1. Health and Safety Culture
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Health and Safety Culture
I. FACILITATOR NOTES
Instead of simply presenting this slide, you can introduce it to the audience in a form of an exercise.
There are two ways you can do this:
Small Groups (4-5 people)
Divide the participants into small groups.
Ask them what the characteristics of a strong safety culture are.
Ask the participants to write down their ideas on a flip chart and share them with the rest of the group.
Consider small rewards for best performance e.g.: a pen, a keychain, a local delicacy, etc.
Whole Group
Ask the audience what the characteristics of a strong safety culture are.
Write their ideas on a flip chart.
OBJECTIVE: To make people interested in the subject.
II. THEORY
A strong culture is where:
Everyone:
Complies with safety procedures and demonstrates safety as a value.
Is always alert and prepared for the unexpected.
Fully understands the scope of their tasks and follows a realistic schedule.
Is open to new ideas and ready to try out new things that improve the safe way of working.
Wants to make a difference and believes their behaviour makes a difference for others.
2. In particular Managers:
Lead by example and are genuinely concerned with the welfare of their workers demonstrating visible and felt leadership.
Realise that the way people behave is directly influenced by their managing skills.

2. Company Culture A strong culture is where everyone:
Value safety
Expect the unexpected
Know what to do
Are open to suggestions
Want to make a difference
Believe their behaviour makes a difference for others
And Managers in particular:
Lead by example
See the behaviour of others as reflecting their leadership
I. FACILITATOR NOTES
Instead of simply presenting this slide, you can introduce it to the audience in a form of an exercise.
There are two ways you can do this:
Small Groups (4-5 people)
Divide the participants into small groups.
Ask them what the characteristics of a strong safety culture are.
Ask the participants to write down their ideas on a flip chart and share them with the rest of the group.
Consider small rewards for best performance e.g.: a pen, a keychain, a local delicacy, etc.
Whole Group
Ask the audience what the characteristics of a strong safety culture are.
Write their ideas on a flip chart.
OBJECTIVE: To make people interested in the subject.
II. THEORY
A strong culture is where:
Everyone:
Complies with safety procedures and demonstrates safety as a value.
Is always alert and prepared for the unexpected.
Fully understands the scope of their tasks and follows a realistic schedule.
Is open to new ideas and ready to try out new things that improve the safe way of working.
Wants to make a difference and believes their behaviour makes a difference for others.
2. In particular Managers:
Lead by example and are genuinely concerned with the welfare of their workers demonstrating visible and felt leadership.
Realise that the way people behave is directly influenced by their managing skills.

3. HSE Performance over time
Technology
and standards
Behaviour
Visible leadership / personal accountability
Shared purpose & belief
Aligned performance commitment & external view
HSE delivers business value
HSE
Management
Systems
Engineering improvements
Hardware improvements
Safety emphasis
E&H Compliance
Improved
culture
Integrated HSE-MS
Reporting
Assurance
Competence
Risk Management
Incident rate
FACILITATOR NOTES:
You can use this slide to show the audience how the safety performance of major Oil and Gas companies has improved over time. However, if you think it will not benefit the group in any way, feel free to skip it.
II. THEORY
The number of incidents has been reduced by applying technology and standards.
This was effective till it has become clear that HSE Management Systems are needed to ensure that the technology and standards were applied consistently.
High technology and standards and HSE Management Systems are not sufficient for achieving Goal Zero. Motivating people to want to work safely requires a culture where behaviours and attitudes are safety focused.
Time

4. The Safety Culture Ladder
PATHOLOGICAL
who cares as long as we’re not caught
REACTIVE
Safety is important, we do a lot every time we have an incident
Increasing Trust/Accountability
Increasingly
informed
PROACTIVE
Safety leadership and values drive continuous improvement.
GENERATIVE
(High Reliability Orgs.)
HSE is how we do business round here
CALCULATIVE
we have systems in place to manage all hazards
I. FACILITATOR NOTES
Introduce the Culture Ladder Model to the audience.
You can either use a description provided below or show the animation.
The animation is to be found on the following websites:
Shell: Culture Ladder: Generative Organisations:
Energy Institute: Culture Ladder: Generative Organisations:
II. THEORY
Pathological: people don’t really care about HSE and are only driven by regulatory compliance and/or not getting caught.
Reactive: safety is taken seriously, but only after things have gone wrong. Managers feel frustrated about how the workforce won’t do what they are told.
Calculative: focus on systems and numbers. Lots of data is collected and analysed, lots of audits are performed and people begin to feel they know “how it works”. The effectiveness of the gathered data is not always proven though.
Proactive: moving away from managing HSE based on what has happened in the past to preventing what might go wrong in the future. The workforce start to be involved in practice and the Line begins to take over the HSE function, while HSE personnel reduce in numbers and provide advice rather than execution.
Generative: organisations set very high standards and attempt to exceed them. They use failure to improve, not to blame. Management knows what is really going on, because the workforce tells them. People are trying to be as informed as possible, because it prepares them for the unexpected. This state of “chronic unease” reflects a belief that despite all efforts, errors will occur and that even minor problems can quickly escalate into system-threatening failures.  

5. Culture Ladder – Short exercise
Chronic unease – there is always a possibility for an incident
Safety seen as a profit centre
New ideas are welcomed
GENERATIVE
Resources are available to fix things before an incident
Management is open but still obsessed with statistics
Procedures are “owned” by the workforce
PROACTIVE
“We cracked it!”
Lots of audits
HSE advisers chasing statistics
CALCULATIVE
“We are serious, but why don’t they do what they’re told?”
Endless discussions to re-classify incidents
“You have to consider the conditions under which we are working”
REACTIVE
FACILITATOR NOTES
There are two ways you can perform this exercise.
Small Groups (4-5 people)
Divide the participants in small groups.
Present the slide and ask each group to write down the examples of situations typical of each culture stage. It can be something they have noticed, heard or even thought of just minute ago.
Ask the groups to share their conclusions with the rest of the audience.
Consider small rewards for best performance e.g.: a pen, a keychain, a local delicacy, etc.
Whole Group
Present the levels one at a time and ask the audience whether they know any examples of situations typical of particular culture stage. It can be something they have noticed, heard or even thought of just a minute ago.
Write their ideas on a flip chart.
OBJECTIVE: To familiarise participants with the different levels of safety culture.
“The lawyers/regulator said it was OK”
“Of course we have incidents, it’s a dangerous business”
“Fire the operator who had the incident”
PATHOLOGICAL

6. Questions FACILITATOR NOTES
Use this slide to answer any questions the participants may have.
This is also the time to ask them what they have learned during the workshop.
Together, you can re-examine the flip chart you have filled in at the beginning of the workshop.
Ask the participants whether the workshop was up to their expectations?
If not: what would they like to be different?
Which topics should be treated with more attention? Which were, according to them, not necessary?