Safety Culture A Continuous Journey

Safety Culture
A Continuous Journey
What is Safety Culture?
• Safety culture is the extent to which safety is

emphasized, both formally and informally, by
an organization and its members.
• A positive safety culture is to encourage the
development of values and behaviors that
support the safe and secure use of hazardous
materials.
Why safety culture
• Safety culture affects safety performance
• injury rates
• accident rates
• patient safety
• Results are supported across industries
• aerospace, healthcare, manufacturing,
construction, agriculture, off-shore oil and
gas, highway safety, aviation
“Old and New”
The Old Way = Safety Program
The New Way = Safety Culture

A High Performing Contractor will…
“…systematically pursue, achieve,

and maintain increasingly higher
levels of company and individual
competence.”
A High Performing Contractor looking to
implement a safety culture will…
“…systematically pursue, achieve, and

maintain increasingly higher levels of
company and individual
competence…” in safety.
Safety Program vs Safety Culture
Program…
A plan outlining how the company will address
OSHA compliance issues.
Culture…
“The sum total of the way things are done in a
company. Culture includes values and beliefs.”
Progression of a Safety Culture
Five Levels of Progression Towards a Safety Culture
(not a goal, but a guideline)
Level Five: Continuous Improvement
Level Four: Cooperating
Level Three: Involving
Level Two: Managing
Level One: Emerging

Level One: Emerging
• Safety activities defined in achieving compliance
• Accidents are seen as unavoidable, part of the job
• Front line staff are uninterested in safety
• Safety used as an “issue” to be argued
• Management ignores safety and leaves it up to the safety folks
Level Two: Managing
• Safety is seen as a business risk – management has input
• Safety is based on engineering controls as main focus
• Accidents are seen as preventable
Level Three: Involving
• Accident rates / EMR are low…but reached a plateau
• Involvement of frontline employees seen as critical
• Accidents causes are varied and root cause is investigated
• All employees accept responsibility for safety
Level Four: Cooperating

• Safety is seen as a moral and economic benefit
• Significant pro-active measures are in place
• A healthy lifestyle (non-work) is promoted
Level Five: Continuous Improvement
• Prevention of all injuries and illnesses is a core corporate value…

with top management leading the way
• Sustained period of “zero injury” status but no complacency
• A range of indicators are used to measure performance and
improvement
• Striving to find new hazard control mechanisms
• All employees accept the belief that safety is a part if their job
• Considerable investment in promoting safety and health (on and
off the job)
Small/Medium Sized Contractors vs

Large Contractors…different levels
of a “culture”
A Systematic Approach to Improved
Safety Performance:
Nine Essential Parts of a Safety Culture
1. Demonstrated Management Involvement
2. Staffing for Safety
3. Safety Education: Orientation and Specialized
Training
4. Encouraged Worker Involvement
Source: Construction Industry Institute - Safety Plus: Making Zero Accidents a Reality
A Systematic Approach to Improved
Safety Performance:
5. Evaluation and Recognition/Reward

6. Planning: Pre-Project and Pre-task
7. Accident/Incident Investigations
8. Drug and Alcohol Testing
9. The 3 Ps…Policies, Procedures, and
Programs
Source: Construction Industry Institute - Safety Plus: Making Zero Accidents

a Reality
Management Involvement
Old Way…
Management Commitment
New Way…
• The first step in a safety program is the full
support and involvement of upper management
• Establishes the corporate philosophy on safety
(Safety Culture)
• Communicates the shared interests to
workers (Team Effort)
• Ensures that “safety” is included in the
company mission statement.
Management Should Be ACCOUNTABLE for:
• Being role models (do as I do…)
• Safety inspections (at least monthly)
• Safety orientation and training
• Accident / incident investigations
• Project planning for safety issues

Old Way…
Safety is No 1 priority
New Way…
Safety is an integral part of business
success
Staffing for Safety
• Full time safety representative on each large
project
• Small projects – one rep can serve several

projects
• Safety rep involved in all project planning

meetings
• Involved in all project functions

Safety Education
• Orientation and Specialized Training
• The most important aspect of safety communication

• A well-trained workforce are the “eyes and ears” of a safety
system
• More then just “toolbox talks”
• Safety training is a “line item” in each project budget

Safety Education
• All employees know and understand the
safety HAZARDS
• All employees know and understand the

safety SYSTEM
• All employees know and understand their

safety RESPONSIBILITIES
Safety Education
Orientation
• Done for all employees (inc. office workers)
• Upon initial hire
• Can be done for each project (New Project
Oritentation)
• Company and project management involved
• Formal training (not just a “toolbox talk”)
Safety Education
Specialized Training
• Specific for management, supervisors and/or

workers
• Covers issues on an “as-needed” basis (based on

recent trends, new equipment or processes, etc.)
• Conducted at various times of the day/week to

break up the schedule
(surprise training = emphasis)
Safety Education
Specialized Training
• Keep it “short and sweet”
• Include visuals (CD-Rom, videos, charts)
• Handouts are good reminders
• Hands-on exercises
Worker Involvement
Old Way…
Reminding someone to work safely is usually
considered “getting into their business”
New Way…
Reminding someone to work safely is
appreciated and considered normal
Worker Involvement
Safety Committee
• Allows exchange of ideas and input at all levels
• Communication between key personnel
• Promotes a “team” concept
• Requires management commitment to ensure issues

are addressed
Worker Involvement
Behavior-Based Safety
• Try to understand “why workers do what they do”
• Identify and change “bad” behavior
• Reinforce good safety practice
• Talk about safety everyday
• Use of “safety observers”

