Academic literature on the topic 'Habit Strength'

An implicit association test (IAT) was used to investigate how habit strength, implicit attitudes and fruit consumption interrelate. Fifty-two participants completed a computerized IAT and provided measures of fruit consumption and related habit strength. Implicit attitudes moderated the habit strength—fruit consumption relationship; stronger relationships were observed when implicit attitudes were more positive. Amongst those with strong fruit habits, more positive associations with fruit were found for those who had recently consumed sufficient fruits compared to those who had not. Findings demonstrate the relevance of implicit positive associations in understanding the relationship between fruit consumption habits and subsequent fruit consumption.

Physical activity is regulated by controlled processes, such as intentions, and automatic processes, such as habits. Intentions relate to physical activity more strongly for people with weak habits than for people with strong habits, but people’s intentions vary day by day. Physical activity may be regulated by habits unless daily physical activity intentions are strong. University students (N = 128) self-reported their physical activity habit strength and subsequently self-reported daily physical activity intentions and wore an accelerometer for 14 days. On days when people had intentions that were weaker than typical for them, habit strength was positively related to physical activity, but on days when people had typical or stronger intentions than was typical for them, habit strength was unrelated to daily physical activity. Efforts to promote physical activity may need to account for habits and the dynamics of intentions.

AbstractBackgroundHabits are behavioral routines that are automatic and frequent, relatively independent of any desired outcome, and have potent antecedent cues. Among individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN), behaviors that promote the starved state appear habitual, and this is the foundation of a recent neurobiological model of AN. In this proof-of-concept study, we tested the habit model of AN by examining the impact of an intervention focused on antecedent cues for eating disorder routines.MethodsThe primary intervention target was habit strength; we also measured clinical impact via eating disorder psychopathology and actual eating. Twenty-two hospitalized patients with AN were randomly assigned to 12 sessions of either Supportive Psychotherapy or a behavioral intervention aimed at cues for maladaptive behavioral routines, Regulating Emotions and Changing Habits (REaCH).ResultsCovarying for baseline, REaCH was associated with a significantly lower Self-Report Habit Index (SRHI) score and significantly lower Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) global score at the end-of-treatment. The end-of-treatment effect size for SRHI was d = 1.28, for EDE-Q was d = 0.81, and for caloric intake was d = 1.16.ConclusionsREaCH changed habit strength of maladaptive routines more than an active control therapy, and targeting habit strength yielded improvement in clinically meaningful measures. These findings support a habit-based model of AN, and suggest habit strength as a mechanism-based target for intervention.

Abstract. Individuals at risk of Type 2 Diabetes are advised to change health habits. This study investigated how the PREMIT behavior modification intervention and its association with socio-economic variables influenced weight maintenance and habit strength in the PREVIEW study. Overweight adults with pre-diabetes were enrolled ( n = 2,224) in a multi-center RCT including a 2-month weight-loss phase and a 34-month weight-maintenance phase for those who lost ≥ 8% body weight. Initial stages of the PREMIT covered the end of weight-loss and the beginning of weight-maintenance phase (18 weeks). Cross-sectional and longitudinal data were explored. Frequent PREMIT sessions attendance, being female, and lower habit strength for poor diet were associated with lower weight re-gain. Being older and not in employment were associated with lower habit strength for physical inactivity. The PREMIT appeared to support weight loss maintenance. Younger participants, males, and those in employment appeared to struggle more with inactivity habit change and weight maintenance.

Background Unintentional medication nonadherence is common and has been associated with poor health outcomes and increased health care costs. Earlier research demonstrated a relationship between habit strength and medication adherence. Previous research also examined a habit’s direct effect on adherence and how habit interacts with more conscious factors to influence or overrule them. However, the relationship between habit and adherence and the role of habit-based mobile health (mHealth) interventions remain unclear. Objective This review aimed to systematically evaluate the most recent evidence for habit strength, medication adherence, and habit-based mHealth interventions across chronic medical conditions. Methods A keyword search with combinations of the terms habit, habit strength, habit index, medication adherence, and medication compliance was conducted on the PubMed database. After duplicates were removed, two authors conducted independent abstract and full-text screening. The guidelines for the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) were followed when reporting evidence across the included and reviewed studies. Results Of the 687 records examined, 11 met the predefined inclusion criteria and were finalized for data extraction, grading, and synthesis. Most included studies (6/11, 55%) were cross-sectional and used a theoretical model (8/11, 73%). The majority of studies measured habit strength using the self-report habit index and self-report behavioral automaticity index (9/11, 82%). Habit strength was positively correlated with medication adherence in most studies (10/11, 91%). Habit mediated the effects of self-efficacy on medication adherence (1/11, 9%), and social norms moderated the effects of habit strength on medication adherence (1/11, 9%). Habit strength also moderated the effects of poor mental health symptoms and medication adherence (1/11, 9%). None of the included studies reported on using or proposing a habit-based mHealth behavioral intervention to promote medication adherence. Conclusions Habit strength was strongly correlated with medication adherence, and stronger habit was associated with higher medication adherence rates, regardless of the theoretical model and/or guiding framework. Habit-based interventions should be used to increase medication adherence, and these interventions could leverage widely available mobile technology tools such as mobile apps or text messaging, and existing routines.

