Most accidents and injuries can be prevented by making changes to get rid of hazards. Most dangerous situations can be fixed permanently with physical or mechanical changes. The idea behind "behavioral safety" is that workers should behave safely, instead of the company taking care of dangerous situations.

Some companies blame workers, instead of making work safer. If your company talks about workers having "at-risk behavior," remember that the behavior wouldn't matter if the company eliminated the risk, or hazard.

Of course, workers should work safely and companies shouldn't pressure workers for production to where it jeopardizes safety. The problem with behavioral safety programs is that no one can be safe 100% of the time. Anyone can make a small mistake or be distracted. Even if you are safe all the time, you can get hurt because of someone else's mistake.

Examples of behavioral safety:
  • Tell workers that they have to "stay out of the line of fire," instead of getting rid of the "fire" with safeguards or better design.
  • Tell workers that they have to use "proper body position," instead of using work stations that reduce physical stress and can be adjusted for different body types.
  • Give workers personal protective equipment, instead of getting rid of the hazard. Examples include giving workers ear plugs instead of lowering the noise level; masks instead of better ventilation or enclosing the chemical fumes; gloves instead of a less toxic chemicals.