncertain.








85


Positive/Negative (P/N) Does the person experience the consequence as positive
or negative?

1. Immediate/Future (I/F) Does the person experience the
consequence immediately or at some point in the future?

2. Certain/Uncertain (C/U) Is the person certain or uncertain that the
consequence will occur?

The most powerful consequences - i.e. those which will have the greatest effect on
influencing behaviour, are Immediate and Certain. This makes the most powerful
consequences Positive, Immediate, Certain (PIC), and Negative Immediate Certain
(NIC). What is PIC for one person will not automatically be PIC for another; this is
the mistake which many existing BBS products make, since they rely to a degree
on verbal praise / feedback for sale performance, delivered 'on the spot". They
assume thai stopping someone to congratulate them on safe performance is a PIC,
whereas for many people this will be a NIC, and is likely to get the opposite result to
the one being sought.

Consequences happen to us, and all around us, every day. We all make judgments
about what is P, N, 1, F, C and U. These judgments are sometimes 'snap' ones and
sometimes based on our previous experience. It is accepted that people will try to
maximize PIC's and minimize NIC's. The work 'environment' which provides PIC's
for the correct behaviours, as well as NIC's for the incorrect ones, will produce
generate the correct outcomes and results they seek.

It is important for businesses to recognise that aligning personal sets of PIC's to
safe behaviour will provide increased levels of safety performance into the business



86
-with all of the incumbent benefits this brings.

To help understand this, we use a behaviour analysis worksheet to understand why
people are behaving as they are. Two worked examples are also shown in
Appendix A.

2.4 Understanding the result / behaviour link



If we accept that consequences have an 80% impact over managing behaviour,
then it is becomes essential to identify them and deliver them to change the
behaviours sought.

Moreover, the behaviours themselves have to start being measured, to
demonstrate that they are taking place.

A simple domestic example demonstrates this point. If you want to lose weight,
start measuring how many days in the week you eat less than 1500 calories, and
how many times in the week you carry out exercise (Behaviours). If these are being
maintained, you will lose the weight (Result).

This forms part of a simple but highly effective model for motivation:




87


If you leave any of these items out, you are in danger of losing the correct degree
of motivation. Many organisations fail at the first hurdle; failing to set clear
expectations for their staff means that the staff are focused on achieving the wrong
things. For example, in safety terms a manager emphasizing production over safety
could set an explicit expectation ('I want you to get that job finished no matter what
it takes') or an implicit one ('we won't have a problem finishing this off in time, will
we?')

Examples of links between results and behaviour include the following:

Result being sought Behaviour we need to get it
Reduce cuts to hands Wear gloves
Reduce slips, trips and falls Walk at correct pace through designated areas
Reduce injuries to eyes Wear goggles
Reduce injuries through manual
handling
Observe safe manual handling practices

In many cases, the behaviour which is being sought is not difficult to identify.
However, it can be very difficult to change; what is being offered here is a way for
you to achieve this.

3. References

Judy L. Agnew Ph.D and Gail Snycler M.S "Removing Obstacles to Safety" A
Behaviour - Based Approach ISBN 0-937100-07-2.




88

Appendix A

Two worked examples are also shown below, in the first case, we look at the
behaviour of someone who has been asked to carry out a DIY task by his wife, but
who instead watches football on TV:

BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS WORKSHEET
Performer
Husband watching football on TV, in preference to carrying out
DIY task requested by wife
EXISTING
BEHAVIOUR
Antecedents Consequences P/N I/F C/U
DIY task needs
done
Get to watch TV P I C
Wife has asked
person to carry out
DIY task
Relax a bit P I C
Hopelessly bad at
DIY
See team playing P I C
Dont like doing DIY Team might win P F U
Supports the team
who are on the
programme
Team might lose N F U
Feeling tired after
day at work
Avoid DIY P I C
Have never missed
watching team when
on TV
Wife might nag / fall out with
me
N F U
Husband
watches football
on TV, in
preference to
carrying out DIY
task requested
by wife

Wife might employ tradesman
to complete DIY task
P F U

In this case, we have analyzed only an existing behaviour, without going on to
understand how to change it. There are some golden rules about PIC / NTC's:

1. Always be specific about the behaviour and be as clear as possible about
what it is - this skill is called 'pinpointing'.

