Measuring safety climate in aviation: A review and recommendations for the future

This paper reviews 23 studies that have examined safety climate within commercial and military aviation. The safety climate factors identified in the aviation safety climate questionnaires were found to be consistent with the literature examining safety climate in non-aviation high reliability organizations. Therefore, it was concluded that the aviation safety climate tools had some construct validity (the extent to which the questionnaire measures what it is intended to measure). However, the majority of the studies made no attempt to establish the discriminate validity (the ability of the tool to differentiate between organizations or personnel with different levels of safety performance) of the tools. It is recommended that rather than constructing more aviation safety climate questionnaires, researchers should focus on establishing the construct and discriminate validity of existing measures by correlating safety climate with other metrics of safety performance. It is recognized that the accident rate in commercial aviation is too low to provide a sufficiently sensitive measure of safety performance. However, there are other measures of safety performance, collected as part of a company’s Aviation Safety Action Program or Flight Operational Quality Assurance, which could be used to assess the discriminate validity of an aviation safety climate tool.     

Measuring safety culture in a research and development centre: A comparison of two methods in the Air Traffic Management domain

This paper describes two safety surveys carried out in an Air Traffic Management Research and Development centre (EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre). The paper discusses the differences and similarities between the two tools with regard to their development, the method of conducting the surveys, the results and their implications. It has been estimated that about 50%¹ to 60%² of accidents and incidents appear to have their roots in the design and development process, and since this is the core business of the EEC, it was deemed necessary to investigate the maturity of safety at the EEC. The challenge for the EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre (EEC) was to develop a tool that is relevant to a research and development environment with the objectives of (i) identifying areas of weakness in the safety culture of the organization (ii) helping in developing a Safety Management System. The first objective was addressed by developing a Safety Culture Survey (SCS) tool and surveying the EEC (March, 2003). The second objective was addressed by customizing an existing (SMS) survey tool (RD) for the R&D environment. The SCS is based on traditional measures adapted to ATM and then to R&D, and the River Diagram (RD) is more of a safety management survey, adapted from other industries and already applied to HQ (EUROCONTROL Head Quarters) to examine their commitment to safety. Nevertheless, the two surveys have been compared to see where they agree and where they ‘dissociate’. Overall, the SCS has a broader focus on “softer issues”, i.e. more complex issues of ‘trust in management’. Diagnostically, the River Diagram survey helps the practitioner develop SMS implementation plans more readily than the Safety Culture survey.     

A safety culture maturity model for petrochemical companies in Brazil

A framework to measure safety culture maturity in the Brazilian oil and gas companies was formulated based on the model of Hudson (2001). Following a review of the safety culture literature, a questionnaire was designed to measure five aspects of organisational safety indicative of five levels of cultural maturity. The questionnaire was completed by the safety managers of 23 petrochemical companies based in Camacari, Bahia, Brazil and they were interviewed one month later. The reliability of the questionnaire was tested by asking the same questions in an interview and comparing the results (alternate forms reliability). The correlation coefficients between the questionnaire and interview scores on each dimension ranged from r = 0.7 to 0.9, demonstrating good reliability of the measures used. The research findings demonstrated that the 23 companies studied showed characteristics of different levels of safety culture maturity. Most scores were at the level of proactive. The model of Hudson (2001) and the revised framework and questionnaire were found to be practical to use, making it possible to identify levels of safety culture maturity in the context of the Brazilian petrochemical industry.     

Evaluating a safety culture campaign: Some lessons from a Norwegian case

The focus of the present study is on the implementation and some of the results of an evaluation of a safety culture campaign that partly was aimed at increasing workmate interventions (care). I focus on three groups either working on or with a Norwegian offshore platform: onshore managers, crane operators and process operators. The research questions are: “Has the safety culture campaign contributed to new safety cultures related to care in the three groups, why/why not and what can we learn from this?”. The study indicates that two of the groups have developed new safety cultures that sensitize them to new hazards, motivate and legitimize new preventive practices. In accordance with the interpretive approach to culture in organizations, these changes are discussed in light of members’ of each group’s negotiation over the meaning and relevance of campaign efforts on workmate interventions. Lessons that can be learned from the study are discussed.     

Marketing strategies for enhancing safety culture

Promotional and marketing strategies can be effective tools for raising and maintaining the profile of occupational health and safety (OHS) within an organization. It is important to maximize the impact of health and safety promotions, and to ensure a consistent, desired message is conveyed. When developing OHS promotional campaigns, consideration should be given to identifying the target audience and the objective of the campaign. The aim is to keep employees focused in a positive and proactive way. Effective communication brings together people, processes, and systems. The challenge is to promote health and safety throughout all levels of the organization, and to find effective strategies such as published materials, displays, media, training and the Internet, to gain management commitment and employee involvement in the decision-making and problem-solving processes which are essential for achieving a positive safety culture. The benefits can go beyond lowering the lost time injury rate, and can include economic and social gains.     