AbstractObjectiveRecent research emphasizes the importance of habit in explaining patterns of energy intake and choices of consumption. However, the nature of the association between habit strength and snacking has not been explored for all types of between-meal snacks.DesignMultilevel linear techniques were used to: (i) examine the association between habit strength and moment-to-moment energy intake (kilocalories) from snacks in daily life; and (ii) determine whether gender, age, level of education and BMI moderate the association between habit strength and moment-to-moment energy intake from snacks. A smartphone application based on the experience sampling method was used to map momentary between-meal snack intake in the context of daily life. Demographics and habit strength were assessed with an online composite questionnaire.SettingThis research was performed in the Netherlands in the natural environment of participants’ daily life.SubjectsAdults (n 269) aged 20–50 years.ResultsHabit strength was significantly associated with moment-to-moment energy intake from between-meal snacks in daily life: the higher the strength of habit to snack between meals, the higher the amount of momentary energy intake from snacks. The association between habit strength and moment-to-moment energy intake from snacks was moderated by education level. Additional analyses showed that habit strength was significantly associated with moment-to-moment energy intake from between-meal snacks in the low to middle level of education group.ConclusionsIt is recommended to address habitual between-meal snacking in future interventions targeting low- to middle-educated individuals.

Abstract Background Increasing workplace physical activity has important implications for workers’ health and well-being. However, few interventions targeting physical activity in the workplace are grounded in behavioural theory. Aims The aim of this study was to develop and pilot a 6-week habit-based intervention designed to promote the development of workplace physical activity habits and increase average weekly step counts. Changes in the strength of workplace physical activity habit and weekly step counts were assessed at 1 and 6 weeks following the intervention. Methods The study was a prospective three-wave within-subjects single-arm intervention study that ran for 12 weeks (baseline, 7 weeks, 12 weeks). During the 6-week intervention, participants received information regarding 10 top tips (10TT) to increase and promote habit formation and wore a pedometer during work hours. Differences in workplace physical activity habit and weekly step counts were compared across baseline (T1), 1 (T2) and 6 weeks (T3) post-intervention using repeated measures analyses of variance. Results Data from 20 sedentary office workers at a large Australian University were included. The average strength of workplace physical activity habits significantly increased from baseline (M = 3.90) to 1 week post-intervention (M = 4.45), and these effects were maintained 6 weeks later (M = 4.72). No significant increase in step counts were observed across any of the time points (all P > 0.05). Conclusions The results of this pilot study reveal that workplace physical activity habits can be strengthened via a habit-based intervention. Further research is needed to replicate these findings in larger cohorts of office workers.

Yes
Purpose – Randomised controlled trials identify causal links between variables but not why an outcome has occurred. This analysis sought to determine how psychological factors assessed at baseline influenced response to personalised nutrition. Design/methodology/approach – Web-based, randomised, controlled trial (RCT) was conducted across seven European countries. Volunteers, both male and female, aged over 18 years were randomised to either a non-personalised (control) or a personalised (treatment) dietary advice condition. Linear mixed model analysis with fixed effects was used to compare associations between internal and external health locus of control (HLoC), nutrition self-efficacy (NS-E) and self-report habit index (S-RHI) at baseline (N 5 1444), with healthy eating index (HEI) and Mediterranean diet index (MDI) scores between conditions post-intervention (N 5 763). Findings – An increase in MDI scores was observed between baseline and six months in the treatment group which was associated with higher NS-E (p
EU FP7 Project “Personalised nutrition: an integrated analysis of opportunities and challenges” (Contract No. KBBE. 2010.2.3–02, Project No. 265494)