2. When carrying out the analysis, always put you in the shoes of the person
carrying out the behaviour and understand why he / she is behaving in the
way they do.

3. Remember that the Antecedents set the scene for the behaviour to happen -
they precede it.

4. The consequences are those experienced by the person doing the
behaviour, not by you.

5. Collection of PIC's and avoidance of NIC's will be the consequences driving
the existing behaviour; in this case, it is easy to see why the person watches
football.




89
So how does the wife get him to change his behaviour? At base consequence
level, she has several possible courses of action:

Positive reinforcement - She offers to cook him his favourite curry for dinner if
he completes the DIY task.

Negative reinforcement - she threatens to stand in front of the TV if he doesn't
complete the task.

Punishment - she goes immediately to stand in front of the TV and states that
she won't move until he completes the task.

She decides to take a double course of action, and threatens the TV block, but also
indicates that if her husband completes the DIY task, he gets the curry at dinner
time. Now his analysis looks like this:

BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS WORKSHEET
Performer
Husband watching football on TV, in preference to carrying out
DIY task requested by wife
EXISTING
BEHAVIOUR
Antecedents Consequences P/N I/F C/U
Wife threatens TV
block
Avoid hassle with wife P I C
Wife promises
favourite curry
Get all time favourite curry P I C
Problem with DIY task solved P I C
Have to carry out DIY task N I C
Husband gets
up from
watching
football, and
carries out DIY
task
Miss some football N I C

Although there are still two NIC's associated with his new required behaviour, his
wife has managed to put some PIC's in his way, which influences him sufficiently to
carry out the new behaviour.

Now we try a more complex situation, where a person willingly violates a safety
standard:

BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS WORKSHEET
Performer Person violating safety standard
EXISTING
BEHAVIOUR
Antecedents Consequences P/N I/F C/U
Safety standards in
working
Get the job finished quicker P I C
Toolbox talks Job and knock potential P I C
Site briefings on
safety
Look macho P I C
Posters, notices etc Dont look like a was P I C
Mates violate
standards regularly
Conform with peer pressure
form mates
P I C
Person violates
safety standard
whilst working
Director encourages
production over
safety
Thrill from getting away with it P I C



90
Have done it before
and no injury
Crack after getting away with
it
P I C
Have done it before
and no discipline
Potential discipline N F U
Potential injury / fatality N F U

Tacit approval through
foreman ignoring it
P I C

The main consequence providers here will be the person's workmates, first line
supervisors (foremen etc) and the site manager or agent. In order to bring about a
change, the person has to have new antecedents to set the scene for the new
behaviour and some new PIC / NIC consequences to reinforce it after it happens:

BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS WORKSHEET
Performer Person violating safety standard
EXISTING
BEHAVIOUR
Antecedents Consequences P/N I/F C/U
Safety standards in
writing
Lose most of the previous
PICs
N I C
Toolbox talks Avoid the sack P I C
Site briefings on
safety
Meet new expectations P I C
Posters, notices etc Receive tangible rewards P I C
Agent sets new
expectation on
safety vs. production
New peer pressure to safe
behaviour
P I C
Agent calmly
promises instant
sack of violations
Reduce injury / fatality risk P I C
Person works in
observation of
safety
standards
Agent promises
tangible rewards for
safe behaviour
Verbal reinforcement from
foreman and / or agent
P I C

The way to become skilled at this is to practice. When you see behaviour
happening that doesn't make sense to you, remember that it makes perfect sense
to the person carrying it out (the performer). Put yourself in their shoes and ask why
they are doing it - the PIC's and NIC's will soon give you the clues you seek.

***
Courtsey: APOSHO 23 Conference at Singapore in October2007
Paper prepared by Mr John H Birchall, SHE Department, Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd,
Singapore




91
IMPROVING SAFETY PERFORMANCE
WITH BEHAVIOUR-BASED SAFETY

1.0 Introduction

A safety system will not work in all companies. It will only work in the company
where the corporate and safety climates are right. Before attempting to implement
a safety system, it would seem wise to look firstly at the company itself and at the
climate of past safety programs.

2.0 Safety Program Climate

The types of climates common in industrial safety programs are as follows:

2.1 The Over-Zealous Company
2.2 The Rewarding Company
2.3 The Lively Company
2.4 The Negligent Company

3.0 Corporate Climate

Another aspect to consider before implementing a safety system is the corporate
climate in total. The corporate climate is a major influence on the behaviour of both
managers and employees. Specifically, safety climate refers to perceptions of the
policies, procedures and practices relating to safety. At its broadest level, safety
climate describes employee perceptions about the value of safety in an
organisation.

