Enhancing Safety With BBS Obs

Enhancing Safety Outcomes

with an Observations Program

Enhancing Safety Outcomes

with an Observations Program

www.synaptor.com.au | © Synaptor Pty Ltd 2012

► What is an Observations Program?

► Why have one?

► What’s wrong with existing approaches?

► How can we do better?

► What are the benefits?


What is an

Observations Program?


Behaviour-based Safety Observations Programs are a

type of Behaviour-based Safety

tool.

Behaviour-based Safety

concepts originated with the

work of Herbert William

Heinrich in the 1930s.

Although his work has recently

been scrutinised, two concepts

continue to be useful:

• The Incident Triangle

• Incidents are often the

result of human behaviour


The Incident Triangle

A useful framework for

describing and categorizing the

consequences of a particular

incident.

Moving towards the top of the

triangle, the number of

incidents decreases but their

severity increases.


Objectives An observations program is designed to do two things:

1. Capture data from the bottom of the Incident Triangle

(Identify and document uncontrolled hazards.)

2. Encourage key behaviours: identifying workplace hazards and having

conversations about safety with coworkers

Record, learn,

and act here.


A Typical Program A typical observations program:

Document the result on

paper cards.

Cards collected weekly.

Data entered manually into

database.

Data analysed for trends monthly.

Have a safety conversation.

Observe an unsafe act or

condition.

Trends inform management

action.


Why have one?


Prevent Incidents

Every sound HSE management system includes a process to investigate

incidents and their causes. Incident reports only deal with situations after they

have occurred and the costs have been incurred. In addition, incident

investigation cannot help companies learn from situations in which no

reportable incident has occurred.

Unsafe acts and conditions (uncontrolled hazards) have the potential to cause

incidents in the future. Recording, learning from, and acting upon workplace

hazard observations can therefore help prevent serious incidents from

occurring.


Promote Positive Conversations

An effective safety conversation is a two-way discussion that provides both

participants with a better understanding of:

• The work being done and the controls that are in place

• Developing and implementing any additional controls that may be required


They Work

“Up to 5 years of injury data from 73 companies, drawn from a target

population of 229 companies who implemented behavior-based safety,

were examined. Comparisons of pre- to post-initiative incident levels

across groups revealed a significant decrease in incidents following the

behavior-based safety implementation. Effect sizes were estimated

from the average percentage reduction from baseline. The average

reduction from baseline amounted to 26% in the first year increasing to

69% by the fifth.”

Krause, T.R., Seymour, K.J., Sloat, K.C.M. Long-term evaluation of a

behavior-based method for improving safety performance: a meta-

analysis of 73 interrupted time series replications. Safety Science.

32(1), 1-18.

“Data that span 20 years are presented to show the long-term impact

on recordable incidents, lost-time cases, and direct costs of injuries.

The implementation was associated with an 81% decrease in

recordable incidents, a 79% decrease in lost-time cases, and a 97%

savings in annual workers' compensation costs over an eight-year

period. An interview with the vice president of the refinery is presented

to highlight the process's influence on the refinery's safety culture.”

Myers, W.V., McSween, R.E., Medina, R.E., Rost, K., Alvero, A.M. The

implementation and maintenance of a behavioral safety process in a

petroleum refinery. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management. 30(4), 285-307.

Several studies have demonstrated that behaviour-based safety programs,

including observations programs, can reduce incidents and associated

costs.


What’s wrong with

existing approaches?


Delay Between

Observation and Action

A recorded observation of an unsafe act or condition is of little benefit

without action to prevent the potentially dangerous incidents it may cause.

In a typical paper-based observation system, there is a substantial delay

between the time an observation is made in the field and the time that an

appropriate individual can act on that information.

This lack of immediacy opens a window during which the unsafe act or

condition, despite being identified, could result in an incident with

consequences to the organisation.


Duplication of effort

Data from cards must be

transferred manually to a database

or spreadsheet, resulting in lost

time and extra expense.

This is essentially a duplication of

effort, as individuals in the field

have already recorded the details

of observations.


