Behaviour Based Safety (BBS) is a scientific strategy to positively acknowledge a safe workplace by understanding and regulating dangerous behavioural patterns. A BBS system focuses on how people work, examines why they operate the way they do, and implements an intervention approach to prevent harmful behaviour.
The value of a BBS programme stems from its practical approach to eliminating the most prevalent cause of workplace injuries and accidents: "human error." This is done by developing an understanding of the difference between work as imagined and work as done (WAI/WAD)
Humans making mistakes is common in many workplaces, especially among front-line workers, who may overlook the finer points of safety when doing repetitive or unique tasks. Their decision making will be based on the context of their environment. As a result of their increased expertise, these workers are more likely to take unsafe shortcuts that often go undetected. This behaviour can set in motion a risky trend that eventually leads to an incident in their work area.
An effective safety environment must create engaged stakeholders, prompt two-way communication and quick action or effective feedback as to why action is delayed or not undertaken. The steps that BBS develops and the context that it creates are based on accurate scientific research and industry leading evidence based research.