Yes
Purpose – Randomised controlled trials identify causal links between variables but not why an outcome has occurred. This analysis sought to determine how psychological factors assessed at baseline influenced response to personalised nutrition. Design/methodology/approach – Web-based, randomised, controlled trial (RCT) was conducted across seven European countries. Volunteers, both male and female, aged over 18 years were randomised to either a non-personalised (control) or a personalised (treatment) dietary advice condition. Linear mixed model analysis with fixed effects was used to compare associations between internal and external health locus of control (HLoC), nutrition self-efficacy (NS-E) and self-report habit index (S-RHI) at baseline (N 5 1444), with healthy eating index (HEI) and Mediterranean diet index (MDI) scores between conditions post-intervention (N 5 763). Findings – An increase in MDI scores was observed between baseline and six months in the treatment group which was associated with higher NS-E (p
EU FP7 Project “Personalised nutrition: an integrated analysis of opportunities and challenges” (Contract No. KBBE. 2010.2.3–02, Project No. 265494)

Les hydrates de gaz sont des composés cristallins stables à haute pression et à basse température, très répandus sur terre, notamment dans les fonds marins au niveau des marges continentales, où ils contribuent à la stabilité des sédiments par leur cohésion et leur adhésion aux surfaces minérales. Cependant, le comportement mécanique des hydrates en soi a été peu ou pas étudié à l’échelle du pore. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier les conditions de stabilité et les propriétés mécaniques en traction de l’hydrate de méthane à l’échelle du pore, dans une configuration comparable à celle qu’on peut trouver dans les milieux poreux sédimentaires.Ici, nous étudions d’abord par microscopie optique les conditions de formation, de croissance et de dissociation de l’hydrate de méthane à l’interface eau/CH4 dans un micro-capillaire en verre utilisé à la fois comme un pore modèle et comme une cellule optique résistante à haute pression et à basse température. Ensuite, en développant une méthode originale in situ et sans contact : "dépression thermo-induite" on détermine les propriétés mécaniques en traction d’une coquille polycristalline d’hydrate de méthane. L’hydrate est nucléé à basse température sur l’interface eau/CH4, qui est rapidement recouverte d’une "croûte" polycristalline d’hydrate. À partir de cette croûte, l’hydrate pousse de part et d’autre de l’interface : dans l’eau sous forme "d’aiguilles" cristallines, dans le gaz, sous forme de "filaments" cristallins, et enfin entre le substrat et le gaz sous forme d’un "halo". Le halo qui est un film polycristallin avançant sur le substrat, en chevauchant un film d’eau, ralentit et finit par s’immobiliser et s’accrocher au substrat. À partir de ce moment, "la coquille" polycristalline, constituée de la croûte et du halo, forme une barrière entre l’eau et le gaz. Les tests de traction sont effectués par génération d’une dépression dans le compartiment eau en augmentant la température à pression de méthane constante.Les propriétés élastiques en traction de la coquille (module élastique et contrainte de rupture) sont déterminées en fonction de la taille des grains, contrôlée ici par les deux paramètres : le sous-refroidissement par rapport à la température d’équilibre, et le temps de mûrissement. On trouve un comportement élastoplastique à caractères ductile et fragile mélangés. Nos données de contrainte de rupture s’insèrent dans un écart de cinq ordres de grandeurs de taille de grain, et de trois ordres de grandeurs de la contrainte de rupture (entre des données de simulation à l’échelle nanomètrique et des données expérimentales à l’échelle millimétrique). L’effet de taille de grain sur la contrainte de rupture de l’hydrate de méthane peut être un facteur contribuant à la déstabilisation des pentes continentales
Gas hydrates are ice-like crystals stable at high pressure and low temperature. They are ubiquitous on earth, notably at the edges of continental shelves, where they contribute to the mechanical stability of marine sediments, by hydrate cohesion and hydrate adhesion to mineral particles. However, the mechanical behavior of gas hydrates at pore scale has been hardly or not at all studied. The purpose of this thesis is to study the stability conditions and the tensile mechanical properties of methane hydrate at pore scale in a representative pore habit of gas hydrate in a sedimentary medium.Here, using optical microscopy, first the formation, growth and dissociation conditions of methane hydrate are investigated across a water/CH4 interface in glass micro-capillaries used both as a pore model and as an optical cell resisting high pressure and low temperature. Then by developing a contactless and an in situ method, "thermally induced depressing", tensile mechanical properties of polycrystalline methane hydrate shell are determined. At low enough temperature, the hydrate nucleates as a polycrystalline "crust" over the water/CH4 interface. From this crust, the hydrate continues growing on both sides of the interface: in the water as "needle like crystals", in the gas as "hair like crystals", and finally between the gas and the substrate as a polycrystalline film, the "halo". The halo advances slowly on the substrate, riding over a water film, and comes to rest and adheres to the substrate. From then on, the "shell" (crust and halo) isolates the water from the gas. Tensile tests are carried out by generating a depression in the water compartment by increasing temperature at constant methane pressure.Tensile elastic properties of the shell (elastic modulus and the tensile strength) are determined as a function of the grain size, controlled here by two parameters, supercooling compared to the equilibrium temperature and the annealing time. We find elastoplastic behavior, with mixed ductile and brittle characteristics. Our data on tensile strength contribute to fit the gap of five orders of magnitude of grain size, and three orders of magnitude of tensile strength (between molecular simulations at nanometre scale and current experiment at millimetre to centimetre scale). The effect of grain size on the tensile strength of methane hydrate could be a factor contributing to the destabilization of continental slopes

