Organisational practices, perceptions and performance: A triad for reducing fatalities, injuries, disease and ill-health Dr David Borys RMIT University East Carolina University

Topics An example of regulating safety culture in the petroleum industry in the USA Four questions raised by this example Answering the questions based on themes that emerge from interviews I conducted with culture and safety researchers in 2014 The practices, perceptions and performance triad, and implications for the regulator

An example of regulating safety culture in the USA Contra County (San Francisco) Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO) Chapter Code Risk Management (under revision) Safety culture not defined, but is mentioned under the definition of “human systems” The requirement for a safety culture assessment appears in Section (e) Accident History Safety culture assessment must be conducted 1 year after the revisions to the ordinance then every 5 years

An example of regulating safety culture in the USA (h) Safety Culture Assessment. The stationary source shall conduct a safety culture assessment. The assessment shall be based upon a method listed in the Contra Costa County CalARP program guidance document or shall be reviewed by the department to determine substantial equivalency … The department may perform its own safety culture assessment after a major chemical accident or release or the occurrence of any incident that could reasonably have led to a major chemical accident or release, or based on department audit results of the stationary source.

Regulating safety culture Four questions raised by this ordinance: 1.Is this ordinance directed at assessing “safety culture” or “safety climate”? 2.Will the safety culture assessment measure the right things? 3.What other measures of culture might be appropriate? 4.What questions could the regulator ask of a business regarding culture and safety?

The relationship between safety culture and safety climate as a complex issue “… I perceive safety culture is a particular expression or a particular dimension of organisational culture … the relationship between safety climate and culture is quite complex … I haven’t seen a model that I can really accept as a model that solves the issues. In terms of how do you differentiate precisely between safety climate and culture? Safety climate is an expression of the underlying safety culture. It offers some mechanisms or some tools for understanding some of the elements of safety culture. But still there is a lot of work that needs to be done to untangle these relationships … I think climate, safety climate in particular, has to do with the perceived priority of safety in the workplace” (Zohar). Question 1: Is this ordinance directed at assessing “safety culture” or “safety climate”?

Climate as a snapshot of culture “I see safety culture as an aspect of organisational culture. I think climate is a snapshot picture which is the starting point for understanding culture. I mean it’s a snapshot in the sense that it’s not rounded and deep and it’s also time limited” (Hale). Answer: The ordinance is probably assessing safety climate, not safety culture.

Question 2: Will the safety culture assessment measure the right things? Not scientific (Referring to the major accident at BPs Texas City refinery in 2005 and the subsequent Baker Panel Report) “ … he really said the underlying cause was the safety culture. In my words, the lack of enacted values that prioritised employee health and safety. If you read the reports now, about other major accidents, they all come to the same conclusion, which is not science, it’s not scientific” (Zohar). Answer: According to Zohar, no it won’t.

Question 3: What other measures of culture might be appropriate? Attitudes, beliefs and values “We’ve got a lot of stuff measuring attitudes, we’ve got bugger-all measuring beliefs and values. I think values are interesting. Values, like safety’s a good thing, making money is a good thing. When you’ve got a belief structure that says you can’t make money because safety costs money, profits make money, production makes money. Then you wind up with a problem. I really think that almost everybody you talk to will hold safety as a value, and so the paradox that you have to explain is if everybody holds safety to value how come they do it so badly? And the answer is, most of them don’t believe it’s actually achievable” (Hudson).

Ethics and values that prioritise safety “If you talk about ethics and culture and you prioritise ethics over, let’s say, short term profits … Safety culture should be doing the same I believe. If management in the company, senior management and middle level managers, adopt values that prioritise employee safety and health then they should be willing to prioritise it under any conditions” (Zohar). The ethical lapse “… increase your profits by turning a blind eye to safety and health issues” (Zohar). Question 3: What other measures of culture might be appropriate?

Espoused versus enacted values “I’m interested in developing better methodologies for measuring the discrepancy between espoused and enacted values, which is critical in terms of safety culture, the discrepancy should be minimised, improved … symbolic interactionism is the foundation of organisational climate perceptions … how do we make sense of the environment we work in? You have to be able to record the havoc arising, that is, study how it actually evolves into climate” (Zohar). First answer: Measure the gap between espoused and enacted values. Question 3: What other measures of culture might be appropriate?

Change practices and the culture will follow “Don’t worry about culture, worry about getting them to work in the first place” (Hudson). “Rather than researching or studying what the culture of the organisation is, it’s simpler to start with … practices. Until we can focus on those organisational practices and change those we’re not going to do anything about an organisation’s culture”(Hopkins). Second answer: Measure the quality of the organisational practices implemented that favour safety. Question 3: What other measures of culture might be appropriate?

The practices, perceptions and performance triad Ethical management corresponds with the belief that health and safety is important and can be achieved alongside production. This belief is demonstrated through enacted values (organisational practices) that support espoused values. In turn, workers will interpret and attach meaning (perceptions) to the enacted values and use these, when they are consistent with espoused values, to guide their behaviours. Favourable perceptions of enacted values will influence worker behaviour, resulting in lower rates (performance) of fatalities, injuries, disease and ill-health (FIDI). Interlude: Towards a synthesis of ideas

The practice, perceptions and performance triad Performance PerceptionsPractices Healthier and safer work

The practice, perceptions and performance triad Performance PerceptionsPractices Healthier and safer work Espoused versus enacted values: Change Climate surveys – “making sense of the environment we work in”: Measure +/-

Question 4: What questions could the regulator ask of a business regarding culture and safety? Do the workers think it is working? Are the results of your efforts reflected in the FIDI rate? What have you done to improve health and safety? Performance PerceptionsPractices Healthier and safer work

Organisational practices, perceptions and performance: A triad for reducing fatalities, injuries, disease and ill-health Dr David Borys RMIT University East Carolina University