Industrial based behaviour based change.
In the manufacturing industry, there are many machinery involved and more often employees are encouraged to practice safe workplace practices so as to avoid injury on themselves as well as their co-workers. The employees are also expected to ensure their own safety by wearing protective clothing such as overalls, helmets, dust coats, safety boots as well as firmly fastening any loose clothing and hair. In doing this, the DO IT method would be very useful in ensuring safe practices. I will therefore analyse safe behaviour in a manufacturing industry through adoption of safety gear (McSween, 2003)
The method starts with D for Define whereby employees are notified of their expected behaviour as well as behaviour that may be risky. In such a scenario, the expected behaviour of employees is well spelled out while at the same time risk behaviours being discourage. In this scenario, the best fitting definition would be that of explaining why failing to wear safety gear would cause injury to themselves. In doing this, employees are encouraged and explained on the need to wear protective gear so as to protect themselves from injury. The define part of it is very important since the employees get to familiarize themselves with risky behaviour while working industry while at the same time getting to know why protective gear is important.
Observing is the second step in the method. At this stage, a checklist may be adopted. Whereby the employees’ behaviour before adopting a strict policy on protective gear was adopted and after the policy was adopted. The checklist consists of step by step analysis of the whole adoption of keeping the industry safe. It may divided in portions whereby at stage one all employees are encouraged to wear helmets and the resulting behaviour observed for a period of time before moving on to another observable behaviour. The information obtained from each observable behaviour can be recorded on the checklist with an indication whether it is safe or risky as well as giving general comments on the same issue. The supervisors are particularly useful in this observation process since they are the overseers of the adoption of safe behaviour.
The third step is I for Intervene. At this stage interventions are made from the observations made. These observations offer valuable information of behaviour based feedback. At this stage interventions may be based on what has been observed. For instance a protective gear that may have been adopted may actually not be offering the expected protection meaning that the employees are still exposed to an unsafe working environment. The employees may also have reported certain issues that they did not like about the safety program. It is therefore prudent to intervene by introducing corrective behaviour or coming up with strategies to rectify such anomalies. At this stage it would also be favourable to put up banners as well as signs that promote wearing of safety gear. The message carried by such a banner should be persuasive so that employees are encouraged from adopting safe behaviour.
This final stage is T for Test. this stage is important because it provides supervisors as well as management with information so as to refine as well as replace a behaviour change intervention. This stage enables a review of the measures that have been in ensuring workplace safety. This stage offers an analyses on how effective the methods adopted for ensuring workplace safety have worked so far. This is by analysing employees’ behaviour as well as the opinion they have about the adoption of safety gear. Has it worked them or they feel there is need for more to be done in that field. This enables management to gauge whether safety has been ensured as well as know what other issues with safety gear can be adopted.
The method is therefore important in that it provides all stakeholders with an opportunity to air their views in matters to do with ensuring a safe work place by adoption of safety gear.
References
Geller, E. S. (n.d.). Behaviour and its Consequences: The Theory of the Behaviour-based Approach. The Management of Safety: The Behavioural Approach to Changing Organizations. doi:10.4135/9781446219805.n3
McSween, T. E. (2003). Values-Based Safety Process. doi:10.1002/0471721611
