Behavior Based Safety (BBS) began after re-search conducted by Herbert William Heinrich between (1886-1962), that led to the theory that 95% of accidents in the workplace are caused by unsafe behavior.

Over the years, BBS programs became popular, and organizations highly depended on them to improve safety performance. Unfortunately, in many organizations these programs often failed to become sustainable and provide the promised results. They focused on the number of observations as opposed to the quality of the observations. In some cases, they also resulted in issues with blaming workers and penalizing them for their unsafe behavior. Another common reason for failed BBS programs was in the deployment of the system, in some cases they were implemented with a bottom up approach, where there was minimal involvement and committment from management and leadership; it resulted in the program becaming just another initiative with no added value.

The objective of the project was to determine the gaps in the existing BBS program within Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). The second objective was to develop an in house program that improved safety performance by reducing safety incidents, improving safety culture, and achieving a pro-active mindset to safety issues.

The methods used in this study included:

  1. Researching and analyzing literature found on the World Wide Web.

  2. Visiting several field locations, and contractor companies, to engage with the frontline crew.

  3. Interviewing management from the organization and the contractor community.

  4. Review of case studies of companies that have implemented off the shelf or developed in house BBS programs.

  5. Reviewing the data gathered to prioritize findings and provide solutions.

Project Significance

The instigation of the project was due to an increase in repeated safety incidents and fatalities percieved to have been caused by unsafe acts, despite the number of observation cards being received. There was also a concern that the safety culture was not supportive to a more injury preventative environment.

Keywords:
operational safety, safety culture, bb program, database, human factors, workplace, communication, safety excellence, Upstream Oil & Gas, information
Subjects:
Safety, Human factors (engineering and behavioral aspects), Operational safety
Copyright 2019, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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