The development and sustaining of an organization’s safety culture require a multi-disciplinary approach that entails understanding the work environment, perceptions about safety, compliance, basic safety management systems, human error performance, communications, etc.  For a safety culture to be developed and sustained, the leadership team and employees must change their perception about safety itself and the management system.

Appendix

• Perception Questions
• Safety Manager Job Description
• Characteristic Indicators

An organization, whether public or private, large or small, must constantly be adjusting to its environment to meet a wide range of internal and external pressures and demands.  To understand an organization’s safety culture, you need to define how you want the safety management system to work within this environment of constant change.  To establish a level of stability, a system of desired behaviors and beliefs must be developed that provides consistency in problem-solving, decision making and general relationships and resilience to loss-producing events.

Appendix

• Safety Culture Traits and Indicators
• 25 Ways to Know Your Safety Culture Is Awesome
• DOE Columbia Quote

The importance of organizational networking in the developing of an effective safety culture cannot be overstated.  We are all part of a complex web of personal and professional networks.  These networks establish how we send and receive information about ourselves, our environment, its issues, problems, concerns as well as our successes and values.  We use this information to establish how we function, operate and become a part of organizations, families, community, and social or professional groups.

When trying to improve, develop, or ensure that the safety management system can be sustained, you have to develop a planning process that will move the organization forward.  This planning process ranges from daily, weekly, and monthly activities, annual, and multi-year planning.  The overall big picture is to ensure that the safety culture is consistently maintained and that your safety management system is effective and efficient in the identification and control of hazards and associated risks.

• Sample Safety Policy
• Numerical and Descriptive Goals

When you are in the beginning stage of developing and implementing a safety management system for your organization, communication is the key to success as.  To get all employees involved, at all levels of the organization, the quality and depth of your network is crucial to ensuring your messages gets transmitted.  Both the leadership team and employers will gain from a shared, collaborative effort and the system will be better as a result of everyone’s involvement.

Appendix

• Prevention through Design Program

According to Dan Petersen, safety results require support and behaviors from the entire organization, especially top management.  While commitment starts with top management, it is necessary to get employees to participation to make the management system work.  This is an indicator of the perception of how well the organization is working to create a safe work environment.  

Appendix

• Selected Process Tools to help Enhance the Safety System
• Safety Culture Act
• Comparison of Safety Management Systems Process Elements
• OSHA Recommended Practices for Safety & Health Programs in General Industry
• OSHA Recommended Practices for Safety & Health Programs in Construction
• Sample Action Planning Form
• Sample Checklist on How to Change A Tire On A Car

When the word “leader” is heard, it immediately conveys an image of someone who is able to step to the front of a group, clearly communicate what he or she desires the group to do, inspires the group to do more than what is normally expected and get the group to achieve what others did not think was possible.  Real Leaders are rare and leadership is something you know when you see it.

Appendix

• Safety Responsibilities Worksheet
• Sample Responsibilities for The Leadership Team
• Sample Responsibilities Plant Site Superintendents Managers
• Sample Responsibilities Supervisors
• Sample Responsibilities Employees

For an effective safety culture, one of the core elements is employee involvement in the safety management system.  As part of the leadership team, you do not have to solve all of your safety culture issues alone.   Your organization already has great “built-in” resources available that may not be fully utilized as effectively as they should.  These resources are your employees!  If fully engaged, your employees can be your best problem-solvers as they are closest to the real and/or potential hazards and associated risk.  

Appendix

• Example of a Safety Committee Team Charter
• Best Practices for Workplace Safety Committees
• Developing an Effective Health and Safety Committee

An understanding of risk and its control must permeate your organization if an in-depth safety culture is to be sustained.  A safety management system using only inspections and observations to identify hazards will not provide a full appreciation of the potential for injury and damage without linking the results to the potential risk.

As safety is an emergent property of all aspects of an organization, without constant focus on the potential changes in the organizations, the potential for loss producing events may have a way of slipping out of control.  Too often the true scope of hazards and associated risk are only identified after a loss-producing event has occurred. 

Risk Management is an essential element of a strong safety culture.  Safety management systems such as ANSI Z10-2012 (“Occupational Health and Safety Systems, ANSI/AIHA Z10,” 2012)  have criteria for a risk assessment to be completed as part of the overall analysis of an organization.  The concepts of risk management should be considered an essential part of the leadership team’s decision making.  All employees need a basic understanding of the terms risk, risk control and risk management if the organization’s safety culture is to be sustained. 

In the ideal safety culture, the leadership team is constantly communicating and emphasizing their vision, the goals and objectives it believes are required for the organization to be successful.  A safety process is best implemented using a systematic approach that focuses efforts on key essential activities to drive improvement of communication, rapid feedback of issues and concerns, and improved coordination of safety activities.

Appendix

• Activities and Results Measurements.
• Sample Machine_Equipment-Specific Checklist.
• Sample supervisor weekly_monthly safety activity report.

The Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) is the foundation for any successful safety management system.  A safety culture can only exist when a full understanding of ongoing jobs, steps, and tasks are defined and the various hazards and associated risk are managed and controlled.   As such, the JHA is an essential element in the assessing of the depth and scope of risk within the organization.

The safety culture and safety management system are supported by effective, comprehensive education and training.  The culture of an organizational has a powerful influence over employee norms, habits, and behaviors as they complete their daily assignments and tasks.   The strength of the underlying unconscious perceptions, thoughts, beliefs, etc., of the organization can override the best safety-related training designed to influence behavior.

Appendix

• Characteristics of Good Training Programs

A Safety Management System assessment provides a comprehensive assessment of the current state of the safety culture.  The effectiveness of the safety management system should reflect the real values and beliefs of the organization.  A structured and detailed assessment should provide specific details about potential gaps and opportunities for further improvement, not just in the safety management system but in your organization as well. 

Appendix

• Safety Assessment
• Atributes of a safety culture
• Safety Management System Review Example
• Safety Management Perception Questionnaire
• Safety Management System Review Example

Throughout this book, a central theme has been the emphasis on communication and the flow of critical hazard and associated risk information through an organization.  The safety culture is dependent on leadership and employees receiving and understanding the importance of maintaining open lines of communication, working towards reducing barriers and resistance to the message being sent.

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