SAFETY CULTURE…
ELEMENTS THAT DEFINE
WHO WE ARE
Montana Safety Services
Council
20 th Annual Safety
Conference
March 3 – 5, 2015
Bob Winston
Victory Insurance Company
A FISHY ANALOGY
Fish cannot see the water they swim in…
Its invisible to them
Dif fer ent kinds of water…
Breed different kinds of fish
Change the water and you will…
Get different fish
For fish to sur vive they must…
Have the right water
Bad water in the pond…
Equates to bad fish
INSTANT GRATIFICATION…NOT!!
George Wills,
Blacksburg, VA
CULTURE…AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Abraham Maslow…an American Psychologist
who was best known for creating Maslow's
Hierarchy of Needs, a theory of psychological
health predicated on fulfilling innate human
needs in priority, culminating in selfactualization.
The concept was first presented in a 1943
paper, “A Theory of Human Motivation” and
further addressed in his 1954 book,
“Motivation and Personality”
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Self-Actualization…Acceptance of themselves
and others; problem centered; appreciation
for the world around them; independent.
Esteem…Confidence, achievement, selfesteem, respect of others, respect by others.
Social…Family, friendship, intimacy.
Safety…Security of self, family, health, job.
Physiological…Breathing, food, water, sleep.
CULTURE…AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Douglas McGregor…Organizational
Human Behavior Specialist during
the 1960’s
Was famous for his formulation of
theories addressing human
motivation:
Theory X (authoritarian management)
Theory Y (participative management)
THEORY X VS THEORY Y
 Theor y X ('authoritarian management' style)
 The average per son dislikes work and will avoid it he/she can.
 Therefore most people must be forced with the threat of punishment to
work towards organizational objectives.
 The average per son prefer s to be directed; to avoid responsibility; is
relatively unambitious, and wants security above all else.
 Theor y Y ('par ticipative management' style)
 Ef for t in work is as natural as work and play.
 People will apply self -control and self -direction in the pur suit of
organizational objectives, without external control or the threat of
punishment.
 Commitment to objectives is a function of rewards associated with
their achievement.
 People usually accept and of ten seek responsibility.
 The capacity to use a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and
creativity in solving organizational problems is widely, not narrowly,
distributed in the population.
 In industr y the intellectual potential of the average per son is only
par tly utilized.
CULTURE…AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
 Dr. Rensis Likert…Another researcher focused on
human behavior within the industrial organization
setting.
 Examined different organization and leadership
styles. Coined the term Organizational Climate
 To achieve maximum profitability, high productivity,
along with good labor relations, organizations must
make optimum use of their human
assets…Participative Management
 Likert, Rensis, “The Human Organization”, 1967
CULTURE…AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
 Dan Petersen…Considered by many to be one of the
fathers of modern day safety.
 Was among the first to recognize and address the
human behavioral side of safety.
 Author of numerous publications addressing the
human element and its relationship to the
organization.
 “Safety Management: A Human Approach” is a good
reference book by Dan Petersen
 Scott Geller: “The Psychology of Safety”; James
Roughton: “Developing an Effective Safety Culture”;
Donald Eckenfelder: “Values Driven Safety”
CULTURE DEFINED
Shared philosophies, ideologies, values,
beliefs, assumptions and norms (Kilmann,
1986)
Habits, folkways and norms that shape action
(Westrum, 1993)
‘Culture’ is to an organization what
’personality’ is to an individual
INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR SAFET Y
ADVISORY GROUP
 Af ter the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster in 1988 a
new term was coined…Safety Culture by the INSAD
 “The safety culture of an organization is the product of
individual and group values, attitudes, perceptions,
competencies and patterns of behavior that determine the
commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, an
organization’s health and safety management.
 Organizations with a positive safety culture are characterized
by communications founded on mutual trust, by shared
perceptions of the impor tance of safety and by confidence in
the efficacy of preventive measures.”
SAFET Y CULTURE DEFINED
 The way safety is perceived, valued and prioritized in
an organization…Reflects the real commitment to
safety at all levels within the organization ( Skybrary)
 “The way things are around here”
 “How an organization behaves when no one is
watching”
SAFET Y CULTURE DEFINED
An Environment Where Everyone:
Takes responsibility for personal safety
and safety of others;
Follows all safety rules and regulations;
Makes suggestions to improve safety;
Promptly reports accidents, losses, near
misses, unsafe conditions and unsafe
actions
SAFET Y CULTURE
GOOD OR BAD
IS THE RESULT OF
 Management and Employees:
 Norms…Unwritten rules; Beliefs; Actions; Practices
 Attitudes…The way a person views something/someone or
tends to behave towards it, often in an evaluative way
 Values…to regard or esteem highly
 Policies and Procedures:
 Policies…Statement of intent; Rules of order; Course of action
 Procedures…Sequence of activities; Step by step instructions
 Managers, Supervisors…Priorities, responsibilities
and accountabilities
 Employee Hiring, Training and Motivation
 Employee Involvement or Buy -In
 Actions to Correct Unsafe Behaviors and Conditions
SOCIAL CONFORMIT Y CAN BE RISKY
George Wills, Blacksburg,, VA
SAFET Y CULTURE
 Fact or Fiction…
 If workers are expected to Act, Think and Work safely much of this
will come from their perception of company values and culture, not
from written policies and procedures…
 Question…
 How would your company be described when it comes to values,
character, commitment and leadership…Your Culture?