Measuring safety climate in elderly homes

IntroductionProvision of a valid and reliable safety climate dimension brings enormous benefits to the elderly home sector. The aim of the present study was to make use of the safety climate instrument developed by OSHC to measure the safety perceptions of employees in elderly homes such that the factor structure of the safety climate dimensions of elderly homes could be explored.MethodIn 2010, surveys by mustering on site method were administered in 27 elderly homes that had participated in the "Hong Kong Safe and Healthy Residential Care Home Accreditation Scheme" organized by the Occupational Safety and Health Council.ResultsSix hundred and fifty-one surveys were returned with a response rate of 54.3%. To examine the factor structure of safety climate dimensions in our study, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using principal components analysis method was conducted to identify the underlying factors. The results of the modified seven-factor's safety climate structure extracted from 35 items better reflected the safety climate dimensions of elderly homes. The Cronbach alpha range for this study (0.655 to 0.851) indicated good internal consistency among the seven-factor structure. Responses from managerial level, supervisory and professional level, and front-line staff were analyzed to come up with the suggestion on effective ways of improving the safety culture of elderly homes. The overall results showed that managers generally gave positive responses in the factors evaluated, such as "management commitment and concern to safety," "perception of work risks and some contributory influences," "safety communication and awareness," and "safe working attitude and participation." Supervisors / professionals, and frontline level staff on the other hand, have less positive responses. The result of the lowest score in the factors - "perception of safety rules and procedures" underlined the importance of the relevance and practicability of safety rules and procedures.ConclusionThe modified OSHC safety climate tool provided better evidence of structural validity and reliability for use by elderly homes' decision makers as an indicator of employee perception of safety in their institution.Impact on industryThe findings and suggestions in the study provide useful information for the management, supervisors/professionals and frontline level staff to cultivate the safety culture in the elderly home sector. Most important, elderly homes can use the modified safety climate scale to identify problem areas in their safety culture and safety management practices and then target these for intervention.     

Measuring safety climate: identifying the common features

In UK industry, particularly in the energy sector, there has been a movement away from ‘lagging’ measures of safety based on retrospective data, such as lost time accidents and incidents, towards ‘leading’ or predictive assessments of the safety climate of the organisation or worksite. A number of different instruments have been developed by industrial psychologists for this purpose, resulting in a proliferation of scales with distinct developmental histories. Reviewing the methods and results from a sample of industrial surveys, the thematic basis of 18 scales used to assess safety climate is examined. This suggests that the most typically assessed dimensions relate to management (72% of studies), the safety system (67%), and risk (67%), in addition themes relating to work pressure and competence appear in a third of the studies.     

Framework for creating a Best-in-Class safety culture

To answer the question, “What are the practical attributes of Best-in-Class safety management,” consensus principles have been identified and lessons learned harvested from a broad spectrum of organizations with exemplary safety programs. Through years of studying the underpinnings of a strong safety culture, the authors have identified ten attributes that are important to create a Best-in-Class safety culture. Instead of expecting one organization to possess all of the attributes or employ all of the techniques identified, the authors suggest these principles be treated as guidelines that can be used to improve the safety culture in organizations.     

Work-related road safety: A case study of Roche Australia

Fleet, work-related or occupational road safety has the potential to make a major contribution to reducing both human harm and asset damage. To date, however, there would appear to be a dearth of well researched and evaluated case studies in the public domain in this area.This paper provides an on-going, documented, real-world case study of work-related road safety within an Australian company that has sought to manage, monitor and improve its road safety performance over the last 5 years through a range of proactive, fleet manager, insurance and risk-led initiatives.Roche Australia has successfully implemented a Company Motor Vehicle Safety Program with support from its fleet insurers and risk management advisors. Four key initiatives are set out covering: (1) Driver risk assessment, monitoring and improvement. (2) Policy development and communications. (3) Process and outcomes evaluation. (4) Continuous review and refinement of policies, processes, programs and future developments.The program has led to a range of process and performance-based outcomes. Typical barriers to success in work-related road safety have been identified and overcome. Almost 100% risk assessment and improvement process compliance by drivers has been achieved. A predictive relationship between risk assessment outcomes and collision history has been identified. Reductions in insurance claims, collision costs and claims ratio have been sustained. A detailed project plan is in place to continue the program for the next 3 years.The paper concludes that with effective management, a well developed work-related road safety program can result in performance improvements within the initiating organisation. Several limitations in the case study methodology, as well as areas for further work and lessons for policy makers, researchers and practitioners are also identified.     

