1. Safety Culture… Continuous Nurturing Required
Sunshine McCarthy

2. Today’s Objectives: Explore behaviors present in a Safety Culture1
Explore behaviors present in a Safety Culture 2
Discuss what drives our behaviors 3
Introduce a Safety Culture model 4
Provide ways to nurture a strong safety culture

3. Assumptions related to safety culture
Warm Up!
Assumptions related to safety culture
Name, Company, role

4. Following regulations (being compliant) ensures safety

5. People naturally avoid taking risks

6. Blaming is counter productive for a strong safety culture

7. People are afraid to speak up

8. What is Safety Culture?
Safety Culture is defined as a set of beliefs, values, customs, and behaviors that members of a group use to relate to their world and each other regarding safety Safety Culture is the way we do things around here
Every organization has a safety culture

9. Culture Iceberg Formal Behaviors Informal Behaviors Core Beliefs
Visible
Formal Behaviors
Informal Behaviors
Core Beliefs
Invisible

10. What influences our beliefs about our behaviors?
Mission
Organizational norms
Experience
Past history
People we spend time with
Age/Generation
Equipment
Environment
Core beliefs are what we expressed during the opening exercise

11. Culture Iceberg Formal Behaviors Informal Behaviors Core Beliefs
Visible
Formal Behaviors
Informal Behaviors
Core Beliefs
Invisible

12. Pinnacle Regional Airline 2004 Flight 3701
"Yeah ... we don't have any passengers on board so we decided to have a little fun and come on up here"

13. Closer to home…GIV Accident in Bedford
NTSB found… the “flight crew’s omission of a flight control check before the accident indicates intentional, habitual noncompliance with standard operating procedures”

14. “Why” we do it….what drives our behaviors?

15. Humans have two systems of thought
Feeling
Thinking
Rational vs. emotional

16. Consider this question…
A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? 5¢

17. You’re on vacation…

18. Pinnacle Regional Airline 2004 Flight 3701
"Yeah ... we don't have any passengers on board so we decided to have a little fun and come on up here"

19. When people view the benefit to be high, they judge the level of risk to be
more acceptable

20. Identifying and understanding why we do something is important, but beliefs and “feelings” are very hard to change Change the behavior, and you begin to change the culture
Changing beliefs can be done, but it takes a long time.

22. 4.02
3.95
4.05
4.02

23. Highest rated items
I personally monitor submission and follow up on safety reports to be more aware of safety issues facing the organization
SMS is about open communication and learning, and these core principles are clearly reflected in our organization’s SMS
Our organization has adequate resources to allow it to function safely

24. Lowest Rated Items
There are company rules or guidelines in place that support and protect me in case I have to make a safety related decision
Giving and accepting feedback, constructive as well as positive, is second nature in our company, regardless of position or seniority
Crew member or maintenance decisions to cancel, delay or divert a flight are never challenged by senior manager

25. 4.22
4.06
4.15
4.07

26. TED Talk - Margaret Heffernan “Dare to Disagree”

27. 4.22
4.06
4.15
4.07

28. Survey says… Are we afraid to speak up?
“We are told feedback is encouraged. Feedback is not encouraged or used in reality”
“Staff seems to fear they will suffer reprisal if they bring issues to light”
“From my observation, a lot of people are afraid to give feedback”
“Feedback is not welcome. A high score risk assessment is viewed as a problem”
Are we afraid to speak up?

29. Nurturing your Safety Culture
Identify gaps between current behaviors and desired behaviors
Understand the beliefs that are driving the behavior
Realignment of beliefs by changing the behavior
Set in place support for desired behaviors
Be and remain clear and consistent about desired behaviors

30. What can you do today?
Pick a critical few behaviors that exemplify the best of your safety culture, and that you want everyone to adopt (Read Beyond Measure by Margaret Heffernan)
Balance your appeals to the group to include both thinking and feeling cues
Make the change sustainable by maintaining vigilance.
Promote everyone’s involvement in SMS
Learn from incidents in a non-punitive environment
Let speaking up start with YOU
Lead a discussion to determine how to foster cultural realignment.
End with a story, video…something powerful. Maybe the Christmas bird video????

31. “Openness isn’t the end, it’s the beginning”

32. To learn more about Baldwin Safety & Compliance and SMS