The term "behavior-based safety" has become quite popular among safety professionals, consultants, and members of safety steering committees. It’s commonly used to describe a proactive approach to injury prevention that focuses on at-risk behaviors that can lead to an injury -or on safe behaviors that can contribute to injury prevention. But beyond this general definition there seems to be much confusion or misunderstanding about behavior-based safety.
As evidence, I refer you to a June, 1996, article in Safety + Health titled, "Does Behavior-Based Safety Work?" and recent texts on safety management (one written by Rudy Yandrick titled Behavioral Risk Management, Jossey Bass, 1996; and another edited by Richard Lack entitled Essentials of Safety and Health Management, Lewis Publishers, 1996).