Monitoring Workplace Behavior and Identifying Causes of Unsafe Employee Behavior

According to the information set out in the Letter of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated June 5, 2023, No. 15-3/10/V-8557, the most common type of incident involving group accidents, severe accidents, and fatal accidents occurring in the workplace is falling from height. Almost every second case in the construction sector occurs due to unsatisfactory work organization, manifested in allowing personnel to work at height who are untrained in safe work practices, as well as working without a work permit, and insufficient supervision by the responsible work manager over employees' compliance with HSE instructions. "At the same time, the 'human factor' lies at the core of 67.7% of accident causes..." For more effective safety management in the workplace, continuous monitoring of workplace behavior, identification of the causes of unsafe employee behavior, and assessment of hazardous conditions must be mandatory for managers at all levels.

As part of workplace monitoring by managers at all levels (auditors) regarding unsafe behavior and the assessment of hazardous conditions, JSC Energospecmontazh (hereinafter referred to as the Company) has introduced a procedure for Behavioral Safety Audits and Dialogues (hereinafter referred to as BSA).

BSAs are conducted to obtain objective evidence regarding the degree of compliance of the work being performed with mandatory safety requirements.

BSA is a mandatory part of the work of managers and line supervisors directly responsible for operational safety.

The objectives of BSA are:

• obtaining information about employee behavior;
• assessing employee actions for compliance with mandatory safety requirements;
• identifying factors that contribute to an increased likelihood of employee error;
• management support (motivation) for safe work methods and techniques;
• identifying and supporting positive practices.

Basic requirements for the BSA procedure:

• establishing and maintaining an optimal distance between the auditor and the observed person, taking into account the type and conditions of the work;
• focusing attention on the behavior and actions of the observed person rather than on surrounding objects;
• non-interference in the subject of observation, not disrupting the natural flow of the behavior being studied (except in cases of dangerous behavior);
• immediacy of perception — observing personally and what is happening at the current moment;
• objectivity — viewing observation results not as personal characteristics of the observed person, but as the nature of work performance within a given profession and (or) specific type of activity;
• impartiality — avoiding premature evaluations and generalizations.

BSA should be conducted in the following order:

Plan the BSA time in accordance with the approved schedule.

Visit the structural unit/construction site and observe employees using the observation categories specified in Section 5 of this Standard.

If the employee is working safely:

• comment on the employee's safe behavior, noting the efforts they have made to perform the work safely;
• discuss other safety issues, talk through potential hazards and ways to identify, warn, and prevent them;
• ask for the employee's suggestions on safe work performance;
• thank the employee for their time.

If the employee is working unsafely:

• if conditions/actions pose a threat to the life and health of employees at the current moment, it is necessary to suspend the work process or the operation of equipment/machinery and issue a Notice of Temporary Suspension of Equipment Operation/Work Performance (hereinafter referred to as the Notice) in the prescribed form;
• comment on the employees' safe behavior, noting the efforts they have made to perform the work safely;
• discuss the employees' unsafe action, draw attention to the consequences it could lead to, and ask how the work can be performed safely;
• secure the employees' agreement to perform work safely in the future;
• thank the employees for their time;
• if long-term corrective actions are needed to address observations, discuss them with the employee's immediate supervisor.

If deficiencies are identified based on the BSA results, the auditor must monitor their elimination at the audit site and, if necessary, initiate the planning and implementation of corrective actions. The absence of any action to eliminate identified deficiencies breeds formalism and employee distrust of management. Declared management commitment must be backed by concrete actions.

When conducting a BSA, the following methodology for conducting a conversation with the employee(s) should be used:

Conducting a conversation with the employee is a mandatory component of a BSA and consists of several stages:

• preparation;
• observation;
• dialogue.

Dialogues are recommended to be conducted considering the following provisions:

• to start a conversation, it is recommended to prepare an open-ended question;
• the conversation should only begin when it is safe to do so;
• confirmation should be obtained from the employee that it is a convenient time to stop the technological process and talk about safety;
• use eye contact during the conversation, introduce yourself, and ask the employee to introduce themselves;
• address the employee by name during the conversation;
• speak in a respectful and friendly tone;
• note at least one safe condition or safe action for each observed employee;
• ask open-ended questions (starting with "how, what, in what way, etc.") that relate to elements of the risk assessment model;
• do not ask specially prepared leading questions; if there is a need to do so, it should be indicated in the conversation;
• listen; a pause after each question is needed to allow the person to answer;
• look at the person as they speak, what they are talking about, and confirm that you understand the answer by acknowledging or repeating their words;
• ask interconnected questions that logically follow from the person's answers; continue asking questions until the answer to the main question is obtained.

You should avoid:

• a moralizing or dismissive tone, or accusations;
• inattention toward the interlocutor;
• observing only equipment and working environment conditions.

If the employee is working safely, the safe methods used by the employee should be recognized and noted:

• describe what was observed;
• say how this reduces the risk of injury;
• make a personal statement of appreciation;
• thank the employee.

If an employee performs an unsafe action, you should:

• comment on safe conditions/actions, noting the efforts the employee has made in accordance with safety requirements; - describe what unsafe behavior was observed;
• focus on the consequences of the unsafe action rather than the action itself;
• avoid the word "violation";
• ask how this increases the likely risk of injury and allow the employee to express their opinion;
• establish mutual agreement on the need for risk reduction actions;
• describe an alternative safe work practice, discuss correction or necessary corrective actions;
• personal safety: ask the employee to commit to using safe work practices and to take into account the correction or corrective actions;
• agree on how the correction or corrective actions will be taken.

If necessary, feedback should be provided to the employee's immediate supervisor:

• note the safe methods of performing the task by the observed employee to their supervisor;
• advise the supervisor on the safe practice agreed upon with the employee for changing conditions/actions in similar cases in the future.

This approach, based on defining tasks, setting goals, feedback, and effective measurement of safe behavior, can not only significantly improve safety when properly applied by the responsible person but also raise the level of safety culture, involve personnel in safety processes, establish developmental communication between managers at all levels and subordinate employees on safety issues, help minimize risks, improve production activities, and create an atmosphere of zero tolerance for violations of mandatory safety requirements by personnel.