From the traditional concept of safety management to safety integrated with quality

This editorial reviews the evolution of the concepts of safety and quality that have been used in the traditional workplace. The traditional programs of safety are explored showing strengths and weaknesses. The concept of quality management is also viewed. Safety management and quality management principles, stages, and measurement are highlighted. The concepts of quality and safety guarantee are assessed. Total Quality Management concepts are reviewed and applied to safety quality. Total safety management principles are discussed. Finally, an analysis of the relationship between quality and safety from data collected from a company in Spain is presented.     

The nature of safety culture: a review of theory and research

This paper reviews the literature on safety culture and safety climate. The main emphasis is on applied research customary in the social psychological or organisational psychological traditions. Although safety culture and climate are generally acknowledged to be important concepts, not much consensus has been reached on the cause, the content and the consequences of safety culture and climate in the past 20 years. Moreover, there is an overall lack of models specifying either the relationship of both concepts with safety and risk management or with safety performance. In this paper, safety culture and climate will be differentiated according to a general framework based on work by Schein (1992 Schein) on organisational culture. This framework distinguishes three levels at which organisational culture can be studied — basis assumptions, espoused values and artefacts. At the level of espoused values we find attitudes, which are equated with safety climate. The basic assumptions, however, form the core of the culture. It is argued that these basic assumptions do not have to be specifically about safety, although it is considered a good sign if they are. It is concluded that safety climate might be considered an alternative safety performance indicator and that research should focus on its scientific validity. More important, however, is the assessment of an organisation's basic assumptions, since these are assumed to be explanatory to its attitudes.     

太钢安全工作新思路的尝试

太钢自1996年以来,开始了“大安全”工作思路,狠抓了人身安全,职业卫生安全,设备设施安全,生产组织安全,技术工艺安全,交通安全,消防安全,后勤保障安全,医疗卫生安全,环境保护,社会活动安全等,取得了很大效果。     

A learning-by-doing strategy to improve top management involvement in safety

The growth of legal regulations in occupational safety during the 70's alienated to some extent top management from health and safety issues; safety was regarded as an activity of safety professionals and labour inspection. This lack of commitment to safety management led to reduced activity and awareness. However, both research and practice indicate that the role of top management is of crucial importance for achieving results in safety.Having realized the problem and the lack of appropriate training to meet the demands of top management, a program called “One hour for safety management” has been developed. The training is arranged in an “action” setting, during the formal meeting of the executive board of the company. The program consists of four main parts: (1) Principles of modern safety management, (2) The company's accident insurance system, the interdependency between compensation costs and premiums, (3) The safety situation of the company; accidents, premiums and losses, hazards, safety program, and (4) Setting the safety targets and action plans required. More recently, a short audit process has been developed to reveal the important sources of loss and the state of affairs in the company's loss control systems. A special software package includes essential handouts of the safety management meetings complemented by self-auditing tools.The approach initiated or revived top management interest in and awareness of safety in several companies. The success of the meeting seems to depend on several factors, e.g. consultation skills, safety expertise, style of presentation, corporate culture and co-operation in the preparation of the session. The factors that contribute to an effective training for top management should further be analyzed, and the impact of the management training on accident rates is a task for evaluation studies in future.     

Not drowning, waving!: Safety management and occupational culture in an Australian commercial fishing port

An ethnographic study of safety management was conducted in a commercial lobster fishing industry, in a small fishing town in Southern Australia. The objectives were to test the utility of the ethnographic method for exploring the nature of the relationship between occupational culture, workplace social organization, and safety management.Available accident data suggests this particular fishery may not have the same high incidence of occupational trauma normally attributed to commercial fishing. Changes in licensing laws and improved management of fish stocks have significantly reduced risk exposure. Participants in this study had a good understanding of their physical workplace risks, but accepted some of these with too few defences. Wear rates of personal flotation devices (PFDs) were below 1% for the study period.The paper suggests that participants do not have a strong learning culture, and links this to occupation-wide cultural assumptions, other external issues and safety management issues. Assessment of the social and cultural context of safety management can offer policy makers a ‘road-map’ to guide their interventions. The utility of ethnographic methods for this type of analysis is significant, and will be enhanced by improving the transparency of the research method.     

安全文化的激励机制在企业中的应用

通过行为模型,分析了企业中安全管理者与职工心态对立的原因,认为目前管理者奖罚手段运用失衡是产生这种局面的重要原因。从安全文化的角度提出了相应对策。     

Safety leadership and safety performance in petrochemical industries: The mediating role of safety climate

This study examines the relationship among three latent variables: safety leadership, safety climate, and safety performance. Employees from 23 plants in seven departments of a petrochemical company in central Taiwan completed a questionnaire survey. From this, a sample of 521 responses was randomly selected. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis using the AMOS 5.0 was employed to test the hypothesized model relating the above-mentioned variables. The results indicate that the model was supported, and that safety climate mediated the relationship between safety leadership and performance. Practical implications of these results for process safety management in the petrochemical industries are discussed.     