 What adjectives might describe your current business?
 Principled…Honest…Dedicated…Loyal…Committed…Involved
 Misleading…Reckless…Cut-Throat…Unfair…Dishonest
KEY FINDINGS TO SAFET Y CULTURE EXCELLENCE
T H E C O N F E R E N C E B OA R D : D R I V I N G T O WA R D “ 0 ”
RESEARCH REPORT R -1334-03-RR (2003)
 Leadership at the top and throughout the
organization
 Management practices alone are not sufficient
 All company wor kers must be engaged and involved
 All wor kers…management, super visors, employees,
and even contractors must be empowered to achieve
safety excellence
 Strict adherence to regulator y compliance alone
will not ensure safety excellence
 Successful companies develop their own best
practices to enhance their perfor mance
 Safety and health is a shared value, belief at all
levels of management and among all employees
 Employees must feel confident that the company
values safety and health comparably with other
values
 Company-wide engagement enhances commitment
KEY FINDINGS TO SAFET Y CULTURE EXCELLENCE
T H E C O N F E R E N C E B OA R D : D R I V I N G T O WA R D “ 0 ”
RESEARCH REPORT R -1334-03-RR (2003)
 Companies must clear ly define what employees are
expected to do…Policies, procedures, r ules and
regulations
 Safety is driven at the line super visor y level just as
production, scheduling, costs and quality
 Safety is incor porated into a business process as an
operational strategy…A pplying tools and techniques
of good safety management not only reduces
injuries and illnesses but also improves efficiency,
quality and production
 Proactive safety measurements are
implemented…”If you can’t measure it, you can’t
manage it; if you can’t manage it, you can’t improve
it” Trailing indicators alone are simply not
sufficient any more, ie. OSHA recordable/lost time
rates
 Proactive measures…Unsafe obser vations; Safety
meetings; Training sessions; Near misses;
Documentation
INTERPRETATION GOES A LONG WAY
TOWARDS OUR BUY-IN
George Wills, Blacksburg, VA.
SETTING GOALS
 Goals…Changing mindset and direction
 Goal…A desired result that envisions, plans and
commits to achieve…A desired end -point
 We can think of a goal as doing the following:
 Defines the destination
 Changes the direction to move toward the
destination
 Changes the mindset to adjust to and support the
new direction
 Creates the necessity to develop specific tactics
 Goals tend to change your mindset by changing
your focus.
OBJECTIVES
 Objective …Establishing a series of concrete
steps
 If goals are about the big picture, then objectives
are all about tactics.
 Tactics are action plans to get from where you
are to where you want to be.
 A goal defines the direction and destination, but
the road to get there is accomplished by a series
of objectives.
QUALIT Y GURU…EDWARD DEMING
“Only after we have
demonstrated our concern
for, and taken care of, our
“HUMANWARE” can we
expect their concern and
loyalty for the development
of the “Hardware” and
“Software” aspects of our
business”
A FISHY TRUTH
Two inseparable tr uths are embodied in the
sayings:
“Safety is created in the boardroom”
and
“A rotten fish stinks from the head down”
KEY COMPONENTS OF A TRUE
SAFET Y CULTURE
 Safety commitment indeed starts at the top:
Authentic action
 Sufficient resources allocated: Dedicated budgets
and staff
 Written policies and procedures are in place
 Safety goals are on the “managerial dashboard”
 Accountability is established through job
descriptions as well as performance reviews
 Comprehensive inspections for hazards and
behaviors are conducted regularly.
 Owners, managers and supervisors walk the talk
KEY COMPONENTS OF A TRUE
SAFET Y CULTURE
 New and transferred employees receive sound
orientation training
 Safety training and communication is an on -going
process
 There is visible, strong employee involvement and
ownership
 A process for analyzing all accidents, near misses,
unsafe acts and conditions is in place
 Progress, milestones, accomplishments are
recognized and acknowledged
WORKING TOGETHER WE CAN ACHIEVE
SO MUCH MORE
George Wills,
Blacksburg, VA
ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS
 Organizational Factors
 Requires specific
assignment of roles and
responsibilities
 Operational Factors
 Requires things such as
concise, auditable
plans/procedures
 Cultural Factors
 Requires a continuous
improvement mind-set
throughout the company
DOING THE SAME OLD THING
AND EXPECTING TO SEE A CHANGE
Like A Ship
Trying To Sail
On Yesterdays Wind