Assessing personal contributions to the enhancement of safety culture

This post contains a series of questions, that members of an organization might use – from the boardroom to the shop floor – to help them consider their personal contributions to safety culture. The questions are not intended to be exhaustive. We encourage operating organizations to use these questions as a basis for discussion and to consider developing them further as “prompts” that might be made available to encourage everyone in the organization to review critically their actions and behaviour and to consider how they personally can contribute to enhancing safety. This process can itself be a useful contributor to improving a safety culture. It is also recommended that regulatory bodies establish a parallel set of questions for use in their own organizations. Included in this set would be questions that relate to the potential for the regulator to influence the safety culture of the operating organization, both positively and negatively.

QUESTIONS FOR MEMBERS OF BOARDS OF DIRECTORS

1. Do I have a clear picture of what is needed in the organization to strengthen the safety culture and achieve a high level of safety?
2. Have we published an agreed clear statement of our expectations for safety?
3. Is safety on the agenda of the next Board Meeting?
4. Do I know what the current safety issues are?
5. Do I have the necessary experience and knowledge of safety, and process safety in particular, to make sound judgments and take action on the issues before us?
6. Do I visit my plants regularly and give attention to safety issues?
   

QUESTIONS FOR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

1. Do I have a clear picture of what is needed in the organization to strengthen the safety culture and achieve a high level of safety?
2. Have we published an agreed clear statement of our expectations for safety?
3. Have I checked whether my staff understands these expectations?
   
4. How do I know that my managers are really committed to the view that a “safety first” plant is also a well-run plant?
5. Was safety the first item discussed in our last management meeting?
6. Do I make myself visible to staff and demonstrate my commitment to safety through my actions and words?
7. What did I do last week to demonstrate my commitment to safety?
8. Do I consistently praise good practices and challenge poor ones?
9. The last time we were behind schedule, did I allow shortcuts to be taken?
10. Did I visibly support my staff the last time they stopped operations for safety reasons?
11. Following an unexpected outage, did I ask first about the safety implications, or did I ask first when the plant would be back online?
12. Do I have the systems to ensure that the correct information about safety issues is before me so I can make sound decisions?
13. Am I making adequate resources available to implement the improvements we agreed on?
14. Am I confident that near misses and a larger number of minor events are being reported?
15. Do I have a means of independently checking that my management processes and systems are working properly?
16. How do I know that we are not becoming complacent? Am I confident that I really know?
17. Do I know how my organization compares with others in terms of safety culture?
18. When did we last have a peer review?
19. What evidence do I have that we really are a “learning organization”?
20. Do we have a clear, prioritized program for safety enhancement to which everyone is committed?
    

QUESTIONS FOR SENIOR MANAGERS

1. Have we published an agreed clear statement of our expectations for safety?
2. When I ask my staff what our expectations for safety are, can they tell me?
3. How do I know that my managers are really committed to the view that a “safety first” plant is also a well-run plant?
4. Was safety the first item discussed in our last management meeting?
5. When was I last in the plant, visibly making my commitment to safety apparent through my actions?
6. What did I do last week to demonstrate my commitment to safety?
7. Do I consistently praise good practices and challenge poor ones?
8. The last time we were behind schedule, did I allow shortcuts to be taken?
9. Do my staff understand what could happen to the plant or people if a procedure is not followed?
10. Am I aware of which “workarounds” exist — and am I still allowing them?
11. Was our last decision on plant maintenance or plant operation a conservative one?
12. Following an unexpected outage, did I ask first about the safety implications, or did I ask first when the plant would be back online?
13. Am I sure our system to implement findings from event reports and peer reviews is working?
14. Do I deal promptly with unsafe acts and/or conditions when I see them or when they are pointed out to me?
15. Do I know what the real safety issues in my plant are?
16. Do all my staff fully understand the potential safety consequences of mistakes they may make?
17. Do we systematically look at other organizations and other parts of our organization to see what we can learn from them?
18. Do I encourage my staff, working in teams, to think about how we can enhance safety?
19. How do I know that we are not becoming complacent? Am I confident that I really know?
20. Do I really know whether our procedures and management processes are working properly?
21. What evidence do I have that we are a ‘learning organization’?
22. Do we have a clear, prioritized program for the enhancement of safety that my staff has been involved in developing?
    

