Safety Culture and Empowering Safety Robby Jones, Supervisor NC Department of Labor, OSHA

 The term has been around since the 1980’s and became common after Chernobyl  Shared perceptions of safety  Studies of disasters have identified safety culture as a factor that decisively affected the outcome

 If compliance is your goal, you have set the most minimal goals. Compliance is always a minimum standard.  Blame, shame and fire

 Safety is held as a value by all employees  Each employee feels responsible for the safety of their coworkers as well as themselves  Each employee is willing and able to “go beyond the call of duty” on behalf of the safety of others  Each employee routinely performs job duties while actively caring for, and performing safety behaviors, for the benefit of others

 Constant demonstration that health and safety is the critical element of daily operations › Clear expectations › Financial support › Being present on decision making › Positive and supportive of others › Creating and insisting on caring

 Demonstration of safety has high value  Constant and consistent  Visibility of resources used to enhance safety  Workers given roles that matter  Trust established  Open communications  Positive recognition

 Safety is not an optional value  Being safe is a condition of employment  HSE can never be compromised  HSE is the key principle in this business  All incidents are preventable  It is continuous, ever improving and never ending

 Used for discipline  Delegated to lower levels with little upper management involvement  Give to external agencies or companies  Lack of participation  Poor communication

 Lack of accountability  Lack of enforcement  Lack of clarity  Us versus them mentality  Safety priority is never demonstrated

 Lead by example - words and deeds match  Commit to an injury free workplace › All injury is preventable › Express commitment through action › Invest time and money › Communicate  Plan for continuous improvement

 Deficiencies are indicated when there are unsafe acts, unsafe conditions or accidents. These are all symptoms.  Unsafe behavior is the result of humans reacting to an unsafe environment. Management is responsible for changing the environment.  Investigation vs. analysis › Investigations determine fault, place blame › Analysis determines system weaknesses  Ask everyone “What could I have done to prevent this accident?”

 Written safety policies (not generic, not too technical, concise, communicated)  Safety training (needs assessment)  Every job description includes safety (measurable)  Accident investigations  Benchmarking (history and results)  Self evaluation

 Management commitment to safety  Individual employee commitment to error prevention  Mutual trust, respect and fairness

 Disciplinary action will not be taken for technical errors (requires coaching, training, system evaluation/improvement)  Discipline will be taken when the employee’s action involved violation of health and safety policies, or  The employee has been reckless and consciously increased risk

 Create a baseline and where you would like to be  Define safety  Identify hazards  Clarify responsibility/roles top to bottom  Develop a sound knowledge of safety  Gauge effectiveness  Create a system of safety data collection

 Reduction of injuries and safety incidents is a lagging indicator  Leading indicators result from regular and consistent audits, logging results and tracking progress over time

 Management duties (policies, goals, planning, resources, communication)  Employee participation (establishing, maintaining and evaluating)  Hazard identification and assessment  Hazard prevention and control  Education and training  Program evaluation and improvement