Culture-Based vs. Behavior-Based Approach
		SafetyIMPACT! is a culture-based, systems-driven approach to reducing worker injuries. Culture-based approaches differ from behavior-based safety in several important ways. The basic philosophy of a culture-based approach is that to improve workplace safety you must change how the population thinks about safety, and draw a connection between a safe workplace and corporate strategies, values, and goals. The basic philosophy of behavior-based safety is that through behavior modification—rewarding safe behavior while gently discouraging unsafe behavior—an organization can train workers to be more careful. First, SafetyIMPACT! starts with two simple premises: 1) No one wants to get hurt, and 2) No system was designed to deliberatly hurt workers. If these statements are true, then no amount of behavior modification will improve the safety of the workplace, and substantial gains in worker safety can only be achieved when the root cause of the system flaw that created the injury has been corrected. Culture-based approaches seek to foster an environment where workers believe injuries and close calls are critical opportunities to learn about system failures which can be used to prevent further injuries elsewhere. Behavior-based safety, however, often inadvertently drives injuries and close calls underground as workers fear the loss of incentives; while the injury rates seem to go down, it is merely because workers are underreporting injuries.