The basis of dietary habits is linked to an individuals’ nutrition knowledge; for collegiate athletes this is the difference between optimal performance and falling short. To understand how nutrition information is disseminated to student-athletes, this research surveyed the athletes themselves and their sports staff (coaches, athletic trainers, and strength and conditioning specialists) on their current knowledge. Sport staff and student-athletes at East Tennessee State University were given the opportunity to participate in a 52-question online survey that tested both their general and sports-related nutrition knowledge. While the study sample size did not allow for statistical analyses required to address all three research questions, findings did indicate some variation between teams on measures of nutrition knowledge, and there was a statistically significant difference between sport staff and athletes’ general and sport nutrition knowledge. This study aimed to understand if nutrition knowledge of sport staff directly affects that of their corresponding athletes.

This study examined the neurocognitive skills, incidence of mild head injury, incidence of learning disabilities, and study habits among college students with grade point average of 2.00 or below (N = 25) as contrasted with college students with grade point average above 2.00 (N = 70). The intent of this research was to extend the work of Segalowitz and Brown (1991) and Segalowitz and Lawson (1993) who found significant associations between reported history of mild head injury and developmental disabilities among high school and college samples. MANOVAs conducted on measures of academic achievement, global cognitive skills, verbal and nonverbal memory, motor and tactile functioning, and study habits did not discriminate between probationary and non-probationary students. Probationary and non-probationary students also did not differ with regard to incidence of reported head injury, frequency of diagnosed learning disabilities, and study habits. Measures of neurocognitive functioning and study habits did not contribute to the prediction of grade point average over and above that predicted by Scholastic Aptitude Test composite score. Several exploratory analyses were performed examining the relationship between study habits and neurocognitive skills. Gender differences, implications for future research and development of study skills courses, and limitations of this study were discussed.

Introduction: Chronic diseases can be prevented and improved by regular physical activity and reduced sedentary time. An adequate leg strength and leg function in treatment and prevention of these disease is something to strive for. To the Lifestyle Reception at Karlskoga Hospital are patients with mild to moderate mental illness referred where a new method Self-measurement tests of leg strength is used, containing 30 seconds chair-stand test, squat, heel rise and maximal step-up test, aiming to simple training and indicating an objective measure of leg strength. Objective: To describe the group of patients referred to the Lifestyle Reception and investigate change of leg strength/leg function using Self-measurement tests, self-rated health and self-rated physical function following 12 weeks of intervention. Methods: A clinical intervention study of 29 patients referred to the Lifestyle Reception at Karlskoga Hospital between Nov 2017 and March 2018. They participated in an intervention consisting of group training twice a week for 12 weeks. A sign-in and a sign-out interview was carried out where data (tests and a questionnaire) of the study was collected. Result: 29 patients (24 women / 5 men) participated. The mean age was 39 years and the mean BMI was 31 (corresponding to obesity). All patients were on sick leave to some extent. The theoretical individual maximal step-up height (% -tMSH) improved from 65% to 75% (p <0.001). The patients could on average do 5.5 more 30s-chair-stand-test (p <0.001) and the proportion who managed to do squats without support increased from 57% to 90%. Significant improvements were seen for the self-rated health (p <0.001) and also for the HAD scale (anxiety p = 0.012; depression p = 0.04). However, the improvement of the self-rated physical function was not significant. Conclusion: Significant improvements in all four self-tests of leg strength / leg function could be measured after the intervention as well as a significant improvement of self-rated health. Self-measurement test of leg strength is considered to be a simple and useful test method in clinical practice.

The period after the 1995 strike was one during which management regrouped and the Boeing workforce settled in after their victory. To some extent, managerial and official union intimidation, along with the ongoing pressure on workers in the plants, can explain the difficulty that activists had in sustaining their reform organizations. This chapter describes how the activists themselves were caught up in the dilemmas of representation. Their commitment to democracy informed their critique from below of the discourse and practices of union leadership. Yet their taking on the tasks of leading a rank-and-file movement put them in a position to replicate, in form if not in goal, some of the habits they decried. In particular, focusing on getting elected to powerful union posts, making decisions on behalf of members of rank-and-file organizations, using top-down and double-edged legal tools to reform the official union, and decrying the passivity of the membership all contributed to the burnout and eventual retreat from dissident activity of many of the activists whose voices are chronicled here.