There are eight dimensions in safety climate. They are as follows:

3.1 perceived importance of safety training programs
3.2 perceived management attitudes toward safety
3.3 perceived effects of safe conduct on promotion
3.4 perceived level of risk at the work place
3.5 perceived effects of workplace on safety
3.6 perceived status of the safety officer
3.7 perceived effects of safe conduct on social status
3.8 perceived status of the safety committee

There is one point of concern - i.e. the employees' perception of the organisation's
climate and philosophy may be different from what is intended. Two possible
reasons may have contributed to this difference in desired versus actual perception.
Firstly, perhaps not enough effort has been expended in communicating the guiding
philosophy down the line. Secondly, there may be a discrepancy between what is
professed and what actually occurs. The individual's closest point of contact with
the organization is the immediate superior. If the superior's action do not reflect the
organizational philosophy, a perception discrepancy occurs.




92
Some of the basic climate requirements for maximum individual performance in an
organization are:

1 There must be central overall goals of objectives
2 Effective communication down the line to gel commitment of the objectives
3 Functional areas, departments and individuals must have specific goals to
strive towards
4 Interdependency of all sub-units must be established to accomplish results
5 Meaningful participation on the part of the individual should be the keynote
6 Freedom to work without any pressure or authority from their superiors

4.0 Analyzing your climate

You must then begin the process by examining the climate in two distinct areas:
the climate of the safety program and the corporate climate. Let me remind you
that both aspects of climate are difficult to assess, easy to feel but often difficult to
get a handle on. In the areas of safety program climate, it would be best to ask
your line managers, supervisors and workers. One method is to use a
questionnaire which would give an indication of how people feel about the safety
program, what works and what does not work for the safety program.

As for corporate climate, a questionnaire approach might be used for various levels
of the organization. You may design your own questionnaire to tailor to your needs.

5.0 Misconception about Behavioural Safety

There are numerous misconceptions that hinder safety progress in the behavioural
area. They are as follows:

5.1 Fails to address system causes of injuries
5.2 Use to blame employees
5.3 Least effective interventions
5.4 Allows management to abdicate responsibility for safety
5.5 Is a magic bullet.

6.0 Principles and Strategies of Behavioural Safety

Behavioural approaches are based on years of research in the field of Applied
Behaviour Analysis. Geller (2001) notes, "Behaviourism has effectively solved
environmental, safety and health problems in organizations and communities; first,
define the problem in terms of relevant observable behaviour, then design and
implement an intervention process to decrease behaviours causing the problem
and/or increase behaviours that can alleviate the problem." (Geller, p 21)

7.0 Common problems with safety efforts

There are four common problems that seriously hinder safety efforts. They are:

7.1 Severe consequences for reporting injuries



93
7.2 Safety Awards not related to behaviour
7.3 Dependence on management or staff for planning and decision making
7.4 Reliance on punishment to reduce risky behaviour

Unfortunately, overcoming these lour common problems docs not ensure effective
safety efforts. Solving these problems is a step in (he right direction and helps
establish a solid foundation lo build on.

8.0 Behaviour Sampling for Proactive Measures

Not all behaviours or even major behaviours can be observed. Organizations do
not have the resources to observe all behaviours. The strategy is to observe a
sample of behaviours which has been identified as critical to the safety
performance.

9.0 Employee-driven Processes and Partial Empowerment

Another strategy is the employee-driven or bottom-up approach - i.e. employees
(including management) drive the behavioural safety process with support and
resources provided by management.

During this process, employees are empowered lo participate in decision making
for improving safety performances.

10.0 How To Implement Behavioural Safety

The implementation process has nine steps which include the important step of
solving system problems and pursuing continuous improvement.

10.1 Seek/gain workforce buy-in to the behavioural process prior to
implementation
10.2 Establish a Project Team to implement and run the system
10.3 Identify critical safety behaviours
10.4 Develop specific behavioural checklists that cover the critical behaviours
identified
10.5 Train personnel from each workgroup
10.6 Establish a baseline of safe behaviour by monitoring behaviour for 4-6
weeks. Determine the average safe behaviour levels
10.7 Ask each workgroup to set a safety improvement target
10.8 Daily monitoring of progress and provide detailed feedback on a weekly
basis
10.9 Review performance trends to identify barriers to improvement
10.10 Concentrate on continuous improvement of the system and behaviour at all
levels by solving any problems in the management system that encourages
risky behaviour or create/allow hazards to exist.