QUESTIONS FOR MIDDLE MANAGERS

1. Was safety the first item discussed in our last management meeting and team briefing?
2. When was I last in the plant and visibly taking an interest in safety matters?
3. What did I do last week to demonstrate my commitment to safety?
4. Do I consistently praise good practices and challenge poor ones?
   
5. The last time that we were behind schedule, did I allow shortcuts to be taken?
6. Did the staff who are going to use our procedures help to write them?
   
7. Are our procedures simple to understand and to follow?
8. Do my staff understand what could happen to the plant or to people if a procedure is not followed?
9. Have my staff told me about poor procedures recently, and have I taken any action?
10. Am I aware of which “workarounds” exist — and am I still allowing them?
11. What specifically did we do the last time a workable procedure was ignored or not followed?
12. Was the last decision I made on a safety-related issue a conservative one?
13. Did my staff actually “stop, think, act and review”  (STAR) the last time they did a safety-related task? How do I know?
14. How do I know that my supervisors are really committed to the view that a “safety first” plant is also a well-run plant?
15. Do my staff seek advice when they have any doubts about safety?
16. Did I visibly support my staff the last time they stopped operations for safety reasons?
17. How do I know that my staff understands my expectations on safety?
18. Did I deal promptly with the last unsafe act reported to me?  Did I thank and give feedback to the person who reported it to me?
19. Do my staff fully understand the potential safety consequences of mistakes they may make?
20. What does the ratio of near misses to accidents reported tell me about our reporting system?
21. Was I clear who is responsible for implementing the last safety enhancement we agreed on? Do the workers on the shop floor know?
22. What evidence do I have that we really are a ‘learning organization’?
23. Do I explain to my staff and involve them in discussions about what our real safety priorities are?
    

QUESTIONS FOR FIRST-LINE SUPERVISORS

1. Was safety the first item discussed in our last team briefing?
2. What did I do last week to demonstrate my commitment to safety?
3. Did the staff who are going to use our procedures help to write them?
4. Are our procedures simple to understand and to follow?
5. Do my staff understand what could happen to the plant or people if a procedure is not followed?
   
6. Have my staff told me about poor procedures, and have I done anything about it?
7. Am I aware of which “workarounds” exist — and am I still allowing them?
8. What specifically did we do the last time a workable procedure was ignored or not followed?
9. Did my staff actually “stop, think, act and review” (STAR) the last time that they carried out a safety-related task? How do I know?
10. Did my staff seek advice when they had doubts about safety?
11. Did I visibly support my staff the last time they stopped operations for safety reasons?
12. What did I do when a staff member did not report ‘mistakes’ or near misses?
13. How do I know my staff challenge unsafe acts and/or conditions when they observe them?
14. Do I challenge unsafe acts and/or conditions and deal with them promptly when I see them?
15. Do I encourage my staff to give me ideas for improvement? Do I act on them?
16. How do I know that my staff understands our safety message?
17. Did I take a prudent approach when I supervised my staff’s work last week?
18. Do my staff understand how what they do could lead to serious consequences? How do I know?
    

QUESTIONS FOR THE SHOP FLOOR

1. Do I always understand a task before carrying it out?
2. Do I know what my responsibilities are?
3. Do I understand what could go wrong and what could happen if I do not carry out this job properly?
4. Do I have the necessary knowledge to proceed?
5. Do I know everyone who is jointly responsible for this task?
6. Are there any unusual circumstances about this job?
7. Do I need any assistance and do I know where to obtain this from?
8. Do I know what to do if something goes wrong?
9. Do I understand what the procedures are and the reasons for them?
10. Would my instructions be easier to understand and to follow if I was involved in producing them? What could I do to improve them?
11. Have I followed the appropriate procedures?
12. Am I prepared for the unexpected?
13. Do I stop and think when a problem arises?
14. Am I taking shortcuts?
15. Am I being clean and tidy in carrying out my work?
16. Did I report the last problem that I saw?
17. Do I point out to others when I see them doing something unsafe or say ‘well done’ when they are doing something very safe?
18. Do I understand how what I do could have serious consequences?
19. Do I ensure that the workers on the next shift are fully informed about safety issues when they take over the job in hand?

Adapted from:

KEY PRACTICAL ISSUES IN STRENGTHENING SAFETY CULTURE

INSAG-15

A report by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group