Assessing Your Safety Culture in Seven Simple Steps

Cultures are one of those complex elements that result from a combination of both intentional design and unintentional consequence of cause and effect. Moreover, each culture is unique and often is made up of subcultures of level, trade, tenure, ethnicity and even university alumni.

For years I have been approached by individuals who say, “We need to create a safety culture because we don't have one around here.” Often these individuals do not realize that they likely already have a safety culture at their workplace, just not the one they prefer. To transform an organization into one capable of sustaining excellent performance in safety, quality and other operational areas, it is ideal to begin by assessing the current climate and culture. After all, it often is said, “A culture is why we do what we do.”

Cultures most commonly are defined as common practices, shared attitudes and perceptions that influence behavioral choices at work and away. Experience has taught us that several things influence a culture, such as location, leadership, supervisory styles, peer pressure, workplace conditions and logistics, to name a few.

Through a coordinated assessment process, a safety culture can be measured, and thus improved. After gaining a better understanding of the assessment's significant findings, the critical few findings that have the potential for the greatest transformational impact on improving the site's safety culture are identified, prioritized and addressed. This article provides a foundation to guide the reader through an internal assessment of their site or company culture. These seven vital steps have been followed hundreds of times throughout the world with great success.

STEP 1 — REVIEW DOCUMENTATION, PROGRAMS AND POLICIES

Familiarize yourself with documentation on current and past programs, initiatives and previous audits. Further insight can be provided by understanding the work order process, effectiveness of communication channels, safety committee(s), incident investigation process, incentives and rewards and recognition programs.

Consider performing a Pareto Analysis of the past 3-5 years' incident reports. Look for the vital precautions that represent personal prevention opportunities as a way to ground the data collected during the assessment. In addition, consider identifying trends within commonly collected variables that result from incident reports. An understanding of the safety roles, responsibilities and expectations of those in leadership positions provides insight into the support behaviors and safety leadership onboarding norms within the organization. This information is critical to provide an understanding of the cultural foundation and helps you identify where to focus discussions and identify transformational opportunities.

STEP 2 — COMMUNICATE PRIOR TO EMPLOYEE INTERACTION

This is your first opportunity to set a positive path for the culture assessment. While to some it might not be perceived as valuable, sites that skipped this step reported uncomfortable first experiences and guarded responses.

Inform all within the organization of the activities of the assessment. Pay special attention to ensure all that the discussions will be anonymous and you only will be interviewed with your peers to allow for open and honest discussions. This principle is critical to the process.

The employees will need to understand that the purpose of the assessment is not to find fault, but to identify the opportunities to further proactively improve. Several site leaders have closed with the following statement: “I sincerely thank you in advance. Your feedback on the strengths of and opportunities to improve our safety culture is the only way we can ensure we are going in the right direction with our safety improvement efforts.” Consider closing this step by validating communication occurred, rather than simply assuming.

STEP 3 — CONDUCT A LOCATION WALK

As early as possible in the visit, a site tour should be arranged. The tour should include the major (if not all) areas of the site where work is in progress. The goal of the tour is to give the assessor an overview of logistics, tasks and basic safety issues involved in site processes. If the assessor is familiar with the location, this tour can help provide an understanding of group and individual behaviors and how they differ when individuals are working in teams or alone.