The natural selection of organizational and safety culture within a small to medium sized enterprise (SME)

INTRODUCTION: Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) form the majority of Australian businesses. METHOD: This study uses ethnographic research methods to describe the organizational culture of a small furniture-manufacturing business in southern Australia. RESULTS: Results show a range of cultural assumptions variously 'embedded' within the enterprise. In line with memetics - Richard Dawkin's cultural application of Charles Darwin's theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, the author suggests that these assumptions compete to be replicated and retained within the organization. The author suggests that dominant assumptions are naturally selected, and that the selection can be better understood by considering the cultural assumptions in reference to Darwin's original principles and Frederik Barth's anthropological framework of knowledge. The results are discussed with reference to safety systems, negative cultural elements called Cultural Safety Viruses, and how our understanding of this particular organizational culture might be used to build resistance to these viruses.     

Management practices as antecedents of safety culture within the trucking industry: similarities and differences by hierarchical level

PROBLEM: A homogeneous perception of safety is important for the achievement of a strong safety culture; however, employees may differ in their safety perceptions, depending on their position and/or hierarchical level within the organization. Moreover, there is limited information on the antecedents of safety culture. This study examines how safety training, driver scheduling autonomy, opportunity for safety input, and management commitment to safety influence individuals' perceptions of safety culture. METHOD: Data for this study were drawn from 116 trucking firms, stratified by three safety performance levels. The data were collected from drivers (lowest hierarchical level), dispatchers (medium hierarchical level), and safety directors (highest hierarchical level), regarding their perceptions of their respective corporate safety cultures. Perceptions of safety culture were analyzed through a linear regression using dummy variables to differentiate among the three hierarchical groups. The resulting model allowed for examination of the specific antecedents of safety culture for the three employee groups and the extent to which the hierarchical groups were in agreement with each other. RESULTS: Driver fatigue training, driver opportunity for safety input, and top management commitment to safety were perceived to be integral determinants of safety culture in all three groups. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Trucking firms seeking to strengthen employees' perceptions of safety culture might begin by improving these safety management practices while appreciating that they may have a different impact depending on the employee's hierarchical position (e.g., drivers' perceptions of safety culture are more influenced by top management commitment and driver fatigue training). A fourth safety practice examined, driver scheduling autonomy, was not found to be instrumental in shaping safety culture for any of the three hierarchical levels. Consistent with previous research, implementation of stronger safety cultures should result in fewer accidents.     

Offshore safety case approach and formal safety assessment of ships

PROBLEM: Tragic marine and offshore accidents have caused serious consequences including loss of lives, loss of property, and damage of the environment. METHOD: A proactive, risk-based "goal setting" regime is introduced to the marine and offshore industries to increase the level of safety. DISCUSSION: To maximize marine and offshore safety, risks need to be modeled and safety-based decisions need to be made in a logical and confident way. Risk modeling and decision-making tools need to be developed and applied in a practical environment. SUMMARY: This paper describes both the offshore safety case approach and formal safety assessment of ships in detail with particular reference to the design aspects. The current practices and the latest development in safety assessment in both the marine and offshore industries are described. The relationship between the offshore safety case approach and formal ship safety assessment is described and discussed. Three examples are used to demonstrate both the offshore safety case approach and formal ship safety assessment. The study of risk criteria in marine and offshore safety assessment is carried out. The recommendations on further work required are given. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This paper gives safety engineers in the marine and offshore industries an overview of the offshore safety case approach and formal ship safety assessment. The significance of moving toward a risk-based "goal setting" regime is given.     

Creating safer workplaces: assessing the determinants and role of safety climate

PROBLEM: Although there has been considerable interest in safety climate, relatively little attention has been given to the factors that determine safety climate or to testing the hypothesized mediating role of safety climate with respect to safety-related outcomes. METHOD: Questionnaire responses were obtained from 2,208 employees of a large national retail chain in 21 different locations. RESULTS: After controlling for demographic variables, three factors: environmental conditions, safety-related policies and programs, and general organizational climate, accounted for 55% of the variance in perceived safety climate. Interestingly, organizational climate made a significant contribution to safety climate, even after controlling for the other more safety-relevant variables. Partial correlations showed that safety policies and programs had the largest observed correlation with safety climate, followed by two of the dimensions of organizational climate (communication and organizational support). Using Baron and Kenny's (J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 51 (1986) 1173) procedures, the principal effects of the various work situation factors on perceived safety at work were found to be direct rather than mediated by safety climate. Safety climate influenced perceived safety at work, but its role as a mediator was limited. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: These results are discussed in terms of other recent findings on safety climate and the growing interest in understanding management and organizational factors in the context of workplace safety.     

乡镇企业锅炉安全管理的几个问题

指出了乡镇企业锅炉管理存在的问题,针对这些问题提出了预防措施。     

Exploring the information literacy of professionals in safety management

With the rapid development of increasingly complex technology and large scale industrial projects, all kinds of safety problems become extremely intricate in daily safety management (SM). It is therefore indispensable to effectively collect, analyze, assess, and synthesize information that is relevant to accident risk. In this paper, the concept of the information literacy (IL) of professionals in SM is proposed, and a conceptual framework is put forward. Further, determinants of the IL of safety professionals are suggested, including individual attributes, safety climate and culture, information infrastructure, information technology (IT) human resources, production technology and management, and national information policy, law and ethics. Of course, further research on the IL of safety professionals should be carried out for effective SM.     

