Maritime Coastguard Agency
Safety culture describes the way in which safety is managed within an organisation. It relates to the beliefs and attitudes, values, and perceptions that employees share regarding safety in the organisation.
To reduce the rate of incidents, we need a good understanding of:
- why accidents happen
- what really causes them
- what kind of organisational culture can help to prevent them
Its important to recognise that while individual behaviour is influenced by many factors, the behaviour is an emergent property of the organisation. The safety culture of an organisation has a big impact on the actions of its employees and how seriously they take safety. Poor safety culture has been linked to many incidents in the maritime industry.
Figure 6 shows the various levels of safety culture as outlined by Hudson. Organisations can exist on or between any of the rungs and this can change over time, as it takes continuous effort for an organisation to maintain a certain standard. It should be noted that its not possible to reach the top of the ladder at the generative rung, without having gone through the other levels. So, an organisation will need to be at the proactive level before being able to work towards a generative culture.
Figure 6: Hudsons 5 levels of safety culture
Pathological
Who cares as long as were not caught.
No one cares about health and safety and are only driven by the threat of punishment.
Reactive
Safety is important. We do a lot every time there is an accident.
Safety is only taken seriously when things go wrong.
Calculative
We have systems in place to manage hazards.
There is a focus on data collection and higher analysis regarding safety. Higher numbers of audits take place. The information is not always shared in a useful manner.
Proactive
Safety leadership and values drive continuous improvement
Everyone who words for the organisation is engaged in its safety. The organisation recognises the value of continuous improvement.
Generative
Health and safety is how we do business around here.
The organisation sets high standards and expects to exceed them. Accidents, incidents and near misses are used for learning. Time is invested in continuous learning for all. There is an understanding that mistakes are inevitable and so preparation is key.
Reaching any of the higher levels on the ladder relies on commitment from managers and all seafarers.
Several individual, environmental and organisational factors can influence our perception of risk and risk-taking behaviour. Figure 7 illustrates some of these.
Figure 7: the factors that can affect our perception
Organisational factors
- Safety culture.
- Organisational culture.
- Safety leadership.
Environmental or situational factors
- Peer pressure.
- Routine violations.
Individual factors
- Knowledge.
- Mental health and physical wellbeing.