SAFETY INCENTIVES

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CHAPTER 9

• SAFETY INCENTIVES

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SAFETY INCENTIVES

• The backbone of some safety programs
• Lacking in others

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EFFECTIVENESS OF INCENTIVES IN REDUCING
INJURIES IS NOT CONFIRMED

• Safety programs have been known to be successful
  without incentives

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Is there a formal safety incentive program?
Differences are not statistically significant!!
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AN EFFECTIVE INCENTIVE

• Reinforces good or safe behavior
• Alters poor or unsafe behavior

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TEST OF AN INCENTIVE

• Do workers work differently because of the
  incentives?
• Incentives must generate interest

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WHO IS TO BE MOTIVATED BY THE INCENTIVES?

• Workers
• Crew members
• Supervisors
• Project Managers
• Safety Personnel

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HOW OFTEN SHOULD REWARDS BE GIVEN?

• Cannot seem too remote (one year frequency)
• Weekly or Biweekly may be appropriate (
  especially for crews)

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How often are individual worker safety awards
given?
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TYPE OF WORK TO BE REWARDED

• of lost time injuries? (rare events)
• of first aid injuries? (can be frequent
  events)-watch for non-reporting
• near misses noted? (will be noticed if
  recorded) Using near misses is not advisable!!!
• Safe Work Behavior

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Are incentives based on the incidence of injuries
or safe behavior?
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Are incentives based on injury or both behavior
and injury?
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VALUE OF INCENTIVES

• Progressive (accrues in value with growth)
• Must capture the imagination of the workers

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Are Incentives Based on keeping the I.R. below a
prescribed level?
Large Projects
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Is safety performance a criterion for giving
raises to workers?
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DURATION OF INCENTIVES

• Longer life for progressive incentives
• Gimmicks have a short (6 months) life

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CHANGES ARE NEEDED IN INCENTIVES

• Maintain interest level
• Six months may be the life of some incentives

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UNSAFE BEHAVIOR

• Cannot be tolerated
• Negative reinforcement (dismissal for flagrantly
  unsafe worker behavior)

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INCENTIVES FOR FOREMEN

• Greater value than for workers
• Not too much!
• Focus on recognition

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INCENTIVES FOR SUPERINTENDENTS

• Significant value
• Based on a longer time frame
• Need not be changed frequently

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Superintendent Incentives

• May be based on lost time injuries instead of
  medical case injuries (but this not advised)
• Safeguards may have to be in place to avoid abuses

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• Do others (not just workers) qualify for safety
  incentives?

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• Are field supervisors evaluated on safety
  performance?

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Project Safety Incentives

• Incentives for contractors
• Allocation of costs for injuries is common

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The Case of Mr. Travis

• President frequently on the projects
• Historically, his focus was on profits and
  production
• Bonuses based on production/profit
• EMR rose to 1.43

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Changes by Mr. Travis

• Focus changed to safety
• Bonuses were changed to consider safety as a
  significant factor

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Impact of Mr. Travis

• Safety performance improved dramatically
• In time, EMR dropped to .45