Occupational Safety and Liability - Case Study Example

CASE STUDY #1, HRD 394 Occupational Safety & Liability1) What is behavior safety?Behavior based safety refers to the scientific application of behavior change to the real world issues. It is a set of programs that monitor an employee’s behavior as the cause of almost all workplace accidents. This safety technique focuses on what people do analyses why they do it, and then comes up with ways to control and restore what people do (Austin, 2000). A successful Behavior Based Safety uses science to study behavior change and rules out assumptions or personal feelings.

According to the case study, Behavior Based Safety focuses on the behavioral initiatives an employee recruits to ensure they are safe at the workplace. The safety technique and set programs hold the employees accountable for their safety. An employee gets blamed for incidents or accidents that occur when it comes to this form of safety technique.1) Does engineering controls and management accountability affect safety issues?Engineering controls is defined by the act of creating ways to fix and handle matters pertaining safety.

The technique prevents hazards from occurring and re-occurring. In engineering controls, an employee applies ways of protecting themselves from harm, for example, wearing protective gear while at work or handling equipment with extra care. Lack of engineering controls leads to poor safety and exposes the employee to great risks making them vulnerable to fatal and disabling accidents.Management accountability is defined as the participation of an organization’s management level in ensuring safety to its employees.

The management of an organization needs to intervene in its employee’s safety by providing protective gear as well as health insurances. The involvement of management in employee safety plays a significant role as it reduces cases of accidents or incidents at the workplace. On the other hand, absence of the management in the implementation of employee safety leads to poor working conditions. Lack of participation of the management causes ignorance of safety precautions and measures hence making it poor.2) Should one concur with advocates of BBS or critics of BBS?

I support advocates of Behavior Based Safety. The safety of an employee mostly lies on the personal decision an employee makes to protect their health. An employee bears more knowledge on their health and with or without the presence of the management safety precautions, safety lies on the personal decision of the employee (Hickman, 2007). Before an employee joins an organization, he or she ought to have trained in safety and health precautions under certain fields to maintain and enhance safety in the workplace.

The only purpose an employer holds in employee safety is identifying what needs to be provided and providing it, prevention and safety depend on the employee.3) Given both sides what is the best way to handle?Both the management and employees should participate in engineering controls to prevent hazardous incidents from occurring at the work place. With Behavior Based Safety programs, an employee should be able to take control and responsibility while performing duties to improve safety and reduce accidents or incidents at work.

On the other hand, the management of a company should also support and participate in handling the welfare of their employees (McSween, 2003). Managers should provide employees with the necessary protective gear, create and maintain a safe working environment, and oversee the employees in order to maintain a safe and healthy working environment. When both teams work together, the organization achieves optimal safety.ReferencesMcSween, T. E. (2003). Value based safety process improving your safety culture with behavior based safety (2nded).

Hoboken, N.J: Wiley-Inter science.Hickman, J.S. (2007). Impact of behavior based safety techniques on commercial motor vehicle drivers.Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board. Austin, J. (2000). Handbook of applied behavior analysis.Reno. Nev.: Context Press.