Omission of any of the steps may result in the unsuccessful implementation of
behavioural safety. Applying all steps increases the probability of a successful
behavioural effort as well as sustainability of the process.



94

11.0 How To Conduct A Safety Assessment

Prior to the implementation of the behavioural safety process, it is important to
conduct a safety assessment. This can be done internally or by external
consultants who offer safety assessments. Purpose of this assessment is to
determine an organization's current level of safely performance and provide
recommendations for improvement. There are 5 steps to the safety assessment.
They are:

11.1 Review the organization's safety data including accident statistics and actual
accident report
11.2 Conduct interviews with people over the cross section of the organization
11.3 Observe safety meetings, safety audits and safety practices in work
areas
11.4 Analyse information and develop an improvement plan
11.5 Prepare a report and presentation to garner management's support.

12.0 What Are Critical Behaviours

Critical behaviours are those actions that contribute to good safety performance or
conversely that lead to injuries and the challenge is to

12.1 identify the specific safety- related behaviours for a particular site
12.2 establish an inventory of operational definitions for these behaviours
12.3 prepare a checklist based on these critical behaviours for observers to use

13.0 How Can We Identify Critical Behaviours

There are four ways to identify critical behaviours, namely:

13.1 Behavioural analysis of incidence reports
13.2 Interview workers
13.3 Observe workers while they work
13.4 Review work rules, job safety analysis and procedure manuals

The list is usually not long - perhaps 15 to 25 behaviours that are genuinely crucial
to safety performance.

14.0 Steps of the Observation Process

There is no one best way to perform observations - techniques and methods
depend on the organization and the existing safety culture. They can either tailor it
to their particular needs or benchmark it against another site.

The following steps are provided as a broad guide for observations:

14.1 Select specific behaviours to observe as derived from the Critical Behaviour
Inventory



95
14.2 Develop behavioural checklist for particular jobs and departments
14.3 Develop specific procedures for the observation process
14.4 Determine procedures for data processing and feedback

15.0 Steps For Continuous Improvement

Establish a system to continuously improve the observation process. The following
items should be included in the system:

15.1 Trial runs and fine-tuning the observation checklist and process
15.2 Conduct a management review of the process to encourage management
input
15.3 Analyze data to identify areas for follow-up.
15.4 Follow up on targeted items.

16.0 Safety Coaching

Coaching is essentially a process of one-on-one observation and feedback (Geller
2001 p 239). It is a high level intervention and involves imparting both direction and
motivation

17.0 What Are The Steps In The Coaching Process

There are four slops to help safety coaches develop their good relationship with
workers. They are:

17.1 Caring
17.2 Collaborating
17.3 Coaching
17.4 Conciliating

18.0 Mow To Provide Meaningful Feedback

Safety coaches observe and then give feedback. Feedback must be meaningful
and meet certain criteria to be effective. The following are characteristics of
meaningful feedback:

18.1 Be specific
18.2 Be immediate or soon
18.3 Individual feedback should be given privately
18.4 Listen actively

19.0 Potential Barriers To Successful Implementation of Behavioural Safety

The concepts and principles of behavioural safety are simple and straightforward.
Implementation issues can be difficult to handle and complex to understand. It only
takes one persistent problem to undermine a behavioural safety effort. The
following gives some common examples that may be encountered:




96
19.1 Failure to adequately plan and train
19.2 Lack of planned, on-going feedback to measure the effectiveness of the
behavioural approach
19.3 Treating behavioural safety as a separate program
19.4 Over-emphasis on results (injury measurements)
19.5 Over-emphasizing on process
19.6 Lack of worker buy-in
19.7 Observation checklists fail to target at behaviours leading to injuries
19.8 Observations checklist focus on unsafe conditions instead of risky
behaviours
19.9 People are punished for failure to behave safely as indicated on the
checklist.
19.10 Problems in safety improvement target setting meetings
19.11 Observations take place at the same time every day.
19.12 There is no standardized procedure for people to hand in their completed
observation checklists
19.13 Failure to conduct regular weekly feedback sessions
19.14 Lack of on-going management support

20.0 Success Factors For Behavioural Safety

For a successful behavioural safety effort, numerous factors must work together in
harmony. Ultimately, the key to safety success lies with management.

