DOE BEHAVIOR-BASED SAFETY BEST PRACTICES WORKSHOP

Workshop Overview:

A DOE complex-wide “Best Practices Workshop on Behavior Based Safety" was hosted by and held at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) on September 17, 2002 in Berkeley, California.  Over 70 participants representing twenty-one venues attended the one-day conference.  This was followed by a breakout DOE BBS Topical Committee working group meeting the next day.

This workshop was an opportunity for DOE and contractor personnel (managers, supervisors, technical professionals and line employees) to gather together and share accident prevention best practices and innovative approaches for implementing the behavior based safety process in order to “take ISM to the next level.” 

Workshop speakers offered a variety of relevant perspectives, strategies and lessons learned from their experiences with developing, implementing and sustaining BBS at many of the DOE facilities.  Empowering employees to participate and make an impact in creating a safer workplace is one of the themes of BBS.   By applying the BBS process in concert with ISM, various DOE contractors have developed a climate of sustained safety excellence. Very positive feedback was received from attendees.

Workshop Program Agenda and Presenters -

• “Welcome to Berkeley Lab” (Sally Benson, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Deputy Lab Director)
• “Overview of Behavior” (Bob Waters, Department of Energy - EH)
• “BBS Successes and Lessons Learned” (Mike Duncan, Savannah River)
• “Sustaining Command Commitment to BBS” (Jim Lang, Argonne National Lab)
• “Implementation of a BBS Program” (Bowen Huntsman, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory)
• “Maturing the BBS Process” (Jim Kleinsteuber, Los Alamos National Laboratory)
• “Success With a Full Plant Implementation of BBS” (Chris Cantwell and Mike Hight, Pantex)
• “Employee Behavioral Safety Process” (Susanne Broussard and Bob Keen, DynMcDermott Strategic Petroleum Reserve Operations)
• “Hazards Control Department Injury/Illness Prevention Plan, Phase II” (Jim Vigus, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
• “Improving BBS Processes” (Bill Birbeck, Janice Sexon and Kam Tung, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Sites Represented/In Attendance – 

Ames National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory
Department of Energy Headquarters (EH)
Department of Energy Headquarters (SC)
Department of Energy Berkeley Site Office (BSO)
DynMcDermott Strategic Petroleum Reserve Operations
Fermi National Laboratory
Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory
Jefferson Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Oak Ridge national Laboratory
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Pantex
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Sandia National Laboratory
Science Applications International Corporation
Savannah River Site
University of California Office of the President Laboratory Administration Office

Workshop Presentation Highlights and Links to Handout Materials and Photos:

Welcome to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Sally Benson – LBNL)

• Overview of Berkeley Lab history, mission and demographics.
• "Good research needs both the genius to make new discoveries and the discipline to do it safely." (Quote from Lab Director Shank)
• LBNL management is committed to safety to reduce accident rates and improve the safety culture.  Management commitment is demonstrated by personally walking through lab space/facilities and supporting behavior-based safety initiatives in the Facilities Department and office environment.
• LBNL management is very interested in the outcome of the workshop and ensuing topical committee meeting.

Overview of the Behavior-Based Process (Bob Waters – DOE)

• BBS is the application of reinforcement theory to foster an increase in safe behavior.
• Eight principles of Behavioral Safety;
  • Feedback is essential to improvement
  • Behavior is the cause of accidents
  • Quality is built-in early in the process
  • Consequences motivate behavior
  • What gets measured, gets done
  • Conversations change organizations
  • Participation creates ownership
  • Synergy comes from people working together
• BBS is a method to use positive reinforcement to change at-risk behavior
• From 1990 to present, 14 DOE sites have implemented a BBS process and several sites have shared their successful results (lower TRC, ROI, Cost Index reductions, etc.)
• A DOE BBS Topical Committee was formed in 1997 as a resource to encourage BBS growth within DOE.

