Advanced Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) Steering and Coaching

Advanced Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) Steering and Coaching is a 2-week advanced course for those who launch, run or revive a BBS process on site. You set up a steering committee, select and coach observers, analyze critical acts with the ABC model, remove barriers and measure whether the process works, and you take back a BBS Process Charter. Mercury Training Center delivers this advanced BBS steering and coaching course.

About This Course

Many BBS processes stall after launch: checklists pile up, observers lose interest, the same barriers return and nobody can show an effect on incidents. To follow the course you should already take part in a BBS process or lead frontline HSE work. You practice through committee simulations, coaching role plays and analysis of real observation data.

Who It Is For

• HSE specialists who coordinate an observation and feedback process across a site.
• Steering committee members who review observer data and choose remedies.
• Frontline supervisors who coach peers and remove barriers on the shop floor.
• Operations and maintenance heads who sponsor the process and fund barrier removal.
• Data and reporting staff who turn observation cards into trends and dashboards.

This course is not for readers new to BBS who first need its core ideas, who are better served by a one-week introductory BBS course, nor for those who need a broad occupational protection framework, who suit a general HSE management course.

Competencies You Will Build

• Committee Set-Up: you form a steering committee with hourly workers and HSE, leadership and engineering representatives, and agree its charter.
• Observer Selection and Coaching: you choose observers, train them and coach them to influence peers without formal authority.
• ABC Analysis: you trace antecedents and consequences of a critical act and pick the consequence that will change it.
• Barrier Removal: you turn observer comments into barrier lists, owners and closure dates.
• Data Quality and Trends: you check observation data for bias and read trends by area, task and shift.
• Effectiveness Measurement: you link observation rates, safe-act percentages and barrier closure to incident trends.

What You Will Be Able to Do

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• Using a readiness assessment, decide whether a site is ready for BBS and what must change first.
• From task analyses and incident records, build a critical acts checklist for one work area.
• Given a set of observation cards, separate data quality problems from real trends and report both.
• Using the ABC model, design reinforcement and consequence changes for two recurring at-risk acts.
• From observer comments, prioritize barriers and set an action log with owners and dates.
• Given a stalled process, diagnose the causes of fatigue and write a relaunch plan.

Course Content

Day 1: BBS Principles and Readiness

• Traditional Versus Behavior-Based Approaches in Industrial Settings
• Psychological Drivers of At-Risk Acts and Risk Perception
• Climate Versus Culture Diagnostics for Site Readiness
• Readiness Assessment Before Launching a BBS Process
• Legal, Ethical and Union Considerations in Observation Processes

Day 2: Steering Committee Design

• Steering Committee Membership: Hourly Workers, HSE, Leadership and Engineering
• Committee Charter, Roles and Decision Rules
• Meeting Cadence and Review of Observer Comments
• Communication Channels Between Committee and Workforce
• Linking the Committee to Existing HSE Arrangements

Day 3: Critical Acts and Checklists

• Task Analysis for Identifying Critical Acts
• Incident and Near Miss Records as Checklist Sources
• Observable, Measurable Definitions for Each Critical Act
• Checklist Field Testing and Revision
• Observation Frequency and Sampling Plans by Area

Day 4: Observer Selection and Training

• Observer Selection Criteria and Voluntary Participation
• Observer Training Plan and Calibration Walks
• Anonymous, No-Name Observation Rules
• Recording Co-Worker Suggestions and Barriers
• Observer Evaluation and Refresher Sessions

Day 5: Coaching Conversations

• Peer Coaching Without Formal Authority
• Positive Reinforcement and Specific Praise After Observations
• Corrective Feedback Conversations for At-Risk Acts
• Handling Defensive Responses and Resistance
• Supervisor Coaching Routines on the Shop Floor

Day 6: ABC Analysis and Consequences

• Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence Model Applied to Recurring Acts
• Soon, Certain and Positive Consequences Versus Delayed Ones
• Why Signs and Posters Rarely Change Acts on Their Own
• Recognition Schemes That Reward Participation, Not Low Numbers
• Natural Consequences and Work Design Changes

Day 7: Barrier Removal

• Barrier Categories: Equipment, Procedures, Time Pressure and Layout
• Barrier Log With Owners, Priorities and Closure Dates
• Engineering and Maintenance Involvement in Fixes
• Feedback to Workers on Closed Barriers
• Escalation of Unresolved Barriers to Sponsors

Day 8: Data, Bias and Dashboards

• Observation Card Data Entry and Coding
• Observer Bias, Pencil-Whipping and Data Quality Checks
• Trend Analysis by Area, Task, Shift and Contractor
• Leading and Lagging Indicators for a BBS Dashboard
• Digital Observation Apps and Data Privacy Rules

Day 9: Sustaining and Relaunching

• Signs of Process Fatigue and Their Causes
• Management Review of BBS Results Using Plan-Do-Check-Act
• Sponsor Routines and Visible Support From Site Heads
• Contractor and New Starter Integration
• Emergency and High-Pressure Situations: Debriefs and Lessons Learned

Day 10: Practice Building the BBS Process Charter

• Exercise: Steering Committee Simulation on Real Observer Comments
• Exercise: Coaching Role Play for a Recurring At-Risk Act
• Exercise: ABC Analysis and Consequence Plan
• Exercise: Dashboard Review of a Stalled Process
• Completing the BBS Process Charter for Your Site

Case Studies and Exercises

These are suggested activities.

• Case study: a refinery's observation cards drop sharply after the first year; you diagnose the fatigue and decide which parts of the process to relaunch.
• Case study: a construction site records high safe-act percentages while falls continue; you test the data for bias and redesign the checklist.
• Exercise: a food plant's observers report the same guarding barrier for months; you build the barrier log and escalation route.
• Exercise: a logistics depot's supervisors avoid feedback conversations; you run coaching role plays and set a supervisor routine.

What You Take Back

The BBS Process Charter is the document you complete for your own site during the course. In your first month back, you use it to confirm committee membership with your sponsor, train the first observers and start the barrier log in one area.

• A steering committee charter, roles and meeting cadence.
• A critical acts checklist and observation sampling plan.
• An observer selection, training and coaching plan.
• A barrier log and a BBS dashboard with leading and lagging indicators.

Quick Answers (FAQ)

What should I know before advanced BBS steering and coaching training?

You should already know the basic ABC model and have taken part in a BBS or observation process, or lead frontline HSE work. Experience with incident data helps when you build checklists and dashboards.

How does advanced BBS steering and coaching differ from an introductory behavior-based safety course?

It is for those who run the process rather than learn its ideas: committee set-up, observer coaching, barrier removal, data quality and relaunching a stalled process. Introductory courses explain the principles and basic observation and feedback skills in one week.

Why do behavior-based safety processes fail after launch?

They usually fail when observations become a numbers game, reported barriers are never fixed, feedback turns into blame or leaders stop showing interest. Workers then stop filling cards honestly and the data no longer reflects real work.

What do I take back from Advanced Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) Steering and Coaching?

You take back the BBS Process Charter for your site: a committee charter, a critical acts checklist, an observer training and coaching plan, a barrier log and a dashboard.

For Your Manager

After the course, the team member can set up and run a BBS steering committee, select and coach observers, analyze recurring at-risk acts, drive barrier removal and measure the process with reliable data. They return with a BBS Process Charter for the site, first used to confirm committee membership and launch or relaunch observations in one area.