Executives and senior managers are committed to safety in their decisions and behaviors.   Executive and senior managers are the leading safety advocates and demonstrate their commitment in word and action. The safety message is communicated frequently and consistently as a stand-alone theme. Leaders throughout the organization set an example for living a life of safety in all they do. Corporate...

Communications focus on safety as a company value rather than a priority. Safety communication is broad and includes Service Unit-level communication, job-related communication, worker-level communication, equipment labeling, operating experience, and documentation. Leaders use formal and informal communication to convey the importance of safety being a personal value. The flow of information up the...

Individuals avoid complacency and continuously challenge existing conditions and activities to identify hazards and discrepancies that might result in error or inappropriate action. All employees are watchful for assumptions, anomalies, values, conditions, or activities that can adversely affect safety.   Attributes: Safety is Recognized as Special and Unique: Individuals understand that humans...

This is from the IAEA but can be applied to any high-risk operation.  As safety professionals, we have seen all five of these phases, and many of us have lived through almost all of them!  Knowing the challenges before allows us to formulate a better improvement plan.  Knowing which phase your facility(s) is in is a MUST! What stage is your facility in? WARNING!  It is important...

If an organization stops searching for improvements and new ideas through benchmarking and seeking out best practices, it is in danger of no longer improving safety performance and culture. A learning organization will tap into the ideas, energy, and concerns of personnel at all levels of the organization and benchmark competitors and industries. … HomeRead More »

Organizations with good safety cultures consider failures and “near misses” as lessons that can be used to avoid more serious events. There is thus a strong drive to ensure that all events which have the potential to be instructive are reported and investigated to discover the root causes and that timely feedback is given on the findings and remedial actions, both to the work groups involved...

Well-tested systems relying on in-depth defenses and supported by procedural requirements will protect employees and the public from OSH hazards. It is easy, therefore, for the workforce to develop the attitude that safe conditions are provided for them by others and that events at other plants are exceptional and isolated and could not occur at their plant. It is, therefore, essential that everyone...

Management systems require clearly written procedures that are fit for their purpose of controlling all aspects of safety. However, there is a great difference between having excellent procedures on paper and having procedures that are understood and applied consistently and conscientiously by all staff. There is a need for balance in the number and extent of procedures. They should identify and address...

To perform a safety culture survey, a business does not need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on some external consulting company.  Here are just seven (7) questions that need to be asked and discussed at the highest levels of the organization.  Get ready, as these will generate a lot of emotions as senior management looks into the mirror of the culture they have created and cultivated....

Organizations typically go through several phases in developing and strengthening safety culture. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) identifies three (3) stages: … HomeRead More »

Transactional Analysis is a valuable approach to the understanding of human behavior and action. Developed by Dr. Eric Berne, author of the book, “Games people play” While we communicate with others, we share not only facts & information, but also emotions, values, benefits & traditions.  So the starting point of all engagements is: … HomeRead More »

What’s more culturally dangerous? A manager/Supervisor who is unable to identify at-risk behavior A manager/Supervisor who can identify at-risk behavior but turns a blind eye to it … HomeRead More »