BBS Successes and Lessons Learned (Mike Duncan – SRS)

• BBS began in mid-1994 with Town Hall meetings. It took four years to change the mindset from seeing BBS as a “flavor/program of the month.” Everyone in the organization has a BBS role.
• Building management trust is critical to the success of BBS.
• Goal is to achieve monthly contact rate of 1.0 (every employee contacted each month for an observation).
• Lessons learned during implementation:
  • Focus on training versus implementation
  • Do not neglect first and second line managers
  • Maintain continued visibility of senior management
  • Distinguish between volunteerism and safety accountability
  • Do not cultivate the idea of “two safety processes” (safety and BBS)
  • Ensure there are dedicated resources to support BBS process
  • Under RIF conditions, lose trust if BBS is affected

Sustaining Command Commitment to BBS (Jim Lang – ANL)

• BBS should be seen as is a tool and part of a holistic safety process.
• Benefits from BBS reach beyond safety.
• Supervisor/manager involvement creates “safety performance measures’ in the performance evaluation process.
• The safety culture will evolve beyond the workplace into a 24-7 buy-in.
• Indicators of success:
  • Employees see safety as an attribute
  • More first aid cases are reported; same number or less occurrences
  • More issues are brought to management’s attention

Implementation of a BBS Program (Bowen Huntsman – INEEL)

• BBS piloted in 1992 and expanded into Total Safety Culture (TSC) process and called it Work Applied Safety Process (WASP).
• Biggest challenge was management buy-in; “soft and fuzzy” perception to a bunch of Navy veterans.
• TSC process succeeds if everyone understands their role.
• Recordable case rate has progressively declined from a high of 4.71 (1997) to 1.26 (2002).

Maturing the BBS Process (Jim Kleinsteuber - LANL)

• LANL’s Nuclear Materials and Technology Division’s ATOMICS program (Allowing Timely Observations Measures Increased Commitment to Safety) was developed to sustain ISM through a worker-based safety system by using the BST® Behavioral Accident Prevention process®.
• ATOMICS mission statement:  To continuously improve the health and safety of NMT workforce by reducing “at risk” behaviors through on-going behavioral observations. NMT wants to cultivate, nurture and maintain a workforce that embraces safety as a value.
• All NMT Division employees are involved. Management encourages observations as part of the daily work routine, as well as attends additional training on how to utilize the data.

Success With a Full Plant Implementation of BBS (Chris Cantwell/Mike Hight - Pantex)

• BBS implementation process began August 2001.
• Top level management support with long-term commitment at inception.
• Focused on engaging workers, union leadership and first-line supervisors in the beginning to develop the process from the ground up.
• Successes:
  • Improved accident investigation process
  • Improved machine guarding plant-wide
  • Improved ergonomics – use and understanding

Employee Behavioral Safety Process (Suzanne Broussard and Bob Keen - SPRO)

• Process began in 1994 and is in its eighth year.
• Experience fewer days lost and more productive time; Cost Index < 1.0, TRC < 1.0
• Lessons Learned:
  • Include supervisors and define their role up front; do not just focus on employees
  • Plan for the time away from work.
  • Need manager to visibly support BBS at the onset.
  • Need to squelch any perceptions of retribution.

"Hazards Control Department Injury/Illness Prevention Plan, Phase II" (Jim Vigus, LLNL)

• Department goal is to reach zero injuries in the department by implementing a Phase II program that includes a system involving a self-observation measurement tool for safe behaviors.
• Implementation process includes:
  • Education of expected safe behaviors and how to perform self-observation
  • Initiate use of the Safe Behavior Checklist in pilot groups
  • Analyze and provide feedback data
  • Reassess and modify as indicated
  • Initiate use of the Safe Behavior Checklist in the department
  • Analyze, provide feedback data, reassess and modify as indicated

Improving BBS Processes (Bill Birbeck/Janice Sexon/Kam Tung - LBNL)

