Why Innovative Behavioural Safety®?

Regularly the question comes up why our concept is called “Innovative Behavioural Safety” rather than „Behavioural Based Safety (BBS) “?
Of course, the method of BBS contains a lot of successful methods which help to motivate people to work more safely. Our concept Innovative Behavioural Safety® uses these methods as well.However classical BBS is not able to ensure a comprehensive change in behaviour on the way to sustainably safe behaviour.

Why?

Behaviour Based Safety

The answer lies in the underlying scientific theory of BBS. Methods used in BBS relate mainly to the theory of “behaviourism”. Founder of this theory was the psychologist B.F. Skinner.
His theory was mainly based on studies of the behaviour of animals, which Skinner tried to motivate to react in a certain way by using a mixture of rewards, disregard and sanctions. Skinner transferred these insights 1-to-1 onto the behaviour of people.

This led to an image of humans with the focus very much on functionality. The idea is to observe behaviour and then to intervene correctively. Focal points are rewards, recognition, sanctions, communication und being a role model.

To emphasize once again: all these methods are very successful up to a certain point and are also used in our concept.

Cause of accidents according to BBS

However the decisive factor is missing in classical BBS and that is the “unconscious wrong behaviour patterns“.

Innovative Behavioural Safety®

The exploration of unconscious psychological actions started at the beginning of 1960 with German scientists like Benedikt, von Hebenstreit, Winfried Hacker, Walter Volpert und Christian Callo.

Questions which were asked in this research and would lead to the relevant insights were e.g.:

• How come that a number of people will perceive the same situation very differently?”
• How are our movements steered when we grab a glass? Why do we grab safely and why not past the object?

One result of this research was the so called „Theory of Action“, which opened new insights and pathways not just in occupational safety but also in process plants, environmental safety and quality.

These are:

1. Wrong or faulty perception of danger
2. Missing or wrongly placed optical signals
3. Wrong use of guiding vision while walking, rising or moving
4. Wrong and unconscious control of movements
5. Wrong execution of reflex movements
6. Wrongly coordinated work processes and mistakes in routine work.

Based on these insights the consulting and training programme Innovative Behavioural Safety® has been developed.

Innovative Behavioural Safety® supplements proven methods of BBS with a behavioural training, in which leaders and shop floor employees learn:

• why these unconscious behaviour mistakes happen.
• how we can switch them off successful.
• how we can use the function of unconscious behaviour to work more safely as well as qualitatively better.

The result is not just a substantially safer but also a much more conscious and overall improved work behaviour.

Until today the consulting and training concept „Innovative Behavioural Safety® “has been successfully implemented in over 140 companies and 500 sites globally. The accident plateau has been removed and sustainably safe behaviour has been achieved.

Naturally these successes can’t be achieved by simply providing information or by holding talks.

Testimonial of a client:
„The skills learned in this training are like riding a bike: once you have acquired them you will never forget them again “

Bruno Schmäling
CEO
Institute Bruno Schmaeling Consulting Group