Behavior-based safety to improve safety culture in a public construction project in Huánuco, Peru

Abstract

Unsafe worker behavior is one of the main causes of accidents in the construction sector, one of the most hazardous industries worldwide. This study aligns with Target 8.8 of Sustainable Development Goal 8, which promotes safe and secure working environments, and aimed to determine how Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) improves safety culture in a public works project located in Huánuco, Peru. An applied study was conducted using a quantitative approach, explanatory level, and pre-experimental design with pretest and posttest measurements in a single group. The unit of analysis was the observable behavior of operational workers, recorded through structured observation and documentary analysis over 32 weeks (10 pretest weeks, 12 intervention weeks, and 10 posttest weeks), with 10 weekly measurements before and after the implementation of the BBS program. Safety culture was assessed using ratio-scale indices that integrate three dimensions: psychological, behavioral, and organizational. After the intervention, the overall safety culture index increased from 51.92% to 93.03%, representing an improvement of 41.11 percentage points (t=30.24; df=9; p<0.001). The psychological dimension increased from 49.00% to 86.33% (+37.33 points; t=9.64; p=0.01), the behavioral dimension from 55.50% to 96.25% (+40.75 points; t=21.32; p<0.001), and the organizational dimension from 51.25% to 96.50% (+45.25 points; t=39.50; p<0.001), all with statistically significant differences according to Student’s t-test for related samples. The results indicate that BBS is an effective strategy for strengthening safety culture in public works in high-altitude Andean contexts; however, studies with quasi-experimental or experimental designs and comparison groups are needed to confirm causality and assess the generalizability of these findings.