• Work activities within the Berkeley Lab’s Facilities Department involve a mix of construction, maintenance and administrative services. The physical nature of their work, coupled with a maturing workforce creates challenges to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses through traditional safety systems.
• Seven years ago, a bold move by employees, coupled with strong management commitment and resources enabled them to launch “WOW” across the department.
• Funds invested into this initiative were recaptured (ROI) in 7 months from reduced accidents and Workers Compensation cost savings. A downward trend in accident rates has been occurring.
• Office environments are seldom viewed as hazardous workplaces, but they do have the potential for being unsafe. The majority of offices are equipped with computer workstations. Their set-up, coupled with how they are used, could lead to unnecessary musculoskeletal disorders, such as the case in the Computing Sciences’ Directorate.
• With the use of the BBS process (WOW),” employees are regularly reminded of their own potentially at-risk practices. This has resulted in eliminating unsafe ergonomic behaviors/conditions that could lead to disabling musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses.

Common Themes in Best Practices:

ü Train everyone within the target organization participating in the BBS process.

ü Focused on engaging workers, union leadership and first-line supervisors and managers in the beginning to develop the process from the ground up. BBS is applicable to managers as well as the workforce.

ü Management investment and support are critical; spend the money to have the BBS steering committee members attend facilitator training to spur team building and productivity.

ü Cultivate management support by educating them to take a long-term outlook to BBS.

ü Strive to achieve a monthly contact rate of 1.0 (every employee contacted each month for an observation).

ü If BBS cannot be implemented broadly, concentrate on high-risk operations.

ü Make the process as interesting and as fun as possible.

DOE BBS Topical Committee Meeting Executive Summary:

The purpose of the DOE BBS Topical Committee is to facilitate the interaction between DOE and DOE contractor personnel with common interests regarding BBS. It provides a forum to discuss BBS applications/lessons learned, share resources, produce reference materials/guidance and provide mentoring support to DOE facilities. On September 18th, 2002 the topical committee met in Berkeley, California. A recap of the original meeting minutes, prepared by Jim Kleinsteuber (LANL), are summarized below:

• BBS Handbook Project -
  • The DOE BBS Handbook draft is near completion. Mike Duncan and Suzanne Broussard will "do a thorough swipe of the handbook as a primary edit" by October 2,2002.
  • Individual sections within the document will be reviewed and modified by October 16, 2002 as follows: Section 1.0 (Bob Keen), Sections 2.0 & 3.0 (Ken Singleton), Section 4.0 (Jim Kleinsteuber), Section 5.0 (John Turek), Section 6.0 (Mike Duncan) and Section 7.0 (Don Van Acker).
  • Mike Hight will provide final technical editing of the handbook by November 4, 2002.

DOE BBS Topical Committee Meeting Executive Summary:

• DOE Topical Poster Presentation for Executive Safety Summit -
  • The Robert Card memo was discussed and how this Topical Committee will participate.
  • Dave Stadler is the Committee’s focal point for the summit; a non-competitive topical poster will be developed by the Committee with a possible theme:  “BBS = Tool in the Best Safety Practices Toolbox.”
  • Rick Jones is scheduled to present BBS to Assistant Secretary Beverly Cook in October (SPRO and INEEL are also on that agenda).
• Upcoming Presentation Calendar and Updating the BBS Website –
  • Committee members are asked to update any information on the BBS Website and/or forward any announcements or information about upcoming BBS presentations or hosting of BBS-related conferences to Jim Kleinsteuber at jimfk@lanl.gov

Point of Contact:

Jeffrey Chung, Ph.D	Phone: (510) 486-5818	E-Mail: JYChung@lbl.gov
Don Van Acker	Phone: (510) 495-2976	E-Mail: DVanAcker@lbl.gov
Robin Wendt	Phone: (510) 486-6012	E-Mail: RAWendt@lbl.gov
Edith Perry	Phone: (510) 486-7170	E-Mail: ELPerry@lbl.gov