Team mental models and their potential to improve teamwork and safety: A review and implications for future research in healthcare

The importance of team mental models (TMMs) - team members’ shared and organized understanding of relevant knowledge - for teamwork and team-performance, particularly in high-risk industries, has been recognized for almost two decades. In healthcare, however, systematic investigations on the influence of TMM on teamwork and team-performance had yet to be conducted at the time of this review, despite many authors considering the concept to be useful for medical teams. The lack of measurement procedures appropriate for settings as complex and dynamic as, for example, the operating room, represents a major obstacle for empirical research in healthcare. We systematically reviewed empirical studies on TMMs aiming to identify methods that could be applied in healthcare. In particular, we analyzed the methods used, and situations in which TMMs have been investigated. The reviewed studies were sorted according to task and team characteristics. We discuss the results of this review with regard to characteristics of healthcare teams including anaesthesia teams and teams of ward nurses. Each of these examples represents a distinct teamwork setting (e.g. long- vs. short-lived teams) and hence requires a different approach to TMM measurement (e.g. focus on task-model vs. focus on team-model). Implications for study design, feasible measurement approaches, and questions for future research on TMMs in healthcare are discussed. In sum, our findings highlight the possible significance of TMM research in healthcare and its potential benefits for team-performance and, ultimately, patient safety.     

Measuring road traffic safety performance: monitoring trends in nonfatal injury

Traditional indicators used to monitor trends in nonfatal injury are influenced by a range of factors other than the incidence of injury. Indicators based on threat-to-life scales offer a means of addressing this problem. The aim of the research described in this article was to compare trends in the official indicators with trends in selected threat-to-life indicators. We compared indicators based on the New Injury Severity Score and the International Classification of Diseases-based Injury Severity Score with the official New Zealand indicators; namely, (1) reported injuries, (2) reported injuries per 10,000 vehicles, (3) reported injuries per 100,000 people, and (4) number hospitalized (discharges). All the official indicators suggest that there has been a substantive decline in nonfatal Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes (MVTCs) for the period 1988-2000, but a notable increase in 2001. The latter appear to be artifactual increases due to changes in patterns of data collection and do not reflect any real changes in incidence. Further support for this is provided by the results for the two threat-to-life indicators, which suggest that the decline observed for 1988-98 may have been attributable to a decline in the ascertainment or occurrence of minor injuries since those injuries, which represent a significant threat to life, have not declined to the same degree. Given the prominence of motor vehicle crashes as a cause of unnecessary morbidity, more thought needs to be given to deriving valid indicators for measuring trends in serious nonfatal injury.     

安全文化在安全生产工作中的作用

文章探讨了安全文化投入到安全生产领域的过程,叙述了对安全文化的认识及其工作的发挥和开展的保证。     

企业安全文化建设之思考

安全文化的创建和发展极大地丰富了安全管理的内涵,中外企业安全文化建设的成功范例,从不同角度和方面,都验证了企业安全文化建设对深化企业安全管理,提高企业安全管理水平,预防人身伤害事故的发生,具有重要意义。     

Omnidirectional safety culture analysis and discussion for railway industry

On the basis of literature relevant to safety culture and investigation of the Taiwan Occupational Safety and Health Management System (TOSHMS), the Omnidirectional Safety Culture Model (OSCM) was proposed in which a questionnaire composed of 18 safety dimensions was developed and used in safety culture evaluation. This questionnaire was reviewed by a focus group of employees with various backgrounds and was revised accordingly. Questionnaire items were selected and amended by considering the suggestions of experts; the Taiwan railway industry was surveyed as the questionnaire subject; and the current safety culture of the railway industry was extensively investigated. It was determined the railway employees place a higher emphasis on safety awareness and attitude as well as safe behavior, leading to the conclusion that they recognize the importance of safety and value human life over other matters. However, railway employees also believe that procurement management; safety encouragement and punishment; and safety rule have more room for improvement.     

Predicting safety culture: the roles of employer, operations manager and safety professional

Introduction: This study explores predictive factors in safety culture. Method: In 2008, a sample 939 employees was drawn from 22 departments of a telecoms firm in five regions in central Taiwan. The sample completed a questionnaire containing four scales: the employer safety leadership scale, the operations manager safety leadership scale, the safety professional safety leadership scale, and the safety culture scale. The sample was then randomly split into two subsamples. One subsample was used for measures development, one for the empirical study. Results: A stepwise regression analysis found four factors with a significant impact on safety culture (R² = 0.337): safety informing by operations managers; safety caring by employers; and safety coordination and safety regulation by safety professionals. Safety informing by operations managers (ß = 0.213) was by far the most significant predictive factor. Impact on industry: The findings of this study provide a framework for promoting a positive safety culture at the group level.     

