Association for Behavior Analysis International

On the surface, many industrial organizations have what look like good safety records; logging months, often years without accidents. But in many cases those accident-free streaks are based, at least to some extent, on luck. In most cases unsafe behaviors still exist at all levels of many organizations, therefore creating exposure. Until organizations adopt behavioral strategies to ensure the consistency of safe practices, they will continue to gamble with safety. This tutorial will review the critical role of leader behavior in safety improvement. The role of leaders has historically been poorly defined and is most typically described in vague terms such as �making safety a priority�, or �creating a safety culture�. In addition, few contingencies exist for leaders to engage in the high-impact behaviors that will lead to improvement. This tutorial will provide a behavior analysis of six common safety leadership practices that are ineffective. Examples of more effective leader behaviors will be presented along with a discussion of creating contingencies to support those behaviors.

This tutorial is suitable for introductory level and above. The tutorial will be presented in much the same way it would be presented to organizational leaders so audience members will see how behavior analysis is presented and used in applied settings.