Issues with legitimacy, publicness, and responsibility collectively lead to a vision of citizen preparation that I lay out in chapter eight. This introduces a cycle to support and maintain democracy through creating citizens who learn about and try it out as kids, practice it well years later, and are committed to supporting the public schools that foster it as adults. The alternative is to allow our current course to continue, a course that jeopardizes the strength of our democracy and erodes our capacity to participate in it. We have the opportunity to reorient that course to not only improve democracy and public schools now, but also to chart an improved course toward the growth and flourishing of democracy and public schools in the future.

AbstractTo monitor and manage the dilemmas of digitalization, augmented agents must self-regulate in a collaborative fashion. Artificial agents are advancing rapidly in these respects and some are fully self-generative. They are increasingly capable of complex, fast, sensitive self-regulation. In consequence, augmented agents will have the potential for effective self-regulation and self-supervision. However, human self-regulation is often simplified and sluggish and lacks sensitivity. People rely on habit, routine, and docility, and often with good reasons. Yet, as noted, artificial agents are increasingly hyperactive and hypersensitive, compared to humans. When both agents combine, therefore, artificial self-regulatory functioning could be complex, fast, and precise, while human functioning is relatively simple, sluggish, and heuristic. The result could be self-regulatory divergence or convergence and possibly dysfunction. Further implications then follow for self-efficacy, task engagement, and motivational strength.

This chapter builds on existing loyalty literature and theories, includes impact of habit on continuous intention and loyalty, and makes recommendations to practitioners based on the findings. This research identifies the factors that will increase brand loyalty by consumers and examines the strength and effect of habit in predicting brand loyalty. Five regression models revealed that habit was the strongest factor among all constructs in predicting continuance intention and consumer loyalty to mobile wallet brands. Support was found for all of the hypothesized relationships for consumers using mobile apps. Although the direct effects of consumer attitudes were more or less constant, satisfaction became insignificant when habit is introduced in the model. As an independent variable with both consumer attitudes and satisfaction, habit significantly increases the explanatory power of continuance intention and loyalty. This chapter provides new insights into factors that influence loyalty in the context of mobile wallet applications.

Conflict is a way of life. Many of us, from the days of our youth, have developed habits to avoid conflict. By agree­ing, apologizing, and pretending, we can sidestep many of the conflicts that come our way. But these coping behaviors are not necessarily healthy for us or for those on the other side of the conflict. What if we were able to see conflicts (large and small) as opportunities to problem- solve? “The key mistake we make when we feel frustrated is to abandon the problem- solving game and turn to the power game instead”. How might our days in school be different if we were able to dissolve con­flicts maturely and respectfully? Momentary discomforts quickly shift to momentary reflection. Conflict converts to an opportunity to learn and grow, rather than shrink and cower. When conflict is focused on transforming people (including ourselves) and not just changing situations, the results are bigger than resolution. Our disputes become a “supremely important human enterprise [that] embodies and expresses the highest and best within us as human beings”. When we do not run from conflict, we begin to see and feel it as a necessary part of life. When conflict no longer frightens us, we stay calm in the face of anger. We allow time to simply consider rather than fix. We breathe our way into self- assurance. With our new lens, we give conflict a more balanced inter­pretation, a more reasoned response. We do not perseverate; we deny ourselves the “worry habit.” We move through the dilemma. We let it be, inhaling and exhaling, to get ourselves back to a stance of strength and wisdom. Value conflict as a positive, seeing it as an adventure or jour­ney, an opportunity for growth and change, an invitation to intimacy and relationship, and an opening for transforma­tion.

Positive psychotherapy (PPT) is an emerging therapeutic approach that is broadly based on the principles of positive psychology (PP). PP studies the conditions and processes that enable individuals, communities, and institutions to flourish. PPT is the clinical or therapeutic arm of PP. PPT integrates symptoms with strengths, risks with resources and deficits with assets. Without dismissing the severity psychiatric distress, or naively minimizing clients’ genuine concerns, PPT identifies and teaches clients evidence-based skills which use their best resources to meet their toughest challenges. Specifically, PPT helps clients to translate their cognitive, emotional, social and cultural strengths into goal-oriented, purposeful and pragmatic actions and habits, which aim to reduce their psychiatric distress as well as enhance their well-being. A strengths-based approach such as PPT can improve the effectiveness of psychotherapy by expanding the scope of psychotherapy, broadening beyond the medical model, expanding the outcome of psychotherapy, and attenuating the impact on the clinician.

