BOONE—It’s hard to miss the safety vests and hard hats hanging in Dr. Timothy D. Ludwig’s faculty office. The brightly colored objects are mementos from his visits to gold mines and construction and manufacturing sites around the world.

The professor in Appalachian State University’s Wiley F. Smith Department of Psychology is known as the “Safety Doc” for his research and consulting work related to industrial and employee safety. He was recently listed as one of 101 leaders in the field of industrial/environmental health and safety in the widely read Industrial Safety & Hygiene News.

Ludwig’s research in recent years has focused on behavioral safety – how to change the safety culture within an organization by developing an environment in which employees and leaders value safety.

His expertise has taken him to Bogotá, Nigeria, South Africa, Australia, Indonesia and even the Arctic Circle to talk to company executives, employees or workshop participants about implementing safety culture change.

While almost everyone knows the potential outcome of unsafe behavior, such as failing to wear a hard hat or protective clothing, it’s the perceived inconvenience of safety practices, including being hot or uncomfortable, that often impedes following safety rules.

“The immediate consequence of being safe is that it often takes longer, is less comfortable or it is not supported by coworkers. So these immediate consequences lead the worker to choose the path that puts them at risk,” Ludwig said. “I preach don’t blame the worker. We need to solve the environmental problem that’s motivating workers to feel they have to be at risk.”

When employees begin to “own” safety in the workplace, changes in at-risk behavior occurs, Ludwig said. Especially when “you use peers as the motivators of safe behavior,” he said.

Examples of engaging employees rather than punishing them when safety practices aren’t followed include establishing programs in which employees create lists of risky behaviors and then observe their peers and provide positive feedback when safe practices are followed – a practice called behavior-based safety.

“You go from the negative consequence of having peers suggest shortcuts to safety to having the immediate consequence of having your peers watching you in a positive way and that changes the culture,” Ludwig said.

“When employees begin to have conversations about safety when managers aren’t around, and they are no longer talking about ways to take safety shortcuts, then you have changed the safety culture in the workplace,” he said. That change can lead to an environment in which workers proactively report hazards, close calls and minor injuries that might otherwise go unreported and uncorrected, he said.

Ludwig often uses stories, which he calls parables, to illustrate his points when addressing audiences about safety. His stories often relate to interactions with his sons when he tries to teach them about skateboarding or driving safety. He knows his lessons have worked when his sons turn the table on Ludwig if they see him failing to follow his own advice, such as wearing eye and hearing protection when mowing the yard.

Ludwig posts his safety lessons on his safety blog at www.safety-doc.com and writes quarterly for Industrial Safety and Hygiene News. He also publishes his empirical research in scholarly journals such as the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, which he serves as editor.

Ludwig said that when workers and managers embrace a change in a company’s safety culture, the results can be dramatic. While implementing the change is typically a three-year process, companies tend to report a 70 to 80 percent decrease in incidents when the culture change is accepted.

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