A systemic methodology for risk management in healthcare sector

The recent biomedical, technological, and normative changes have led healthcare organizations to the implementation of clinical governance as a way to ensure the best quality of care in an increasingly complex environment. Risk management is one of the most relevant aspects of clinical governance and approaches put forward in literature highlight the necessity to perform comprehensive analyses intended to uncover root causes of adverse events.Contributing to this field, the present paper applies Reason’s theory of failures to work out a systemic methodology to study risks impacting not only directly but also indirectly on patients. Also, the steps of such approach are organized around Human Reliability Assessment phases, in order to take into account the human component of healthcare systems. This framework is able to foster effective decision making about reducing failures and waste and to improve healthcare organizations’ maturity towards risk management.The developed methodology is applied to the pharmacy department of a large Italian hospital. An extensive validation in different healthcare settings is required to fully prove benefits and limitations.     

From safety culture to safety orientation: Validation and simplification of a safety orientation scale using a sample of seafarers working for Norwegian ship owners

Measuring safety performance is becoming increasingly important in many high-risk industries such as atomic power, the chemical industry, offshore oil production, air traffic control and construction. Much has been done to study the antecedents/factors that shape the safety culture and safety climate in these types of industries, but almost no research has been conducted into another high-risk industry – shipping. Based on the safety orientation model (SOM) and a review of items and scales used in surveys of safety climate and safety culture, a safety orientation scale (SOS) was developed and refined through the use of multivariate statistics. This study was conducted with a sample of seafarers sailing on Norwegian-owned vessels. A total of 2558 questionnaires were returned from 141 vessels and 16 shipping companies, giving a calculated response rate of 70%.The study showed that replicating previous studies on the sample of seafarers demonstrated a large degree of stability in scales and items across both industries and nations.Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is the most commonly adopted approach to the development of scales of safety climate and culture scale reported in the literature, and factor retention seems to be the most important decision in EFA. In the present study several rules to determine the number of factors and items retained are applied, and a comparison is made of a short form of latent root criterion (SFLRC) and parallel criterion (PC). SFLRC is found to be the superior method for the present data set.Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) did not support the preliminary SOM of 12 dimensions (13 dimensions, since one of the 12 dimensions was split during the CFA procedure); however, a re-specification of the model on the basis of the CFA for four different behavioural measures gave a simplified and well-defined model with seven factors and 22 items.     

The Ergonomic Program Implementation Continuum (EPIC): Integration of health and safety - A process evaluation in the healthcare sector

IntroductionThis article presents a health and safety intervention model and the use of process evaluation to assess a participatory ergonomic intervention.MethodThe effectiveness of the Ergonomic Program Implementation Continuum (EPIC) was assessed at six healthcare pilot sites in Ontario, Canada. The model provided a framework to demonstrate evaluation findings.ResultsParticipants reported that EPIC was thorough and identified improvements related to its use. Participants believed the program contributed to advancing an organizational culture of safety (COS). Main barriers to program uptake included resistance to change and need for adequate funding and resources. The dedication of organizational leaders and consultant coaches was identified as essential to the program's success.Impact on IndustryIn terms of impact on industry, findings contribute to the evidence-based knowledge of health and safety interventions and support use of the framework for creating a robust infrastructure to advance organizational COS and link staff safety and wellness with patient safety in healthcare.     

A new approach for layout optimization in maintenance workshops with safety factors: The case of a gas transmission unit

In this study, an Integrated Simulation-Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach is presented for optimum facility layout of maintenance workshop in a gas transmission unit. The process of repair of incoming parts includes various operations on different facilities. The layout problem in this system involves determining the optimum location of all maintenance shop facilities. Layout optimization plays a crucial role in this type of problems in terms of increasing the efficiency of main production line. Standard types of layouts including U, S, W, Z and straight lines are considered. First, the maintenance workshop is modeled with discrete-event-simulation. Time in system, average waiting time, average machine utilization, average availability of facilities, average queue length of facilities (AL) and average operator utilization are obtained from simulation as key performance indicators (KPIs) of DEA. Also, safety index and number of operators are considered as other KPIs. Finally, a unified non-radial Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is presented with respect to the stated KPIs to rank all layouts alternatives and to identify the best configuration. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) is used to validate and verify the results. Previous studies do not consider safety factor in layout design problems. This is the first study that presents an integrated approach for identification of optimum layout in a maintenance workshop of gas transmission unit by incorporating safety and conventional factors.