The Client and Its Challenge
A steel coil process plant with 100 employees needed to improve its existing safety program. The client’s approach to safety needed to support the company’s move to team-based operations (TBO), which involved the creation of self-managed work cells. More experienced with traditional supervisor-worker structure, some employees were concerned about transferring traditional supervisory responsibilities, such as safety, to new employee teams.

The Risk Consulting Solution
The client engaged Marsh to adapt the behavior risk improvement (BRI) process for the company’s new team-based structure. The new TBO structure eliminated supervisors and required hourly employees to manage themselves. Not only was BRI consistent with that strategy, but it provided a well-defined safety program that could help facilitate the transition to self-management.

All employees were trained on the BRI process so individuals could understand their role in the safety program. A select group of employees were nominated for the BRI core team and given additional training on behavioral principles and how they can be applied in the work environment. Working with Marsh consultants, this subset of employees evaluated injury data, identified at-risk behaviors that were related to reported injuries, and then designated replacement safe behaviors. The team also developed scorecards for tracking desired behaviors.

Employees were also trained as observers and learned how to note safe and unsafe behaviors on scorecards, provide positive reinforcement to employees actively employing the new safe behaviors, and produce a daily score that tracked the organization’s progress.

The BRI process focused on three distinct behaviors at a time. After the group met each safety target, that behavior was retired and replaced by another safety target.

More than half the employees are now participating as observers. Noting behaviors on the scorecard takes only minutes each day and does not keep employees from performing other operational duties. Most importantly, it keeps everyone engaged in the safety process.

Results
After four months, observations, measurement, and feedback are a part of daily operations. Routine unsafe behaviors have been replaced by safe behaviors — 26 previously at-risk behaviors are at or near 100 percent sustained performance for the safe alternative.

The BRI approach fit well with the client's move to team-based management. In addition to supporting safety programs, some of the teams are using the BRI process to address behaviors related to quality outcomes.