Changes and developments in technology are also reflected in user behavior. Therefore, companies that monitor and analyze user behavior to gain competitive advantage will be one step ahead of others. Google Analytics is one of the most popular web analytics tools that perform this function. This chapter observes changes in user habits between 2011 and 2017 by using the Google Analytics data of Enocta Academic Education Platform (EAEP) that offers course content and learning management system (LMS) services for organizations and universities in Turkey. Thus, it advises to LMS providers in terms of improving their software considering changes in user habits. In addition, different approaches of improving e-learning services are discussed. This case study shows that Google Analytics, one of the web analytics tools, can provide useful information for e-learning platform or LMS providers in order to understand behaviors and needs of the visitors as well as their own strengths and weaknesses.

Abstract Student attitude towards learning is strongly dependent on the hidden traits and habits they develop during the growing up period. Based on circumstances many students live in an individualistic mindset and perceive rather permanent misconceptions about the surrounding and opportunities. This paper focuses on providing positive intelligence training to college student to equip them with the necessary knowledge to not only unleash their talent but also to enable other students to give the highest performance. This paper focuses on an experiment under which 22 students in the senior level design of energy system course were exposed to the fundamental aspects of positive intelligence. Every student was tasked to demonstrate the depth of understanding about the positive intelligence and then apply it to group members to understand the strength and weakness. Most of the students expressed satisfaction that they were able to understand their attitude and behavior that they found as an impediment in their progress. After positive intelligence training, several students exhibited an increased maturity level and many students expressed higher degree of empathy towards their team members.

