Are you feeling frustrated that your safety programs aren’t delivering the results you want? There is a better way – and it starts with you and your leadership team.
Here’s a real-life example: a chemical plant decided to try a behavior-based approach. They taught their leaders the basics of behavioral science through six half-day workshops, where consultants explained scientific concepts of behavior and facilitated activities where leaders could practice pinpointing, measuring, and improving both behaviors and results. Then, each leader picked a problem to solve using what they learned.
Leaders in the company completed a total of 60 projects to improve their workplaces…fixing faulty alarms, increasing compliance with wearing personal protective equipment, and improving operations processes.
The results? They went from having 5 injuries per year to just 1 injury per year.
That’s an 80% improvement!
…plus, they saved about $95,000 each year in injury costs alone.
So…why did it work?
Here’s what made this approach different:
- Leaders learned why people behave the way they do through the science of behavior
- Everyone could choose to fix the problems that mattered to their area
- Leaders worked on real projects, not just theory
- The program looked at both direct safety issues (like wearing protective equipment) and indirect ones (like improving maintenance procedures)
The benefits went beyond safety. Leaders used their new skills to solve all kinds of problems:
- Reducing equipment alarms that people often ignored
- Making meetings more effective
- Improving maintenance procedures
- Better communication between teams
There was one catch – when key leaders left the company, safety numbers started slipping until new leaders were trained. This shows that good safety leadership isn’t a one-time thing. It needs to be part of how you run your business every day.
If you’re a leader looking to improve safety in your organization, consider this approach. Instead of just implementing another safety program, invest in teaching your leaders the science of behavior change. When leaders understand why people do what they do, they can create better solutions that actually work.
The bottom line? Safer workplaces start with smarter leaders.
And smarter leaders start with understanding behavior.
Want proof? The company in this study got back $6 for every $1 they spent on the program. That’s the kind of return on investment that should get any leader’s attention.
Remember: Good safety isn’t about catching people doing things wrong. It’s about creating an environment where it’s easy to do things right.
Read the full article here.