The following are essential features of the behavioural safety process:

20.1 Management must be visibly committed to the process
20.2 There must be a significant level of workforce participation in and
understanding of the behavioural safety process.
20.3 Selection, training and guidance of the Implementation Team are predictors
of success
20.4 Data must be collected and used for decision-making and for continuous
improvement
20.5 Process must be well planned in advance
20.6 Training and communication must be adequate for all levels to possess the
necessary skills
20.7 All levels of personnel must be involved in the process
20.8 The behavioural process must be designed to meet the specific needs and
peculiar circumstances of the organization.
20.9 The basic premise and key objective of a behavioural safety initiative must
be clearly established.
20.10 Leadership must address the safely issues (hazards) existing in the
environment and risks that occur in working situations.
20.11 Safety management system must be aligned with behavioural safety
principles.
20.12 Safety champions must be carefully selected and groomed.
20.13 Recognition for safe behaviour and safety-related accomplishments should
be integrated into the daily work culture.



97
20.14 Patience and persistence are required. Organizations must allow time for
trust to evolve and allow the process to work.

21.0 Conclusion

Experience and research verify the potency of behavioural safety. Research
findings demonstrate the value of behavioural safety:

The only empirical approach to improving safety that has proven to be effective is a
behavioural safely process. Behavioural safety is the only approach that has
routinely produced significant reductions in incidents in well designed research
studies. The approach involves employees using a systematically developed
checklist as the basis for feedback on critical safety practices observed in work
areas. (McSween 1998 p 49)

References:

Blair E H 1999 - Behaviour-based safety: Myths, magic and reality
Cooper M D 1998 - Improving Safety Culture: A Practical Guide
Geller E S 2000 - The Psychology of Safety Handbook
McSween T 1998 - Culture: A Behavioural Perspective

***
Courtesy: APOSHO 24 Conference at Seoul in July, 08
Paper prepared by Mr Lim Boon Khoon, Registered Workplace Safety & Health Officer,
Singapore





98
BEYOND BEHAVIOUR CHANGE


Road traffic injuries are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among all
injuries in this part of the world. Significantly it affects people in the most productive
years of life. Morbidity from injuries is also high because of inadequate treatment. A
major burden of this falls on the vulnerable road users the pedestrian the bicyclist
and the motorized two wheeler rider. Anecdotal information suggests that some of
these families broke for a lifetime as a result of loss of employment and burden of
loans taken for treatment. Public policy and strategy has not sufficiently addressed
steps to contain this. The global burden of disease due to road traffic injuries is
expected to move from the ninth position in 1990 to third position in 2020.

Traditionally safety implied that a person adopted a safe attitude or a safe
behaviour. If a child is injured he or she is scolded for being careless. The injured
was often supposed to be at fault. In the event of a crash a driver of a vehicle is
considered rash and negligent. The bottom-line being that in any injury event there
has to be someone who was careless. The assumption being if everyone is careful
no one is likely to get hurt. It also implied that for safety, careless behaviour must
change. These assumptions led people to device huge campaigns to educate
people on safe behaviour. Expensive advertisement campaigns have been
designed to have such information campaigns in the print and visual media. The
trouble with information campaigns is that people are likely to take it seriously only
if they are convinced that it affects their life.

The average human being likes to believe that he is careful. And because he is
careful he is not likely to get injured. As an event, injury seems to be a low
probability event. Every person that travels to work runs a small risk when he is on
the road. Of the millions of vehicles that are on the road, only about two persons
get killed for every million vehicles. Naturally an individuals perception of such an
event is low. But of course he does realize that he could be hurt because of
someone elses carelessness. So he expects the other person, who is careless,
realizes his carelessness and therefore will read the advertisement and change his
behaviour.