Attention to safety and health are of ever-increasing priority to industrial organizations. Good Safety is demanded by stockholders, employees, and the community while increasing injury costs provide additional motivation for safety and health excellence. Safety has always been a strong corporate value of DuPont and a vital part of its culture. As a result, DuPont has become a benchmark in safety and health performance. Since 1990, DuPont has re-engineered itself to meet global competition and address future vision. In the new re-engineered organizational structures, DuPont has also had to re-engineer its safety management systems. A special Discovery Team was chartered by DuPont senior management to determine the “best practices’ for safety and health being used in DuPont best-performing sites. A summary of the findings is presented, and five of the practices are discussed. Excellence in safety and health management is more important today than ever. Public awareness, federal and state regulations, and enlightened management have resulted in a widespread conviction that all employees have the right to work in an environment that will not adversely affect their safety and health. In DuPont, we believe that excellence in safety and health is necessary to achieve global competitiveness, maintain employee loyalty, and be an accepted member of the communities in which we make, handle, use, and transport products. Safety can also be the “catalyst” to achieving excellence in other important business parameters. The organizational and communication skills developed by management, individuals, and teams in safety can be directly applied to other company initiatives. As we look into the 21st Century, we must also recognize that new organizational structures (flatter with empowered teams) will require new safety management techniques and systems in order to maintain continuous improvement in safety performance. Injury costs, which have risen dramatically in the past twenty years, provide another incentive for safety and health excellence. Shown in the Figure 1, injury costs have increased even after correcting for inflation. Many companies have found these costs to be an “invisible drain” on earnings and profitability. In some organizations, significant initiatives have been launched to better manage the workers’ compensation systems. We have found that the ultimate solution is to prevent injuries and incidents before they occur. A globally-respected company, DuPont is regarded as a well-managed, extremely ethical firm that is the benchmark in industrial safety performance. Like many other companies, DuPont has re-engineered itself and downsized its operations since 1985. Through these changes, we have maintained dedication to our principles and developed new techniques to manage in these organizational environments. As a diversified company, our operations involve chemical process facilities, production line operations, field activities, and sales and distribution of materials. Our customer base is almost entirely industrial and yet we still maintain a high level of consumer awareness and positive perception. The DuPont concern for safety dates back to the early 1800s and the first days of the company. In 1802 E.I. DuPont, a Frenchman, began manufacturing quality grade explosives to fill America’s growing need to build roads, clear fields, increase mining output, and protect its recently won independence. Because explosives production is such a hazardous industry, DuPont recognized and accepted the need for an effective safety effort. The building walls of the first powder mill near Wilmington, Delaware, were built three stones thick on three sides. The back remained open to the Brandywine River to direct any explosive forces away from other buildings and employees. To set the safety example, DuPont also built his home and the homes of his managers next to the powder yard. An effective safety program was a necessity. It represented the first defense against instant corporate liquidation. Safety needs more than a well-designed plant, however. In 1811, work rules were posted in the mill to guide employee work habits. Though not nearly as sophisticated as the safety standards of today, they did introduce an important basic concept — that safety must be a line management responsibility. Later, DuPont introduced an employee health program and hired a company doctor. An early step taken in 1912 was the keeping of safety statistics, approximately 60 years before the federal requirement to do so. We had a visible measure of our safety performance and were determined that we were going to improve it. When the nation entered World War I, the DuPont Company supplied 40 percent of the explosives used by the Allied Forces, more than 1.5 billion pounds. To accomplish this task, over 30,000 new employees were hired and trained to build and operate many plants. Among these facilities was the largest smokeless powder plant the world had ever seen. The new plant was producing granulated powder in a record 116 days after ground breaking. The trends on the safety performance chart reflect the problems that a large new work force can pose until the employees fully accept the company’s safety philosophy. The first arrow reflects the World War I scale-up, and the second arrow represents rapid diversification into new businesses during the 1920s. These instances of significant deterioration in safety performance reinforced DuPont’s commitment to reduce the unsafe acts that were causing 96 percent of our injuries. Only 4 percent of injuries result from unsafe conditions or equipment — the remainder result from the unsafe acts of people. This is an important concept if we are to focus our attention on reducing injuries and incidents within the work environment. World War II brought on a similar set of demands. The story was similar to World War I but the numbers were even more astonishing: one billion dollars in capital expenditures, 54 new plants, 75,000 additional employees, and 4.5 billion pounds of explosives produced — 20 percent of the volume used by the Allied Forces. Yet, the performance during the war years showed no significant deviation from the pre-war years. In 1941, the DuPont Company was 10 times safer than all industry and 9 times safer than the Chemical Industry. Management and the line organization were finally working as they should to control the real causes of injuries. Today, DuPont is about 50 times safer than US industrial safety performance averages. Comparing performance to other industries, it is interesting to note that seemingly “hazard-free” industries seem to have extraordinarily high injury rates. This is because, as DuPont has found out, performance is a function of injury prevention and safety management systems, not hazard exposure. Our success in safety results from a sound safety management philosophy. Each of the 125 DuPont facilities is responsible for its own safety program, progress, and performance. However, management at each of these facilities approaches safety from the same fundamental and sound philosophy. This philosophy can be expressed in eleven straightforward principles. The first principle is that all injuries can be prevented. That statement may seem a bit optimistic. In fact, we believe that this is a realistic goal and not just a theoretical objective. Our safety performance proves that the objective is achievable. We have plants with over 2,000 employees that have operated for over 10 years without a lost time injury. As injuries and incidents are investigated, we can always identify actions that could have prevented that incident. If we manage safety in a proactive — rather than reactive — manner, we will eliminate injuries by reducing the acts and conditions that cause them. The second principle is that management, which includes all levels through first-line supervisors, is responsible and accountable for preventing injuries. Only when senior management exerts sustained and consistent leadership in establishing safety goals, demanding accountability for safety performance and providing the necessary