ABSTRACT
Safety professionals work to predict and prevent major incidents by applying cutting-edge scientific, engineering, scientific, human factors (HF), and leadership solutions to high-hazard industries. Process safety events large and small continue to occur. Additional improvement in process safety performance requires continually improving safety theory, operational practices, and industry performance. Since HFs emerged as a scientific discipline during World War II, safety practitioners have tried to optimize the interaction of people, machines, and processes. The goal of process safety engineering is to uphold and enhance safe operations, which includes preventing catastrophic incidents. The modern incident causation model also has implications for how behavioral science can improve process safety. Perhaps the greatest opportunity for behavior science to impact process safety is through partnerships of industry associations and regulatory agencies. Many of the institutions and the companies they support could benefit from access to expertise in applied behavior analysis.
