Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, Oct 12, 2005
Universal Precautions (UPs), procedures to reduce the likelihood of accidental exposure to blood-... more Universal Precautions (UPs), procedures to reduce the likelihood of accidental exposure to blood-borne pathogens, were observed among seven Certified Nurse Anesthetists and one anesthesia technician during intravenous line procedures. After six weeks of base-line measures, nurses participated in training, goal setting, and feedback targeting hand sanitizing practices. Three weeks later immediate needle disposal was targeted. Hand sanitizing behaviors increased from a group baseline percentage of 24% to 65% during the intervention, and 52% during withdrawal. No significant increases in immediate needle disposal were found. Participants disposed of needles immediately 53% of the time during baseline, 58% during the intervention phase, and 45% during withdrawal. Non-targeted UP behaviors also increased as a result of the intervention: Recapping needles with on-hand increased from 45% during baseline to 61% during the intervention phases; removing gloves from inside out increased from 61% to 93%; and wearing gloves when discarding waste increased from 31% to 52%. Auxiliary behaviors such as nurse and patient interactions remained consistently high throughout the study.
Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, Dec 10, 2002
The term response generalization has been poorly defined and has, over many years, been a source ... more The term response generalization has been poorly defined and has, over many years, been a source of controversy for applied researchers who must grapple with results that show changes in behaviors outside of the response class targeted by their intervention. The present discussion seeks to differentiate response generalization from such terms as response covariation and induction. Instead, response generalization is redefined in the context of response classes and concurrent schedules of reinforcement.
Complacency in Process Safety: A Behavior Analysis Toward Prevention Strategies
Routledge eBooks, Dec 18, 2019
ABSTRACT Complacency inhibits safe behaviors of workers and managers. This is of concern to indus... more ABSTRACT Complacency inhibits safe behaviors of workers and managers. This is of concern to industries where process safety is needed to reduce the chance of catastrophic events such as fires and explosions. A behavioral definition of complacency is offered as trending behavioral variation that eventually exceeds safety boundaries. Behavioral processes that contribute to these patterns of variability are discussed and analyzed, including habituation, extinction, unprogrammed reinforcement, the avoidance paradox, rule-governed behavior, and competing contingencies of production. Solution strategies are suggested that address this analysis of behavioral variance, including pinpointing behavioral variation related to safety, changing training design, strengthening positive reinforcement for process-related behaviors of workers and management, reducing sources of unprogrammed reinforcement for dangerous variation, strengthening rule-governed behavior, and changing contingencies for managers and executives whose decisions affect behavior and process safety at many levels in the company.
Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, Feb 12, 2009
The effects of task clarification, self-monitoring, and performance feedback on cleaning behavior... more The effects of task clarification, self-monitoring, and performance feedback on cleaning behaviors of 9 lifeguards in 3 performance areas (vacuuming, lobby tidying, and pool deck maintenance) were investigated using an ABA reversal design at a county swim complex. A specific task in each performance area was used as a behavioral control. Following a task clarification meeting, the percentage of closing tasks completed each night was self-monitored through ratings by lifeguards and managers. Researchers conducted independent ratings of these completed tasks after the staff had left the building. Feedback data were posted daily using line graphs that displayed the percentage of tasks completed correctly from both self-report and researchers' data. Overall performance increased from an average of 45.1% correct behaviors during baseline to an average of 76.9% during intervention then reversed to baseline during follow-up to an average performance of 45.05%. ARTICLE Lifeguards who work intermittently may forget the detailed expectations required by the job. Ensuring that physical objects such as patrons' chairs and safety equipment (e.g., rescue tubes, backboards, first aid bags, breathing masks) on the pool deck are in their proper place and out of the walking paths of patrons may also reduce the possibility of injury, increase the speed and effectiveness of rescues in an emergency (Sattar, Jacobsen, Rahman, Cusack, & Rubino, 1992), and enhance consumer satisfaction (Andaleeb, 1998). Swimming pool lifeguards are often responsible for cleaning and repositioning objects after their shifts. Because of the high turnover rate and varied work schedules among lifeguards, task expectations should be made more explicit. Task clarification, defined by Crowell, Anderson, Abel, and Sergio (1988) as the "precise specification of behavioral components
Quality or quantity: using natural language processing as to assess safety checklist quality
Occupational injuries extract a large social and economic toll on workers and companies alike. Be... more Occupational injuries extract a large social and economic toll on workers and companies alike. Behavior-based safety (BBS) is a method for reducing workplace accidents by identifying at-risk behaviors and reinforcing safe behaviors. BBS requires the direct observation and collection of specific behaviors (pinpoints) by managers and coworkers to be effective. Observers record their findings on behavioral checklists that contain free- and fixed-response items. Literature shows that behavioral checklists are more effective when done at a measured pace, when responses to the checklists are varied, when greater context is given by free response, and when checklist items are more specific. While there has been previous research demonstrating reductions in injuries associated with the quantity of behavioral observations, there has not been much focus on quantitatively evaluating the quality of observation reporting and the impact on injuries. This study will investigate checklist quality through natural language processing, a technique which uses machine learning to accomplish human-like language processing, and assess how that quality moderates the relationship between number of observations and incident prevention. Text analytics will assess presence or absence of free-text, length of free-text, and quality of checklist prompts and free text (use of action words and temporal words)
Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, Aug 12, 2008
The current study investigated the effects of task-clarification, and manager verbal and graphic ... more The current study investigated the effects of task-clarification, and manager verbal and graphic feedback on employee busing times at a pizza restaurant. Using an ABC design, taskclarification was provided in a memo, which described the process, priority, and goal time of busing. The busing time decreased slightly, from an average of 315 seconds during baseline to an average of 284 seconds after the task clarification memo. The majority of this change was accounted for by servers decreasing the time it took them to arrive at the table to begin busing. Subsequent to the employee memo, group feedback was administered in the form of verbal feedback and a weekly graph of average server busing times. This feedback was associated with reductions in busing time to an average 152 seconds. Changes in the feedback phase were caused almost exclusively by reductions in the time it took to clean the table once the server was there. A reversal to near-baseline busing times was observed in a follow-up phase. Prebusing and cross-busing were not associated with shorter busing times.
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Papers by Timothy Ludwig