Unfortunately behaviour change is never as simple. Mere knowledge of a fact does
not naturally lead to change of behaviour. If that were so no one would ever drink
alcohol or smoke cigarettes or even drive fast. As a society we condemn all these
acts but a individual human beings there are so many millions who drink, smoke
and drive fast. In fact theses acts are glamorized in the media. If people did not
enjoy driving cars fast there would be no Formula one race. But for safety a person
must drive slow! On one side we glamorize people who drive fast in Formula one
racing and on the other we expect people to drive slowly. We penalize people that
drive fast on the roads. There seems to be some contradiction here. What people
dont realize is that a Formula one car has innumerable safety features built-in. A
driver in the Formula one car is protected completely to avoid injuries and even
protected from fire as his jacket is fire proof. The track itself also has several safety
features. It is because of theses that despite a major crash on the track the driver
gets up, dusts his jacket and walks away while the car lies in shambles and burns



99
to ashes. None of these safety features are available for our day-to-day interactions
on the roads.

We also indulge in self flagellation. We Indians do not know how to behave or drive
properly! Some of course despair. If only Indians would behave differently on the
roads! We would then be able to save so many lives!

Looking at the positive side, it is just as well that we are not able to change human
behaviour easily. If by some mechanism someone designed a way to control the
behaviour of a mass of people there could be mayhem. Some Fascist could then
manipulate people to do this bidding! Then the world would be a really unsafe
place.

Let us now look at careless people. Our gut reaction at a careless persons fate
could be he was careless therefore he deserved what he got. Are we sure? If the
injured was our son, daughter or parent we would neither want them killed nor
injured. Our yardstick for the careless is likely to be different for our friends and our
relatives. As responsible citizens of a responsible society our concern for safety
must extend to all the careful, as well as the careless. Once this is clear our whole
approach to safety is likely to have a paradigm shift. We must try to save as many
as many people as possible, not just the careful people. This does not imply that
we encourage negligence and carelessness. It just means that we doe not look at
safety as an issue that can be resolved by behaviour change alone. We do not stop
at educational campaigns to improve the behaviour of people. Human behaviour is
conditioned by the environment that we live in, the design of products that we use
and the societal structures that are in place.

Table 1 Haddons Matrix as described by William Haddon Junior

Haddons Matrix
Time / Space Human (Victim) Products Environment
Pre-Crash
Crash
Post-Crash


Table 2 Crash Analysis using Haddans Matrix Scientific Crash Analysis

Time /
Space
Human (Victim) Products Environment
Crash
Prevention
Role of the human
beings in preventing
the event
Role of the product in
preventing the event
Role of laws, policing, and
environment in preventing the
event.



100
Time /
Space
Human (Victim) Products Environment
Injury
Prevention
during crash
Role, changes in victim
in minimizing injury
during crash
Design changes in
product to minimise
injury during crash
Changes in laws, policing, and
environment during crash
Injury
Management
after crash
Management of victim
to minimise effect of
injury
Design changes in
product to minimise
after effects.
Social and environmental
arrangements

If we are to achieve any success in road safety we have to go beyond attempts at
behaviour change. This means we must adopt a multipronged strategy to make
people on the roads safe. William Haddon Jr. (Bill Haddon) was the first to define
the principles of injury control. He described Haddons matrix, as we know toady. If
we look at this matrix it becomes clear that injury has been analyzed in time and
space. In any injury event, steps can be taken before, during and after the event, to
reduce the consequences of a crash. These safety features could be on the
vehicle, the human being or the environment. Table 1 shows a typical Haddons
Matrix. Table 2 shows the crash analysis using Haddons Matrix.

When we look at every crash in this three by three matrix we are likely to have a
complete understanding of how we can minimise the effect of a crash.

Let us taken an example and try to understand how different strategies can be
combined to make our roads safer. Take the example of a young boy of 18 who is
riding a motorcycle without a helmet. He has received it as a birthday present and
is driving at a speed of 60 kmph. He reaches a crossing just at the time a car driver
decides to jump the red light as he is getting late to work. The young boy breaks
hard to avoid the car but his motorcycle skids and he falls off and lies there on the
road with a head injury. The car driver meanwhile swerves to the left and hits a
pedestrian who was walking on the road as he could not climb on the pavement
because of a painful knee. He is hit by the car which is an old type sturdy car and
suffers an open fracture of his right leg. The car driver was not wearing the seat belt
and he gets thrown against the windscreen of his car and suffers lacerated wounds
of his face. A crowd gathers and puts the injured in a passing car to the nearest
hospital. Meanwhile the police arrive on the scene and arrest the car driver for rash
and negligent driving. At the hospital the youths condition deteriorates and dies
before a neurosurgeon can clear blood collecting in his skull.

