Organizational cases on behaviour-based safety (BBS) in India

Abstract

This article includes original organizational cases and field observations prepared during behaviour-based safety (BBS) training interventions in a period of 12 years between 1997 and 2009 across multinational organizations (such as petroleum, engineering, automobile, cement, power, chemical and pharmaceutical) as part of an ongoing national action research survey of BBS in India including 1751 executives and 713 workers in 64 organizations. During BBS training interventions, the trained participants used a checklist of critical unsafe/safe behaviours to collect observation data from their respective workplaces with the help of behaviour observation and feedback process. It is a study, first of its kind in India on behavioural safety, which indicates that there are thousands of at-risk behaviours existing at every industrial organization, and BBS is becoming popular in assisting Indian organizations to create a safe work environment. It is assumed that the information gathered from this longitudinal nature of the research and the robust sample size shall be considerably useful for human resource/safety professionals, although they would be implementing the concept and process of BBS for reduction of accidents and promoting safe behaviours for developing injury-free culture in their organizations. The findings of this survey would hopefully enrich the theoretical and pragmatic foundations of behavioural safety approach.

Keywords:

• BBS
• cases
• Indian
• observation
• organizations
• unsafe/safe behaviour