Empirical investigation of construction safety management activities and performance in Australia

The construction industry seems to suffer from a general inability to manage workplace health and safety to a level where an achieved improvement in safety performance by a way of pro-active measures can result in zero accidents. This paper investigates the effectiveness of safety management activities as currently adopted by Australian contracting organisations. A safety management survey has been conducted of contracting organisations operating in the State of Queensland, Australia. Based on a research model depicting statistical analysis techniques, a safety management index reflecting the intensity of level of safety management activities has been developed to provide a means whereby individual organisations can be assessed and graded on their safety management commitment and attitudes. The paper reports on a detailed empirical analysis carried out to examine the relationship between the intensity of safety management commitment and the overall safety performance, pro-activeness and record.     

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.     

Testing safety commitment in organizations through interpretations of safety artifacts

Problem

Safety culture relates to injuries and safety incidents in organizations, but is difficult to asses and measure. We describe a preliminary test of assessing an organization's safety culture by examining employee interpretations of organizational safety artifacts (safety signs).

Method

We collected data in three organizations using a new safety culture assessment tool that we label the Safety Artifact Interpretation (SAI) scale; we then crossed these data with safety climate and leadership evaluations.

Results

SAI were interpreted by employees in accordance with two conceptually distinct themes that are salient in the literature on organizational safety culture: safety compliance and commitment to safety. A significant correlation exists between SAI scores and the organizational safety climate. A similar (though insignificant) relationship was observed between SAI scores and leadership ratings.

Impact on industry

Employee perceptions and interpretations of safety artifacts can facilitate assessments of safety culture and can ultimately lead to understanding of and improvements in the level of organizational safety.     

西安地铁工程安全文化的建立

目前,我国地铁建设发展迅猛,安全隐患、事故的出现和发生屡见不鲜。本文从现代安全生产管理理论出发,结合＂安全第一,预防为主,综合治理＂的安全生产方针,在分析、总结西安建立地铁工程安全文化的基础上,着重对安全文化的认识和理解、建立原则以及建立的着重点等方面进行了阐述和探讨,旨在从文化建设的角度去认识＂安全第一,预防为主,综合治理＂的方针应如何在地铁建设过程中得到落实,使西安地铁的安全管理工作步入科学、健康发展的良性轨道。     

Use of safety barriers in operational safety decision making

Operational personnel in complex hazardous industries are regularly called upon to make decisions that balance the production and safety objectives of their organisation. Regulations and industry standards focus on defining and complying with operating limits of various kinds as the primary method of achieving the right balance. Such limits remove the need in many cases for in-the-moment judgements about safety and production priorities.Focussing solely on the compliance with a pre-defined envelope underestimates the direct contribution to safety from operational managers based on their professional judgement. Research in a chemical plant, a nuclear power station and an air navigation service provider has identified a “line in the sand” approach taken by experienced operating personnel when abnormal situations arise. In developing these situation-specific self-imposed limits, operational managers focus on the status of safety barriers, rather than considering risk from first principles. This approach could form the basis of a new procedure, which lays out the process to be followed in determining how best to proceed (similar to job safety analysis or permit to work). This would acknowledge that such decisions are necessary, assist operational personnel in making better choices and open such decisions to appropriate audit and scrutiny.     

基于FAHP的航空维修安全风险管理研究

航空维修对于保障飞行安全至关重要,如何进行航空维修安全风险管理是需要研究的问题.为此应用模糊层次分析法(FAHP),基于"人-机-环-管-接口"的理论,研究了影响航空维修安全的各种影响因素.利用三角模糊数并通过专家判断来构建三角模糊互补判断矩阵.按照层次结构模型和模糊层次分析法的步骤,对各影响因素进行了层次单排序和总排序,并把结果进行了分级和排序.结果表明,影响维修安全的主要因素为企业的规章制度、安全文化和维修人员的惯性违章等航空维修应该重点改善这3个因素并兼顾其他影响因素.研究表明,模糊层次分析法有助于确定安全风险管理的重点.     

论企业安全文化建设与安全管理体系运行

安全文化的概念被提出以来,国内外出现了多种安全文化的定义,对企业优秀安全文化特征的论述也多种多样。总体看来,优秀的企业安全文化应具有鼓励报告性、公平公正性、持续改进性和灵活可塑性四种基本属性。此外,在拥有优秀的安全文化的企业中,组织的全体成员应具有积极的安全态度、较高的风险认知能力和安全行为能力。优秀的安全文化不是自然形成的,需要正确的安全文化建设方法。基于对如何建设优秀安全文化的分析,建立了安全文化建设和安全管理体系运行之间的关系,分析了优秀安全文化的特征内容和安全管理体系要素之间的对应关系,提出了通过企业安全管理体系的有效运行来建设安全文化的思路,避免了企业安全文化建设和安全管理工作的重复和交叉。