The news paper reports the event the next day and people feel upset at the loss of
a young life. Some feel comforted at the thought a rash and negligent driver has
been punished by being arrested and put behind bars. The old mans fracture gets
infected and he goes in and out of the hospital for months. He finally gives up
treatment as after months of absence from work his employer throws him out of his
job and he hobbles around with an ununited fracture dependent on well wishers for
his meals.




101
This could happen in any of our cities or towns. Let us now analyse who all were
rash and negligent. Who all deserved to be punished and taught a lesson so that
society can be safer.

Before the events that led to the crashes:

Two vehicles were involved, and three human beings were interacting at the
crossing with a red light control.

Let us first look at the people involved.

The Car Driver:

He is the obvious culprit. He is the one who jumped the red light. He did it because
he was getting late for a meeting. A very common reason for people to speed up
and jump red lights. He had seen that if the police were not around he could easily
get away without getting caught. He was an educated man who understood the
implications of jumping a red light. Yet he did it as he was in a special situation as it
was a very important office meeting at workplace. We all make mistakes like this
and subsequently rationalize it. If he knew for sure that he would get caught for
jumping the red light he may not have done it.

He was also not wearing the seat belt and suffered injuries to his face.

The Youth:

His only fault was he was driving fast. Was that his only fault? He was driving a
motorcycle without wearing a helmet. If he was wearing a helmet he may not have
suffered the head injury that killed him. In his state, helmet wearing was not
compulsory. So in the real sense he was not violating a law. If he was in a state
where helmet wearing was compulsory he would have been violating the law. As a
society we have allowed a dangerous product that can take people at dangerous
speeds without ensuring that safety helmets are mandatory on the use of such
vehicles.

He should have been educated on the use of helmets and also on the risks of going
at high speeds. His father testified that his son was always careful and unlikely to
be too fast. He infact, gave him the birthday present because he was a careful son.
He, however, did not feel helmets were essential.

The Pedestrian:

He was an innocent bystander. But he was walking on the road. He should have
been walking on the pavement. He was not walking on the pavement. He was not
walking on pavement as he had a painful knee. If he had walked on the pavement
he would have had to go up and down at every 10 yards. He could not climb the
height of the pavement and found it far more convenient to walk on the level
surface of the road, Even if he was educated to understand the importance of
walking on the pavement, he would not been able to do so.



102

Let us look at the vehicles involved:

Two vehicles were involved in the crashes a car and a motorcycle.

The Car:

First let us look at the car. The car allowed the driver to drive without wearing a seat
belt. Modern cars have warning sound and flashing lights to suggest the driver is
driving without wearing a seat belt.

Without the seat belt he crashed into his windscreen which caused him to have
facial injuries. If it was a laminated windscreen instead of a toughened glass
windscreen he would actually have been cradled by the laminated windscreen
rather than suffer injuries.

The car also did not have an air bag system. This also could have helped prevent
facial injuries.

The car swerved and hit the pedestrian. If the car had a specially designed front,
instead of fracture of the legs of the pedestrian, only the front of the car would have
been dented. It is much better to have collapsing front of car that allow for
cushioning of the impact with a pedestrian. These days people put up bull bars to
prevent denting of cars in crashes. Some bemoan the fact that newer cars are very
delicately made as they collapse under impact. They boast about the fact that their
old car could withstand impacts without getting deformed. They seem to value their
cars more than people around us. They do not realize the fact that modern cars are
designed to have what are known as crumple zones that allow for collapsing
without killing people.

The Motor Cycle:

The motorcycle was new. So it could not have been failure of breaks. The speed
was high for the crossing. For a fresh driver of 18, there should have been a speed
governor that prevented him from driving at high speeds.

The reason why the youth fell was skidding. If his bike had anti-skid brakes the bike
would not have skidded. When you apply brake at high speeds there is a lot of
friction heat at the road tyre interface. The heat causes the tyre to melt and the
vehicle then moves on molten tyre. This is like moving on liquid and all friction gives
way and you skid. The molten tyre is what leaves the skid marks. Anti-skid brakes
have a very special system that works in a way to prevent this. A little use of
technology could have saved a life.