resources, can a safety program be effective in an industrial environment. The third principle states that, while recognizing management responsibility, it takes the combined energy of the entire organization to reach sustained, continuous improvement in safety and health performance. Creating an environment in which employees feel ownership for the safety effort and make significant contributions is an essential task for management, and one that needs deliberate and ongoing attention. The fourth principle is a corollary to the first principle that all injuries are preventable. It holds that all operating exposures that may result in injuries or illnesses can be controlled. No matter what the exposure, an effective safeguard can be provided. It is preferable, of course, to eliminate sources of danger, but when this is not reasonable or practical, supervision must specify measures such as special training, safety devices, and protective clothing. Our fifth safety principle states that safety is a condition of employment. Conscientious assumption of safety responsibility is required from all employees from their first day on the job. Each employee must be convinced that he or she has a responsibility for working safely. The sixth safety principle: Employees must be trained to work safely. We have found that an awareness for safety does not come naturally and that people have to be trained to work safely. With effective training programs to teach, motivate, and sustain safety knowledge, all injuries and illnesses can be eliminated. Our seventh principle holds that management must audit performance on the workplace to assess safety program success. Comprehensive inspections of both facilities and programs not only confirm their effectiveness in achieving the desired performance, but also detect specific problems and help to identify weaknesses in the safety effort. The Company’s eighth principle states that all deficiencies must be corrected promptly. Without prompt action, risk of injuries will increase and, even more important, the credibility of management’s safety efforts will suffer. Our ninth principle is a statement that off-the-job safety is an important part of the overall safety effort. We do not expect nor want employees to “turn safety on” as they come to work and “turn it off” when they go home. The company safety culture truly becomes of the individual employee’s way of thinking. The tenth principle recognizes that it’s good business to prevent injuries. Injuries cost money. However, hidden or indirect costs usually exceed the direct cost. Our last principle is the most important. Safety must be integrated as core business and personal value. There are two reasons for this. First, we’ve learned from almost 200 years of experience that 96 percent of safety incidents are directly caused by the action of people, not by faulty equipment or inadequate safety standards. But conversely, it is our people who provide the solutions to our safety problems. They are the one essential ingredient in the recipe for a safe workplace. Intelligent, trained, and motivated employees are any company’s greatest resource. Our success in safety depends upon the men and women in our plants following procedures, participating actively in training, and identifying and alerting each other and management to potential hazards. By demonstrating a real concern for each employee, management helps establish a mutual respect, and the foundation is laid for a solid safety program. This, of course, is also the foundation for good employee relations. An important lesson learned in DuPont is that the majority of injuries are caused by unsafe acts and at-risk behaviors rather than unsafe equipment or conditions. In fact, in several DuPont studies it was estimated that 96 percent of injuries are caused by unsafe acts. This was particularly revealing when considering safety audits — if audits were only focused on conditions, at best we could only prevent four percent of our injuries. By establishing management systems for safety auditing that focus on people, including audit training, techniques, and plans, all incidents are preventable. Of course, employee contribution and involvement in auditing leads to sustainability through stakeholdership in the system. Management safety audits help to make manage the “behavioral balance.” Every job and task performed at a site can do be done at-risk or safely. The essence of a good safety system ensures that safe behavior is the accepted norm amongst employees, and that it is the expected and respected way of doing things. Shifting employees norms contributes mightily to changing culture. The management safety audit provides a way to quantify these norms. DuPont safety performance has continued to improve since we began keeping records in 1911 until about 1990. In the 1990–1994 time frame, performance deteriorated as shown in the chart that follows: This increase in injuries caused great concern to senior DuPont management as well as employees. It occurred while the corporation was undergoing changes in organization. In order to sustain our technological, competitive, and business leadership positions, DuPont began re-engineering itself beginning in about 1990. New streamlined organizational structures and collaborative work processes eliminated many positions and levels of management and supervision. The total employment of the company was reduced about 25 percent during these four years. In our traditional hierarchical organization structures, every level of supervision and management knew exactly what they were expected to do with safety, and all had important roles. As many of these levels were eliminated, new systems needed to be identified for these new organizations. In early 1995, Edgar S. Woolard, DuPont Chairman, chartered a Corporate Discovery Team to look for processes that will put DuPont on a consistent path toward a goal of zero injuries and occupational illnesses. The cross-functional team used a mode of “discovery through learning” from as many DuPont employees and sites around the world. The Discovery Team fostered the rapid sharing and leveraging of “best practices” and innovative approaches being pursued at DuPont’s plants, field sites, laboratories, and office locations. In short, the team examined the company’s current state, described the future state, identified barriers between the two, and recommended key ways to overcome these barriers. After reporting back to executive management in April, 1995, the Discovery Team was realigned to help organizations implement their recommendations. The Discovery Team reconfirmed key values in DuPont — in short, that all injuries, incidents, and occupational illnesses are preventable and that safety is a source of competitive advantage. As such, the steps taken to improve safety performance also improve overall competitiveness. Senior management made this belief clear: “We will strengthen our business by making safety excellence an integral part of all business activities.” One of the key findings of the Discovery Team was the identification of the best practices used within the company, which are listed below: ▪ Felt Leadership – Management Commitment ▪ Business Integration ▪ Responsibility and Accountability ▪ Individual/Team Involvement and Influence ▪ Contractor Safety ▪ Metrics and Measurements ▪ Communications ▪ Rewards and Recognition ▪ Caring Interdependent Culture; Team-Based Work Process and Systems ▪ Performance Standards and Operating Discipline ▪ Training/Capability ▪ Technology ▪ Safety and Health Resources ▪ Management and Team Audits ▪ Deviation Investigation ▪ Risk Management and Emergency Response ▪ Process Safety ▪ Off-the-Job Safety and Health Education Attention to each of these best practices is essential to achieve sustained improvements in safety and health. The Discovery Implementation in conjunction with DuPont Safety and Environmental Management Services has developed a Safety Self-Assessment around these systems. In this presentation, we will discuss a few of these practices and learn what they mean. Paper published with permission.