Culture of Safety… does it exist? – Safety Engineering (SAFTENG)

For something so many in our profession claim to not exist, it is amazing how five (5) dictionaries officially define it. There are even degrees one can get on the topic, and much research has been done on a topic that is supposedly not at play in an organization’s safety efforts. I think most of us with ten or more years of experience at two different companies can walk into a business and, within several hours of observing conditions and talking with personnel, can walk away and confidently say:

they have a great culture of safety, or
their safety culture sucks

Definitions of Culture:

the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.
the attitudes and behavior characteristic of a particular social group

Experienced safety pros who have been around the block once or twice can even identify differences in cultures between facilities within the same organization, and this is simply the differences in LEADERSHIP within the very top of the organization all the way down to the facility(s) management teams. Suppose there is serious leadership in safety at the very top of the organization (i.e., BOD, Chairman, CEO, and his/her staff). In that case, that will eventually flow downward and begin to show up at the Division, then regional, then at the facility level.

Once you have LIVED THIS and witnessed how this works, you have become a believer that CULTURE MATTERS. On the flip side of this, if you have experienced poor leadership in safety, then you also know what a BAD CULTURE looks like, sounds like, and even FEELS LIKE.

So to deny the existence of the attitudes and behavior characteristic of a particular social group and its impact on the safety and health of the men and women who do the dirty and dangerous work is being somewhat naive about the forces that work with us or against us in our PRIVILEGE to PROTECT those workers.

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