PEER FACTOR
Behavior-Based Safety

Peer Factor is a behavior-based safety process that uses positive peer feedback to gain improvements in the performance of identified critical safe behaviors, and two-way peer guidance feedback on identified critical at-risk behavior.  The feedback is generally both verbal and charted. 

Peer Factor relies on input from the workforce to identify safety issues specific to their craft.  Members of the workforce then conduct safety observations and provide positive peer guidance and feedback as a means to reduce the number of at-risk behaviors.

Observation and feedback provide a powerful set of messages to the workforce about the commitment of management to safety at the site.  It sends the message that the interest in safety is “real time” at the shop-floor level where the exposure exists, not in some theory or at management headquarters.   

The Peer Factor Process 

Identify Critical Behaviors

The task of identifying the core cluster of critical behaviors is carried out by involving employees from each craft or department at the site. 

Based on employee input, a steering committee, primarily composed of wage-roll personnel, formulates a safety index from the critical behaviors identified by the employees.

Identified behaviors are defined in operational terms, which guide or “calibrate” observers as they perform the safety observation process.

The safety index is used to train observers.  Trained observers use the safety index to measure the rate work groups perform critical behaviors either safely or in an at-risk manner. 

Continual Two-way feedback

Observers should speak with observed personnel immediately after the observation.  This allows co-workers to know which critical behavior they are performing safely and which ones they are performing in a way that puts them at risk for injury.

Two-way feedback can reveal barriers to safe performance.  Comments from the observed worker are recorded on the data sheets to be reviewed for later action.

Removing Barriers to Continuous Improvement

Using comments and observation data, site personnel can target areas for improvement.  Management then has a tool by which to become proactive in managing safety issues at the site.