I wanted to add some factual evidence to your story about the positive reinforcement that went on in the company you spoke about where the man reached into a moving machine over a safety sign that said do not reach into moving equipment and his arm was caught and his manager called him dumb--yet his negative behavior was being supported through productivity goals.

This exact thing happened at my last job and was one of the reasons I quit. I worked for a manufacturer and was hired because of my safety background, was appointed as the safety meeting leader and was in charge of work comp and other HR and payroll. I did make a small difference in the way the safety meetings were designed, but that was about it. I changed the format a little as a first step.

We had two reportable accidents in the year I was there. The one that pertains here is where a male supervisor who had been with the company probably over 10 years stuck his hand into a moving machine to add a piece of tape to a board that was being routed, his little finger was nearly cut off--he had surgery and was expected to return to work. My take on this was that he had done this many, many times although there is a sign on the machine that states not to do that...I think he was comfortable in sticking his hand in the machine, but this last time he was caught. Production was important and productivity curves were posted in the lunchroom every week, people were also being laid off due to the recession and common scenario, when the company struggles accidents increase, our company was text book on what you teach.

This accident was troubling, I would not wish that on anyone, but the most troubling aspect of this accident was that when the man was released to come back to work without restrictions, light duty was not offered, he was off for probably 12-14 weeks, I was told, as I did payroll, that he was going to be suspended for three days without pay for not following the safety rules because he was a supervisor and was paid a higher salary and knew better than to stick his hand in a moving machine. So, not only did he almost loose a finger, he was going to be further punished by the company for not following safety rules, when in fact as you say, management was allowing him to operate his equipment this way due to emphasis on productivity. I could not believe my ears when I heard he was going to be penalized without pay. You may use this story if you want to, I am no longer affiliated with that company.

Needless to say, this is one reason I chose to pursue different employment, I knew that company would never understand positive reinforcement, so I was impressed with what you said in your presentation that certain behaviors are reinforced when we actually do not want them to be.

Thank you,

(Name withheld upon request)
Workers' Compensation
& Safety Specialist

We had two reportable accidents in the year I was there. The one that pertains here is where a male supervisor who had been with the company probably over 10 years stuck his hand into a moving machine to add a piece of tape to a board that was being routed, his little finger was nearly cut off--he had surgery and was expected to return to work. My take on this was that he had done this many, many times although there is a sign on the machine that states not to do that...I think he was comfortable in sticking his hand in the machine, but this last time he was caught. Production was important and productivity curves were posted in the lunchroom every week, people were also being laid off due to the recession and common scenario, when the company struggles accidents increase, our company was text book on what you teach.

This accident was troubling, I would not wish that on anyone, but the most troubling aspect of this accident was that when the man was released to come back to work without restrictions, light duty was not offered, he was off for probably 12-14 weeks, I was told, as I did payroll, that he was going to be suspended for three days without pay for not following the safety rules because he was a supervisor and was paid a higher salary and knew better than to stick his hand in a moving machine. So, not only did he almost loose a finger, he was going to be further punished by the company for not following safety rules, when in fact as you say, management was allowing him to operate his equipment this way due to emphasis on productivity. I could not believe my ears when I heard he was going to be penalized without pay. You may use this story if you want to, I am no longer affiliated with that company.

Needless to say, this is one reason I chose to pursue different employment, I knew that company would never understand positive reinforcement, so I was impressed with what you said in your presentation that certain behaviors are reinforced when we actually do not want them to be.

Thank you,

(Name withheld upon request)
Workers' Compensation
& Safety Specialist