A Look at Behavior-Based Safety Program Effectiveness: A Qualitative Study of Participants’ Perceptions of Safety Program Effectiveness in a Bayer CropScience’s Cottonseed Delinting Plant

This qualitative study sought to examine the effectiveness of a behavior-based safety program at a Bayer CropScience’s Cottonseed Delinting Plant. The study included multiple qualitative methodologies included case study, focused ethnography, narrative inquiry, and photo-elicitation. The manuscript used the three-paper method.

The initial article included a review of behavior-based safety (BBS) and how it has evolved since its conception and what constitutes its applicability with safety performance. The second article showed the methods and results of a photo-elicitation study (PEI) to better understand participants’ perception of safe and at-risk areas in their work environment using both photo-elicitation and narrative inquiry. Moreover, the final article in Chapter 3 was conducted as a focused ethnographical case study that examined the effects of interpersonal communication, trust and care amongst employees in the workplace using BBS, and the social effects of positive reinforcement.

This study contributed to the body of knowledge surrounding BBS and its effectiveness at reducing safety related incidents in the workplace. The qualitative methodologies brought forth a different approach other than that of the traditional quantitative methodologies typically used to address BBS performance. However, this approach provided breadth and knowledge surrounding the social constructs that contribute to fostering a strong and effective safety culture in the workplace using a behavior-based safety (BBS) program.