Behavior-based safety and a strengthened safety culture
Strengthen your safety culture with Behavior-Based Safety (BBS).
With Behavior-Based Safety (BBS), we help organizations build a strong safety culture where accidents are reduced and the workplace becomes safer. By focusing on safe behaviors and leadership behaviors, we transform risky situations into safe work procedures, backed by 120 years of research in behavioral psychology.
The result? Long-term improvements that enhance both safety and productivity.
From Reactive to Proactive: A Strategic Shift
Many organizations take a reactive approach to safety, which means that measures are only implemented after an accident has occurred. BBS fundamentally challenges this approach. By identifying and reinforcing safe behaviors before an accident occurs, we can instead work proactively. This strategy not only reduces risks but also builds a culture where safety is a natural and integral part of every employee’s daily routine.
+80%
Increased safe behaviors in everyday life
-50%
Fewer workplace accidents and incidents
Our Process
Behaviour Design Group’s four-step SAFE model is a systematic approach that makes the work of strengthening safety culture simple and practical. By creating the right conditions and using positive reinforcement, the SAFE model helps organizations increase safe behaviors in everyday work.
The SAFE model is based on the science behind BBS and translates that theory into practical steps that make a difference. Each step in the model is designed to foster long-term safe behaviors that drive a strong safety culture. The result is a workplace with minimal accidents and risks, where safety is a natural part of daily work.
Step 1: Study
The first step involves identifying high-risk work tasks and clearly defining the safe behaviors we always follow in those situations.
1. Identify high-risk work tasks or high-risk areas
2. Define safe behaviors
3. Define risky behaviors
This assessment provides a basis for understanding which behaviors have the greatest impact on safety. In this phase, we use the organization’s accident statistics to ensure that we are focusing on the right risks.
Step 2: Analyze
In this phase, we conduct an analysis of safe and risky behaviors to understand what influences them today. We do this through careful behavioral measurements that provide a clear picture of the current situation regarding how often safe and risky behaviors occur. Based on the analysis, we remove barriers and create the right conditions for safe behaviors to increase. We do this by:
Involve employeesto foster a sense of participation and ownership.
Develop a concrete action planthat includes measures to improve the conditions.
These measures are often organizational, structural, and communicational, and ensure that employees have the right tools, time, and knowledge to engage in safe behaviors. This creates a solid foundation for increasing safe behaviors in the next step.
Step 3: Change
Now the behavioral change begins. The focus is on 1) encouraging and reinforcing safe behaviors, and 2) reducing and discouraging risky behaviors.
This requires leaders who are equipped with the right tools to promote safe behaviors among their employees. In this step, we therefore train leaders in Safe Leadership, a program based on research that provides them with the skills to guide their employees toward a stronger safety culture.
Behavioral metrics are collected digitally and visualized in real time to track and reinforce the development of safe behaviors. We offer a digital dashboard that facilitates monitoring at both the team and management levels.
Step 4: Impact Assessment
The final step involves measuring and evaluating the impact of the work using the SAFE model, as well as planning for its continued implementation.
We compile both leading indicators (Safe Behaviors) and lagging indicators (Accidents/Incidents) to evaluate the initiative as a whole.
We also frequently use a validated safety culture survey that we developed in collaboration with Prevent and the RISE Institute. The survey provides a qualitative measure of how the safety culture has been strengthened.
Impact assessment provides a clear picture of the results of the change and lays the groundwork for continued improvement of the safety culture.
12
Months of work
80%
Increase in safe behaviors
Read about our safety initiatives and the BBS project in collaboration with Södra Cell.
Frequently Asked Questions
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How does Behaviour Design Group ensure that we achieve the desired results in our organization?
To help you achieve your desired results, we will focus on reinforcing the behaviors that have the greatest impact on those results. Our approach measures and tracks behavioral changes over time, while also ensuring that the key performance indicators directly linked to your goals improve as a result of these changes. This means we will be able to track progress through concrete metrics throughout the entire process.
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How does Behaviour Design Group tailor its services to our needs?
We begin each new project by thoroughly familiarizing ourselves with the specific assignment. We have well-established methods and processes designed to help us gain a deep understanding of your unique situation and current conditions, and to define the goals you wish to achieve. We implement OBM based on our SAFE model, where the first phase—Study—involves identifying the key situations and behaviors that have the greatest impact on the results we aim to achieve within your organization. You can read about completed projects in the Case section.
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What industries does Behaviour Design Group work with?
Our method—Organizational Behavior Management (OBM), including its branch Behavioral-Based Safety (BBS)—can be applied in all industries and situations involving people and behavior. That is why our range of services and our experience are so broad. We work on everything from increasing sales, improving collaboration, and fostering innovation in business, healthcare, and education, to enhancing safety in the construction and manufacturing industries.
Do you have any more questions?
Contact us and we'll be happy to help.