Lesson 4 - Health and Safety

Earlier, we briefly discussed accidents that are caused by either unsafe acts or unsafe conditions. Unsafe acts are associated with worker behaviour. Arguably, unsafe conditions are as well. Often it is undesirable behaviours that lead to unsafe conditions.

It is not unreasonable to believe that by improving behaviours we can improve safety,  hence the evolution of BBS. BBS can be defined as a process that creates a safety partnership between management and employees that continually focuses people's attentions and actions on theirs, and others', daily safety behaviour. BBS focuses on what people do, analyses why they do it, and then applies a research-supported intervention strategy to improve what people do.

One of the challenges in motivating workforces to reduce injuries is proving that the efforts taken to increase safety are having a positive impact. A reduction in injuries could be because of an excellent safety programme, or it could just be good luck.

Success = no accidents occur

Zero reportable accidents over a two-year period may sound positive, but it is not as exciting or immediately satisfying as knowing that a record volume of beer was brewed or packaged during a shift.

BBS tries to address this lack of positive feedback by measuring the number of safe behaviours observed over a short time frame, e.g. a week. It involves the observation of behaviours in the workplace by peers and managers and aims to reinforce safe behaviour positively. It also aims to re-educate unsafe behaviour rather than punish it.

Advantages of BBS include improved discussions and communications about safety in the workplace, with high levels of employee and managerial involvement. Prompt hazard identification and immediate corrective actions should occur.

Disadvantages sometimes cited include that it requires a significant and disciplined effort to do it correctly. It can be expensive, and not everyone subscribes to it.

However, some breweries around the world have made excellent safety improvements using BBS. Often, it is the more mature organisations, with existing low injury statistics, who have found BBS useful to achieve the next level – consultants pushing BBS may claim wider applicability.

The culture of any organisation, big or small, has a fundamental impact on how health and safety is managed. BBS is one way to improve this culture.

Safety culture is a fascinating topic. If you would like to explore this more, Wikipedia is a good place to start.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_culture.