Behaviour-Based Safety for a stronger safety culture
Strengthen the safety culture with Behaviour-Based Safety (BBS).
With Behaviour-Based Safety (BBS), we help organisations build a strong safety culture that reduces accidents and creates a safer work environment. By focusing on safe behaviours and behaviour-based leadership, we turn high-risk situations into safe ways of working. Our approach draws on 120 years of research in behavioural psychology.
The result? Long-term improvements that enhance both safety and productivity.
From Reactive to Proactive: A Strategic Change
Many organisations take a reactive approach to safety, meaning that measures are implemented only after an accident has occurred. BBS fundamentally challenges this approach. By identifying and reinforcing safe behaviours 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 work.
+80%
Increased safe behaviours in everyday work
-50%
Fewer workplace accidents and incidents
Our Process
Behaviour Design Group’s four-step SAFE model is a systematic approach that makes the process of strengthening safety culture simple and practical. By creating the right conditions and using positive reinforcement, the SAFE model helps organisations increase safe behaviours in their everyday work.
The SAFE model is based on the science behind BBS and translates theory into practical steps that make a difference. Each step in the model is designed to foster lasting safe behaviours that drive a strong safety culture. The result is a workplace where accidents and risks are minimised, and safety is a natural part of daily work.
Step 1: Study
The first step involves identifying high-risk situations and clearly defining the safe behaviours that must always be followed in those situations.
1. Identify high-risk work procedures or situations
2. Define safe behaviours
3. Define unsafe risk behaviours
This assessment lays the groundwork for understanding which behaviours have the greatest impact on safety. In this phase, we use the organisation’s accident statistics as a starting point to ensure that we focus on the most relevant risk areas.
Step 2: Analyse
In this phase, we conduct an analysis of safe and risk behaviours to understand what currently influences them. We do this through careful behavioural measurements that provide a clear picture of the current situation regarding how often safe and risk behaviours occur. Based on the analysis, we remove barriers and create the right conditions for safe behaviours to increase. We do this by:
Involving employees to foster participation and a sense of ownership.
Developing a concrete action plan with measures that will improve the conditions.
These measures are often organisational, structural, and communicative, and ensure that employees have the right tools, time, and knowledge to engage in safe behaviours. This creates a solid foundation for increasing safe behaviours in the next step.
Step 3: Forward
Now the behavioural change begins. The focus is on 1) activating and reinforcing safe behaviours, and 2) reducing and discouraging risk behaviours.
This requires leaders who are equipped with the right tools to promote safe behaviours among employees. In this step, we therefore train leaders in Safe Leadership, a research-based programme that provides them with the skills to guide their employees towards a stronger safety culture.
Behavioural metrics are tracked digitally and visualised continuously to monitor and reinforce the development of safe behaviours. We offer a digital dashboard that facilitates monitoring at both the team and management levels.
Step 4: Evaluate
The final step involves measuring and evaluating the impact of the initiative using the SAFE model, as well as planning for its continued implementation.
We compile both leading indicators (Safe Behaviours) 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.
The evaluation provides a clear assessment of the impact of the change initiative and lays the groundwork for continued improvement of the safety culture.
12
Months of work
80%
Increase in safe behaviours
Read about our safety efforts and the BBS project in collaboration with Södra Cell.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Which organizations benefit most from a BBS program?
BBS is particularly well-suited for organizations where employees regularly encounter high-risk work tasks, such as in construction, manufacturing, transportation, energy, and other industries with strict safety requirements. The method is relevant for organizations that want to shift from a reactive approach to safety to one that prevents accidents and near misses by systematically promoting safe behaviors.
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How do you identify the behaviors that affect the risk of accidents and incidents?
We begin by analyzing the organization’s accident and near-miss statistics and identifying high-risk work tasks and situations. Together with managers, supervisors, and employees, we then define which safe behaviors need to increase and which high-risk behaviors need to decrease. The behaviors are formulated so that they are specific, relevant, and observable in everyday situations.
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How are employees involved in the BBS initiative?
Employees help identify risky situations, define safe behaviors, and shape the response. Their experience with day-to-day operations is crucial for ensuring that the solutions work in practice. This involvement also fosters commitment and a sense of ownership regarding safety efforts.
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How are observations and measurements conducted?
Behavioral assessments are based on clearly defined safe behaviors in selected work tasks. We first conduct a baseline assessment and then monitor progress throughout the initiative. Behaviors can be measured in terms of both frequency and quality. The method is tailored to the specific conditions of the organization to ensure that the assessment is simple, accurate, and can be integrated into daily safety work.
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What role do managers and supervisors play in reinforcing safe behaviors?
Managers and supervisors are responsible for monitoring safety efforts and ensuring that the appropriate organizational conditions are in place. Through training in behavior-based leadership, they gain practical skills in encouraging and positively reinforcing safe behaviors. They also contribute by serving as clear role models in safety efforts themselves and demonstrating that safety is a priority in both words and actions.
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Can BBS be integrated into our existing systematic workplace safety efforts?
Yes. BBS complements systematic workplace safety efforts by providing a structured focus on the behaviors that affect safety in everyday work. Work methods, observations, and follow-up are adapted to the organization’s existing procedures, roles, and systems. In this way, BBS becomes an integral part of safety efforts, rather than a separate initiative.
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How do you measure whether the BBS initiative actually reduces accidents and incidents?
We monitor both leading and lagging indicators. Leading indicators show how safe and risky behaviors change over time, while lagging indicators may include accidents, near misses, and other relevant safety outcomes. By monitoring both, we can assess whether the behavioral change is having the desired effect on operational safety.
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What is the difference between behaviour-based safety (BBS) and Organisational Behaviour Management (OBM)?
Behaviour-Based Safety (BBS) is an approach within OBM where we focus on safety culture by promoting safe behaviours and thereby measurably reducing the number of accidents and near misses. BBS follows the same change process as OBM, with the difference that the goal is specifically to improve safety and strengthen safety culture. Our BBS projects also involve creating favorable conditions for safe behaviours by analysing and influencing organisational, competency-related, and structural factors.
Do you have any more questions?
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