- A Safety-Conscious Work Environment (SCWE) is maintained where personnel feel free to raise safety concerns without fear of retaliation, intimidation, harassment, or discrimination.
- The Service Unit creates, maintains, and evaluates policies and processes that allow personnel to raise concerns freely.
Attributes:
SCWE Policy: The organization effectively implements a policy that supports individuals’ rights and responsibilities to raise safety concerns and does not tolerate harassment, intimidation, retaliation, or discrimination.
Behavior Examples:
- Individuals feel free to raise safety concerns without fear of retribution, confident that their concerns will be addressed.
- Executives and senior managers reinforce expectations for establishing and maintaining a safety-conscious work environment.
- Policies and procedures reinforce that individuals have the right and responsibility to raise safety concerns.
- Policies and procedures define the responsibilities of leaders to create an environment where individuals feel free to raise safety concerns.
- Policies and procedures establish the expectation that leaders will respond respectfully and provide timely feedback to the individual raising the concern.
- Leaders are trained to take ownership when receiving and responding to concerns, recognize confidentiality if appropriate, and ensure they are addressed promptly.
- Individuals are trained that behaviors or actions that could prevent concerns from being raised, including harassment, intimidation, retaliation, or discrimination, will not be tolerated and are violations of law and policy.
- All retaliation claims are investigated, and corrective actions are taken promptly, including actions to mitigate any potential chilling effect.
Alternate Process for Raising Concerns: The organization effectively implements a process for raising and resolving concerns that is independent of line management’s influence. Safety issues may be raised in confidence and are resolved in a timely and effective manner. Behavior
Behavior Examples:
- Executives establish, support, and promote alternative processes for raising concerns and ensure corrective actions are taken.
- Leaders understand their role in supporting alternate processes for raising concerns.
- Processes for raising concerns or resolving differing professional opinions that are alternatives to the corrective action program and operate outside the influence of the management chain are communicated and accessible to individuals.
- Alternative processes are independent, include an option to raise concerns confidentially, and ensure these concerns are appropriately resolved promptly.
- Individuals receive feedback promptly.
- Individuals have confidence that the issues raised will be appropriately resolved.
- Individuals assigned to respond to concerns have the appropriate competencies.