Worker Involvement
Safety Perception Survey
• Creates a “feedback loop” which results in

continuous improvement in the system
• Seek information from workers
• Provides an overview of how workers feel
• Conduct monthly (or as appropriate)
• Encourage participation (incentive program)

Hazard Identification
(Recognition)
Need to recognize hazards
• Develop a “system approach” to hazards
• Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) for each project

• Don’t forget non-routine tasks (What If…!)
• Primary hazard inspections conducted

regularly by a safety team
• Encourage participation from everyone
Evaluation and Recognition/Reward
Old Way…
Incident rates are the primary measure of
success
New Way…
Safety behavior, safety skills, and
contributing to the safety process are used to
measure safety success
Lagging vs Leading Indicators
• Lagging indicators occur “after the fact”
• Examples of lagging indicators are number

of injury and illness cases and workdays
without injury
• Measures problems and system failures

• Lagging indicators do not measure what has not

happened
(risks taken by employees but no accident)
• No measure of doing preventative measures
• Can drive reporting “underground”

(i.e., incentive programs for “zero injuries”…no
one wants to stop the contest)
• Leading indicators are proactive,
performance based measures that are
implemented to prevent accidents
• Leading indicators measure impact on

future events, measure risk reduction
activities, and demonstrate improvements
to the safety system
Examples of leading indicators are
• attendance at training sessions
• safety inspections conducted
• safety-related work orders completed
• safety suggestions reported and implemented.

• A combination of lagging and leading
indicators may be best for your system
• Indicators must be measurable
• Indicators must be flexible and open for

revision based on results (or lack of)
Old Way …
Safe behavior is encouraged through
slogans and posters
New Way…
Safe behavior is rewarded as part of the
performance process
Data Review
• Use data to prove / disprove theories about your safety culture...

Timing - most of our accidents occur on Mondays
Age - our younger workers get injured more frequently
Injury Type – cuts are our most common injury
• Use data to make decisions…

>> Give toolbox talks on Wednesdays
>> Be sure that older workers are trained on ladder use
>> Review glove use to prevent cuts
Accidents by Day of Week
35 32
28 25 25
30
25
20 16
15 7
10 2
5
0
2000 YTD - Strains & Sprains By Day of Week
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Safety Culture
The Hidden Costs of

Accidents
Far Exceed
Accidents
Costs of
a Safety Culture
Accident/Incident Investigations
• All Accidents are Preventable
• Accidents are “Triggered” by Behavior
• Accident Causes are Systemic
• Accidents are Not “Accidental”
• Accidents are Symptoms, not Problems
The Old Way…
Unsafe acts and unsafe conditions are the
two primary categories of incident
investigation.
The New Way…

Root causes are determined and analyzed
for opportunities to improve the system.
The Old Way…
Individuals are afraid to report incidents for fear
of blame and hassle
The New Way…

Incident investigations focus on root cause.
Hassle is minimized. The value of investigations
is recognized and rewarded by management.
Investigation of a near-hit or employee
observation/complaint reveals that a primary
machine guard has been removed.
The guard need to be replaced, but don’t just put it

back…find out why it was removed (root cause)
Identifying the root cause will help fix the “system”

Written Policies and Procedures
• Provide a “roadmap” to a successful program
• Communicates the rights and responsibilities

of employer and employees

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Safety Culture

• Safety culture is the extent to which safety is

The Old Way = Safety Program

The New Way = Safety Culture

“…systematically pursue, achieve,

“…systematically pursue, achieve, and

Level Five: Continuous Improvement

Level Four: Cooperating

Level Three: Involving

Level Two: Managing

Level One: Emerging

Level Four: Cooperating

Level Five: Continuous Improvement

• Prevention of all injuries and illnesses is a core corporate value…

Small/Medium Sized Contractors vs

5. Evaluation and Recognition/Reward

Source: Construction Industry Institute - Safety Plus: Making Zero Accidents

• Being role models (do as I do…)

• Safety inspections (at least monthly)

• Safety orientation and training

• Accident / incident investigations

• Project planning for safety issues

• Small projects – one rep can serve several

• Safety rep involved in all project planning

• Involved in all project functions

• The most important aspect of safety communication

• More then just “toolbox talks”

• Safety training is a “line item” in each project budget

• All employees know and understand the

• All employees know and understand their

• Specific for management, supervisors and/or

• Covers issues on an “as-needed” basis (based on

• Conducted at various times of the day/week to

• Keep it “short and sweet”

• Include visuals (CD-Rom, videos, charts)

• Handouts are good reminders

• Requires management commitment to ensure issues

• Try to understand “why workers do what they do”

• Identify and change “bad” behavior

• Reinforce good safety practice

• Talk about safety everyday

• Use of “safety observers”

• Creates a “feedback loop” which results in

• Seek information from workers

• Provides an overview of how workers feel

• Conduct monthly (or as appropriate)

• Encourage participation (incentive program)

• Develop a “system approach” to hazards

• Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) for each project

• Primary hazard inspections conducted

• Lagging indicators occur “after the fact”

• Examples of lagging indicators are number

• Measures problems and system failures

• Lagging indicators do not measure what has not

• No measure of doing preventative measures

• Can drive reporting “underground”

• Leading indicators measure impact on

• attendance at training sessions

• safety inspections conducted