Behaviour-Based Safety for a stronger safety culture
Strengthen the safety culture with Behaviour-Based Safety (BBS).
With Behaviour-Based Safety (BBS), we help organisations build a strong safety culture that reduces accidents and creates a safer work environment. By focusing on safe behaviours and behaviour-based leadership, we turn high-risk situations into safe ways of working. Our approach draws on 120 years of research in behavioural psychology.
The result? Long-term improvements that enhance both safety and productivity
From Reactive to Proactive: A Strategic Change
Many organisations take a reactive approach to safety, meaning that measures are implemented only after an accident has occurred. BBS fundamentally challenges this approach. By identifying and reinforcing safe behaviours before an accident occurs, we can instead work proactively. This strategy not only reduces risks but also builds a culture where safety is a natural and integral part of every employee’s daily work.
+80%
Increased safe behaviours in everyday work
-50%
Fewer workplace accidents and incidents
Our Process
Behaviour Design Group’s four-step SAFE model is a systematic approach that makes the process of strengthening safety culture simple and practical. By creating the right conditions and using positive reinforcement, the SAFE model helps organisations increase safe behaviours in their everyday work.
The SAFE model is based on the science behind BBS and translates theory into practical steps that make a difference. Each step in the model is designed to foster lasting safe behaviours that drive a strong safety culture. The result is a workplace where accidents and risks are minimised, and safety is a natural part of daily work.
Step 1: Study
The first step involves identifying high-risk situations and clearly defining the safe behaviours that must always be followed in those situations.
1. Identify high-risk work procedures or situations
2. Define safe behaviours
3. Define unsafe risk behaviours
This assessment lays the groundwork for understanding which behaviours have the greatest impact on safety. In this phase, we use the organisation’s accident statistics as a starting point to ensure that we focus on the most relevant risk areas.
Step 2: Analyse
In this phase, we conduct an analysis of safe and risk behaviours to understand what currently influences them. We do this through careful behavioural measurements that provide a clear picture of the current situation regarding how often safe and risk behaviours occur. Based on the analysis, we remove barriers and create the right conditions for safe behaviours to increase. We do this by:
Involving employees to foster participation and a sense of ownership.
Developing a concrete action plan with measures that will improve the conditions.
These measures are often organisational, structural, and communicative, and ensure that employees have the right tools, time, and knowledge to engage in safe behaviours. This creates a solid foundation for increasing safe behaviours in the next step.
Step 3: Forward
Now the behavioural change begins. The focus is on 1) activating and reinforcing safe behaviours, and 2) reducing and discouraging risk behaviours.
This requires leaders who are equipped with the right tools to promote safe behaviours among employees. In this step, we therefore train leaders in Safe Leadership, a research-based programme that provides them with the skills to guide their employees towards a stronger safety culture.
Behavioural metrics are tracked digitally and visualised continuously to monitor and reinforce the development of safe behaviours. We offer a digital dashboard that facilitates monitoring at both the team and management levels.
Step 4: Evaluate
The final step involves measuring and evaluating the impact of the initiative using the SAFE model, as well as planning for its continued implementation.
We compile both leading indicators (Safe Behaviours) and lagging indicators (Accidents/Incidents) to evaluate the initiative as a whole.
We also frequently use a validated safety culture survey that we developed in collaboration with Prevent and the RICE Institute. The survey provides a qualitative measure of how the safety culture has been strengthened.
The evaluation provides a clear assessment of the impact of the change initiative and lays the groundwork for continued improvement of the safety culture.
12
Months of work
80%
Increase in safe behaviours
Read about our safety efforts and the BBS project in collaboration with Södra Cell.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the difference between behaviour-based safety (BBS) and Organisational Behaviour Management (OBM)?
Behaviour-Based Safety (BBS) is an approach within OBM where we focus on safety culture by promoting safe behaviours and thereby measurably reducing the number of accidents and near misses. BBS follows the same change process as OBM, with the difference that the goal is specifically to improve safety and strengthen safety culture. Our BBS projects also involve creating favorable conditions for safe behaviours by analysing and influencing organisational, competency-related, and structural factors.
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Does Organisational Behaviour Management (OBM) work?
Organisational Behaviour Management (OBM) is a practical and 100% evidence-based approach that focuses on identifying and changing behaviors that produce desired results. We have helped hundreds of companies and organisations change behaviours related to areas such as sales, customer service, safety, and employee engagement—and have yet to encounter a single case where OBM has not worked.
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Does Behaviour Design Group offer organisational development services?
Yes—all of our services are related to organisational development, so this is our umbrella term for everything we do. Under “Our Services,” you’ll find leadership and employee development, change management initiatives where we help you achieve your strategic goals, organisational culture transformation, and training programs. If you’re unsure which option is best for you, don’t hesitate to reach out—we tailor all our solutions to our clients’ needs.
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What is Organisational Behaviour Management (OBM)?
Organisational Behaviour Management (OBM) is a concrete and 100% evidence-based approach that focuses on identifying and changing behaviours that produce desired results. By identifying and defining the behaviours that produce desired results, we can accurately create better conditions and reinforce these behaviours, while simultaneously reducing unwanted behaviours that hinder those results. Through behavioral analysis, leaders can learn to influence the motivation behind these behaviours.
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How does Behaviour Design Group ensure that we achieve the desired impact in our organisation?
To achieve your desired results, we will reinforce the behaviours that have the greatest impact on those results. Our method measures and tracks behavioural changes over time, while also monitoring whether the key performance indicators directly linked to the goals are improving as a result of those behavioural changes. This means we will be able to track improvements through concrete metrics throughout the entire process.
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How does Behaviour Design Group tailor its services to our needs?
We begin new projects by familiarizing ourselves with the specific assignment at hand, and we have well-developed methods and approaches designed to help us gain a deep understanding of your particular situation and current conditions, as well as to define the goals you wish to achieve. We implement OBM based on our SAFE model, where the first phase—Study—involves identifying the key situations and behaviours that have the greatest impact on the results you want to achieve within your organisation. You can read about completed projects in the Case section.
Do you have any more questions?
Contact us and we'll be in touch.