Panelists debated at the American Society of Safety Engineers Safety 2017 conference in Denver the extent to which employees are part of the problem or solution in reducing workplace injuries. There are two main philosophies about reducing workplace injuries: behavior based safety and human and organization performance, and they are somewhat at odds with each other. According to E. Scott Geller, alumni distinguished professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech, behavior-based safety involves self-motivation and encouragement to point out safety hazards to other employees. Todd Conklin, senior adviser, environmental safety, health and quality, at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, says that in the human and organization performance philosophy, employers seek input from workers on what they need to do their job safely to improve safety practices. Read the entire article by Kristen Beckman for Business Insurance here.
