A Safety Program That Integrated Behavior-Based Safety and Traditional Safety Methods and Its Effects on Injury Rates of Manufacturing Workers

The present research examines the effects of a complex safety program that combined Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) and traditional safety methods. The study was conducted in an automobile parts plant in Mexico. Two sister plants served as comparison. Some of the components of the safety programs addressed behaviors of managers and included methods for tracking and ensuring that all components of the safety intervention were systematically carried out. Seven years of safety data indicate that the program was very effective in reducing injuries to workers with reductions of 92% for the index of first-time occupational visits, 99% reduction in los-t-time case rate, and 96% reduction in severity rate. Arguments are made that BBS programs should expand to include behaviors that are distal to the behaviors of line workers and thus improve its acceptance and effectiveness.