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Definition of culture
Culture is often defined as “The way we do things around here”. Schein(1990) defines organisational culture as the system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organisation and guides the behaviour of its members. Culture (Woods) consists of observable culture, shared values and common assumptions. Culture is often reinforced by stories, rites, rituals and symbols.
Safety Culture
The safety culture of an enterprise comprises the beliefs, attitudes, norms and work practices of management & employees. Safety culture refers to what an organisation is like in terms of safety and health., it includes aspects such as managements attitude and actions about safety and, in particular, the attitudes and beliefs of individuals and groups at work concerning the perceived magnitude of risks and the necessity and practicality of preventative measures.(Safetyline Institute)
A positive safety culture is one that, among other things
Encourages and retains learning
Promotes open & honest reporting
Is just and is prepared to identify its own shortcomings as easily as it seeks to address any violation of orders or instructions
Rewards innovation and accepts willingly constructive suggestions for continuous improvement of itself.(Di Pietro,2005)
Senior managers are the key to a successful safety culture. A true safety culture is established when safety is valued as highly as productivity. Managers and supervisors need to be held accountable for safety in the same manner as production.
Safety culture is about good safety attitudes in people but it is also good safety management established by organisations. Good safety culture means giving the highest priority to safety. Good safety culture implies a constant assessment of the safety significance of events, and issues, in order that the appropriate level of attention can be given.(Bastin,2003)
Measuring and reviewing the safety culture
To review the culture of an organisation it is essential to go beyond checking that procedures are in place, to elicit an understanding of underlying beliefs and attitudes to find out what people really think It is important to understand perceptions of hazards by eliciting views on-
Perceptions of risks, of the effectiveness of safe working procedures and of control measures in general
Their perception and assessment of their own & others beliefs, attitudes and behaviour
The steps taken to eliminate or minimise sources of conflict between production and safety
The steps taken to identify individuals prone to macho behaviour and erode any peer approval of risk taking
The status, importance and effectiveness of safety officers and committees
Whether the safety training is high quality and appropriate(Safetyline)
The role of leaders in change
For about a year this author worked with a General Manager Operations who could best be described as a charismatic leader who had an overriding commitment to safety This individual would turn up at operating sites in the middle of the night to see how safety was being managed. He would jump on a haultruck and go with the operator while the truck was loaded, the manager would question the operators about safety and tell them that he expected safety to be their top priority. This manager let his subordinates know he expected nothing less than100% commitment to safety, those who did not comply were not around long. Word quickly got around about the managers safety expectations, single-handley he raised the profile of safety in the organisation and contributed to the culture.
Krause describes what excellent safety leadership looks like
1 Vision
The most senior executive must “See” what safety excellence looks like. The leader must convey his vision in a compelling manner through action.
2 Credibility
When an excellent safety leader says something others believe it and do not question his motives.
3 Collaboration
Collaboration encompasses working well with others, encouraging input, helping others, expressing confidence in others support others decisions and gaining commitment.
4 Feedback & Recognition
An excellent safety leader provides effective feedback and recognises people for their accomplishments.
5 Accountability
An excellent safety leader gives workers a fair appraisal of safety efforts and results, clearly communicates peoples roles in safety and fosters the sense that people are responsible for the level of safety in their organisational unit.
6 Communication
As a great communicator the leader encourages people to deliver honest, complete information about safety (even if unfavourable) ,keeps people informed and communicates frequently and effectively up, down and across the organisation.
7 Values safety
An excellent safety leader acts to support safety values and principles. He leads by example and clearly communicates that safe behaviour is expected.
8 Action-oriented
An excellent safety leader is proactive rather than reactive in addressing safety issues. He gives timely, considered responses to safety concerns, demonstrates a sense of personal energy and urgency to achieve safety results and demonstrates a performance driven focus by delivering results with speed and excellence
Brief answer to your question is that there are ways in which the health and safety culture of an organization can be improved as follow
a) Senior management should show high level of commitment & leadership to HSE
b) The level of competence(skill, knowledge, experience, personal qualifications and qualities) & training of the workforce should be taken into account by providing them with proper and efficient training Based on the type of the work, environment and workplace condition.
c) A clear policy with health & safety being given obvious equal priority to other business objectives (production, quality, etc)
d). The setting of realistic & achievable targets such as :
1) Reduced/zero accidents
2) Zero prosecutions
3) Reduced sickness absence
4) Reduction in compensation claims
5) Improve reporting of near misses
6) Improve reporting of minor accidents
7) Improve audit scores
e) The provision of a good working environment in terms of lighting, noise, space, seating, heating, ventilation, etc.
f) Proactive monitoring of health & safety standards such as : Audits, Survey, Tours, inspection, Benchmarking, environment monitoring, etc.
g) Effective communication channels with workers in HSE matters
i) A ‘no-blame’ culture
j) Consultation with employees on HSE matter such as:
· The introduction of any measure that may substantially affect the health and safety of employees, e.g. the introduction of new personal protective equipment, the health and safety consequences of the introduction of new technology, e.g. a new process or machine
· Be consulted in planning alterations of work processes, work content or organization of work, which may have safety or health implications for the workers,
· The planning and organization of any health and safety training that should be provided, e.g. induction training.
k) Involving employees practically in the improvement in HSE performance by means of:
· Involving them in the risk assessments, accident investigations, the development of safe systems & procedures etc.
· Encouraging hazard-spotting & the reporting of defects;
· Setting up suggestion schemes;
· Organizing training courses & information programmes;
· Supporting active involvement in safety committee meetings;
· Being accompanied by employees or their representatives on safety tours & inspections;
· Giving employees responsibilities for mentoring young & inexperienced workers.
l) Adopting ways and methods for Improving perception of risk for those who may suffer workplace distractions such as noise, lighting, or for those with sensory impairment.