Culture of Compliance

Workers rarely receive feedback regarding their

observations and the associated actions taken.

As a result, many organisations suffer from a ‘culture of

compliance’, in which employees submit observations

because they are required to do so, not because they

are personally invested in the outcomes.

Such observations frequently reflect a focus on meeting

a quota, rather than on identifying true unsafe acts and

conditions and on having quality safety conversations.


One-way Communication In a typical paper-based observations program, information flows from

isolated individuals in the field to a central location.

This concentrates critical safety information in the hands of a few who are

often unable to act in a timely and effective manner to control a myriad of

hazards identified in geographically separated sites.

An uncontrolled hazard identified in one location by one individual may

expose others at that site to risk. It is inefficient to send information about

that hazard to a single individual in another location and to wait for

resolution. A better solution would inform others exposed to the risk about

the hazard as well.

Field staff fill out paper

cards.

Cards collected weekly.

Data entered manually into

database.

Data analysed for trends monthly.


How can we do

better?


Intelligent use of New

Technology

Web, cloud, and mobile technologies have matured to the

point where they can be used to deliver robust tools for

managing HSE risk.

Synaptor Observations leverages these technologies to

deliver a radically innovative approach to conducting

observations in the workplace.


Observations via Mobile App

Individuals in the field use a mobile

application to make observations

using a simple step-wise process.


Secure Database

Observations are synced to your

secure database in the cloud.


Communication to the Field

Team members are notified that a

new observation has been made at

their site.


Manage and Report

Supervisors can manage and

report on live observations data

using the Synaptor web application.

For example, after taking action to

control a hazard, they can mark the

corresponding observation as

closed-out.


Close the Loop

Status updates to observations are

communicated to devices in the field.

Team members can use a mobile

app to see live, interactive maps of

the observations made on their sites.

Observations are colour-coded

according to status, providing

powerful insight about a site at a

glance.


What are the

Benefits?


Safety Leadership

Demonstrate safety

leadership to clients and

regulators: live reports and

statistics indicate a robust

system for identifying

workplace hazards and

consultation with the

workforce.


Manage in the Field

Get supervisors back into the field

where they can make a difference:

live reports on observations data

are available on any internet-

connected device.


Reduce Paperwork and Costs

Reduce the HSE paperwork

burden: observations are

automatically synced to a secure

database.

Save money and eliminate

inefficiencies by entering data once

– in the field.


Manage Risk in Real Time

Manage site risks in real time: data

from the field is available to

supervisors and management

moments after being submitted.

The average time from making an

observation in the field until an

organisation acts on that

information is cut from weeks to mere seconds.


Eliminate ‘Culture of Compliance’

Updates to observations are visible on

mobile devices immediately. For example,

when a supervisor takes action to close

out an observation, this is clear to the

individual who submitted it.

As a result, individuals are more likely to

value their contribution and submit quality

observations.

All members of a team are also

automatically notified when a new

observation has been made on their site.

This keeps the team informed about the

risks to which they may be exposed as

they are identified.


Send Site-specific Notifications

Automatically communicate site-specific

safety information to teams in the field:

team members are notified when a new

observation has been made at their site.

Site-specific information can also be

pushed to individuals as they approach

the site.

For example, an individual approaching

an LNG plant could be automatically

sent this: “Welcome to XYZ LNG Plant.

Please register with reception. There

are no drills planned for today. The site

safety officer is Dave Smith and his

number is 0404 0000.”


Benefit from Rich Data Geo-tagging and Maps: Synaptor

Observations automatically records the

location where an observation was made.

Synaptor Observations uses this location

data to show users live, interactive maps

of observations made on their sites. An

entire workforce can familiarise

themselves with site hazards before

carrying out work.

Photos: Observations in the Synaptor

system can include photos. Photos add

significant explanatory power to textual

descriptions, and help field staff and

supervisors alike appreciate the risks on a

site.


Want to Learn More?

Learn more, or try it out for free:

http://promos.synaptor.com.au/synaptor-observations-free-trial-vid-pres/

Documents

Enhancing Safety With BBS Obs