Updating the behavior engineering model

t never ceases to amaze me to see the latest cause analysis model that borrows extensively from the work of Thomas Gilbert without giving him the credit he deserves. Sometimes a new category is added, typically there are some new descriptions, and perhaps even a dash of color, but somehow they forget to acknowledge the body of work they have built on. Sir Isaac Newton said it best: “If I can see much farther, it’s because I am standing on the shoulders of giants. ” We should remember to credit the contributions of those who came before us. The Behavior Engineering Model (BEM) developed by Gilbert and presented in his landmark book, Human Competence: Engineering Worthy Performance (Gilbert, 1978), provides us with a way to systematically and systemically identify barriers to individ-ual and organizational performance. The BEM distinguishes between a person’s reper-tory of behavior (what the individual brings to the performance equation) and the environmental supports (the work environment factors that encourage or impede per-formance)