Big Box Construction Company has received warnings from government safety inspectors that employees at some of its construction sites are not wearing the required safety helmets and noise-protection equipment.The company could lose these contracts if safety practices are not maintained.The company has warned employees that they could be fired if they don't wear the safety gear, but this has had little effect.Describe an A-B-C analysis for this situation and provide two types of behavior modification interventions that might change employee behavior in this situation.

[Note: Student answers to this question will have more detail than is presented here if the instructor's guide supplemental lecture on A-B-C analysis is presented to class.]
An A-B-C analysis involves diagnosing the antecedents and consequences of wearing safety equipment.In this situation, the company needs to look at the conditions under which employees are required to wear the equipment, as well as what happens when they wear (and don't wear) the equipment.
Antecedents are environmental cues informing employees that certain behaviors have particular consequences.The diagnosis would look at whether there are clear indicators that employees need to wear the safety equipment to avoid accidents and prevent job loss due to safety infractions.Thus, one type of intervention might be to have the company post signs reminding employees of the importance of wearing safety equipment.
Consequences are events following a particular behavior that influence its future occurrence.The diagnosis in this situation would look at whether employees receive positive reinforcement from wearing the equipment or whether the net consequences are unfavorable.Thus, one type of intervention might be to show employees examples in which wearing safety gear saved someone's life.Alternatively, the company might have a safety award in which people receive a specific form of positive reinforcement for wearing safety gear each day on the job.A third strategy is to search out and remove sources of punishment employees receive for wearing the safety gear.For example, they might receive ridicule from colleagues or they may find the safety gear uncomfortable.By removing or minimizing these punishers, employees are more likely to wear safety gear.