Let us first look at the environment:

The road infrastructure at the intersection was red light regulated. But it allowed the
vehicles to drive through at high speeds. Modern design of roads and intersections
allow for naturally reducing speeds and reduce conflicts with what is called as traffic



103
claming. These intersections have elevated surfaces with textures that prevent high
speeds. They also have elevated pedestrian crossings that allow pedestrians to be
seen from a distance. The vehicles are also compelled to slow down because of the
elevation.

Pedestrian pavements are designed to be barrier free to allow persons with
musculoskeletal problems to move safely. Pavements are designed so that they are
not very high and they do not have steps that force people to go up and down at
every intersection. If the pavement was better designed, the pedestrian would have
been on the pavement and perhaps would not have been hit by the car.

Speed and red light cameras on roads automatically catch violators of speed and
red-light regulations. Good enforcement by policing can also work, but we cannot
expect in a civil society everyone to be policed all the time. We need to identify
better ways to protect our people.

During the crash

Seat belt wearing could have prevented the car driver being thrown against the
wind screen.

The car driver could have been protected with a laminated windscreen.

If the car had an air bag system all the facial injuries of the driver could have been
prevented.

The youth could have avoided or reduced the impact of head injury if he was
wearing a helmet.

The pedestrian may have avoided a fracture if the car had a pedestrian friendly
front.

After the crash:

A crowd gathered. Fortunately, the victims were put in a car almost soon after and
they were able to reach a hospital in time. Some argue that ambulance should have
been called for. The boy may have been saved if an ambulance was available. On
the other hand in reality if the crowd had waited for an ambulance, it could have
taken longer time to get the youth to the hospital. Scientifically, any comfortable
vehicle is sufficient to transport the injured. It is not necessary that a vehicle called
be an ambulance. It would be useful if the drivers in the vehicle or someone the
crowd knew how to carry the patients and help reduce the discomfort and pain and
further damage of patients by splinting the injured areas and applying pressure
bandage to reduce bleeding.

Merely transporting patients to hospital does not work. The youth had a head injury
which could not be treated for want of a neurosurgeon in time. The hospital back up
for trauma patients must be comprehensive enough to take care of all trauma cases
promptly. There is a need to upgrade trauma services in existing general hospitals.



104

The pedestrians injuries were not appropriately treated. That led to his fracture
going in for non-union. He had to give up treatment for want of resources. If he had
social security his treatment could have been completed and despite losing a job
he would not be a dependent physically impaired person. Ideally he should not
have lost his job and he should have gone back to his job after treatment.

Looking back at the whole tragedy how many people other than the car driver were
negligent:

1. The politicians and the policy makers who allowed the kind of
intersections and pavements to be made. For the kind of transportation
policies and the vehicles manufactured.

2. The engineers that designed the infrastructure and the intersection.

3. The designers and manufacturers of the vehicles that were involved in
the crashes.

4. The licensing authorities that allowed such vehicles to go on road.

5. The police enforcement agencies that could not enforce the compliance
of red lights at intersections and enforce use of seat belts and helmets.

6. The transport, health and communication authorities that could not
ensure pre-hospital care and safe transportation of the patients.

7. The hospital authorities that could not ensure timely neurosurgical
intervention.

8. The labour office that could protect the job of an injured patient.

9. The social security services that could not provide relief in long term
treatment.

10. Society at large that compels people to travel to work. If the car driver
was working near his home he would not have to drive to work.

11. The father for buying such a dangerous birthday gift and not ensuring
that he was supervised or wearing a helmet.

12. The school and college teachers who did not lay adequate emphasis on
safe walking and driving on the roads.

13. The youth for driving fast and not wearing a helmet.

14. The pedestrian for not walking on the pavement.

15. The car driver of course for jumping the red light.



105

There may be many that are not listed here. It all depends on how far you are
prepared to foresee. So many negligent and a precious life lost!

The bottom line in safety is to look beyond negligent behaviour and look at all
aspects that influence safety. We need to look beyond, well beyond, behaviour
modification.

Bibliography:

1. Mohan D, Varghese M: Injuries in South-East Asia Region priorities for
Policy and Action, 2002 World Health Organisation.

2. Haddon W, Baker SP, Injury Control In: Clark DW, MacMahan B, editors
Preventive and Community Medicine, Boston: Little Brown and Company
1981.

***
Courtesy: Road Safety Digest Vol.15, No.2, 2005

































106
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***