Behavioral Based Safety - Case Study Example

Behavioral-based safety basis ignores the importance of repairing the machines and also improving the conditions and the equipment that would help reduce the cases of accidents and injuries at work. The programs of behavioral-based safety focus on the employees as the main cause of accidents and injuries at workplaces. In this, many employees blame their employees for most of the accidents at workplaces, in most cases; however, behavioral-based safety targets improve the safety behaviors in the workplaces through the use of employee involvement. It involves identifying the employee's practices and behaviors that would help in reducing the risk of injury.

Management accountability and engineering control both affect safety issues at workplaces, managers should understand that the safety of their employees also fails in their hands. They should understand that they have the responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. Management should also ensure that the organization has adequate resources focused on ensuring that the organization meets the safety and health implementation strategies and objectives. With this in mind then the management is accountable to all its employees regarding health and safety. Engineering control also affects safety issues at the workplace; regular fixing of the engineering systems in an organization reduces the incidences of accidents and injuries at the workplace. This fixing of the engineering systems helps improve the hazardous conditions and equipment that help eliminate the potential causes of accidents.

This paper concurs with the critics of behavior-based safety, the critics of the BBS state that the employees are not always responsible for the accidents and injuries as the advocates put it. Injuries and accidents in the workplace mainly rise from unsafe conditions with bad designs, the failure of the organizations to provide the safeguards required, and the failure of the organizations to take the best preventive measures. This proves that even the managements have the responsibility to take care of their employee's health. The critics of the employees state the truth; this is because the injuries at workplaces do not entirely rise from employee's carelessness, in most cases the accidents arise from the points above.

The best way to handle safety issues is for all sides taking responsibility, that is the employees should take care of their health and safety; the employers should also take responsibility for their employee's safety. The employers can take responsibility by first improving the work environments; they should then ensure that the engineering types of equipment are in the best safety conditions. The working environments should also be designed properly, or redesigned for those that were not designed properly. In cases, this fails then protective equipment and safety equipment should be provided. The employees, on the other hand, should take care of their health; to achieve this they should ensure they use the protective equipment the organization provides. Working together, both the employer and the employee is the most effective method to ensure safety. Read More