Models of Safety Culture

Cooper, M. D., Towards a Model of Safety Culture, Safety Science (2000) vol. 36, p. 111-136 (http //behavioural-safety.com/articles/Towards A Model Of Safety Culture/). 

Maloney, B. (2011) Conceptual model of safety culture for construction. In Proceedings of the CIB W099 Conference Prevention - Means to the End of Construction Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities. CIB, Rotterdam. 

Cooper, M.D. 2000. Towards a Model of Safety Culture. Safety Science, 36, 111-136. 

As it was described in part 1.1 Models of Safety culture , there is already an understanding of the... 

A set of publications (Schulte et al. 2003, Sherehiy et al. 2006) indicates that in order to improve the management of OH S system there is a need to develop principles and tools of KM in the area of application at the organisational level. Even though rapid improvement has been made in the field of OH S in Estonia in recent years, there are still challenges ahead. The process of KM in the field of OH S at the state level and major problems were identified and several possibilities for improvements in Estonia were discussed by some researchers (Lehtinen 2004, Kurrpa et al. 2004, Martimo 2004, Kempinen et al. 2004, Jarvis et al. 2007, Reinhold et al. 2009). The contribution of the present paper consists of the presented modified Cooper s Model of Safety Culture with concept of KM. Our discussion of the current OH S system and employers cooperation with OPs is based on descriptive data from interviews with managers and on the... 

Further research already in progress (Jarvis et al. 2009 ) intends to analyze in-depth the results from two OPs questionnaire surveys and to test the model of safety culture. Another kind of study approach would be more suitable for probing deeper into safety culture issues at the company level, policies and practice in OH S. Authors planned the first longitudinal study of OH S approaches at the workplace level in Estonia, which will allow gaining insight about various organisational factors that might have... 

Figure 2. Added Cooper s Reciprocal Model of Safety Culture. 

The need for a valid and reliable instrument to assess safety culture is not restricted to the United States. The AHRQ Hospital SOPS instrument has been widely adopted in over 45 countries around the world and the instmment has been translated into more than 20 languages. It has become the de-facto international survey for measuring safety culture in healthcare. While other industries such as aviation, nuclear power and petrochemicals have been interested in assessing safety culture there is neither a standard nor agreement as to what to measure. However, in healthcare, the AHRQ instmment is a standard and it has created a shared mental model of safety culture that has become almost universal in healthcare throughout the world. 

Concept/Model fit - the degree to which the item appears to fit the concept and model of safety culture... 

Some questions cross-loaded onto more than one factor in factor analysis (e g. Teamwork and Communications), or loaded on different factors in different factor analyses, suggesting that the item may not fit consistently into a coherent model of safety culture. Many of these concerned issues that were better covered by other items statistical analysis was used to determine the best - most precise - questions. An engineering-related example was I sometimes have to do workarounds to compensate for lack of resources (equipment, manpower or time) . Wording was another reason for removal of certain questiotmaire items. For instance, controllers pointed out that they could not be sure what would constitute sufficient system checks by maintenance staff when asked whether Maintenance staff perform sufficient system checks . 

A number of models of safety culture are presented in the literature. Cooper (2000), for example, presented a model that suggests that safety culture is comprised of three interrelated aspects psychological, behavioral, and situational. The model encompasses internal psychological factors, observable ongoing safety-related behaviors, and objective situational features. Cooper s model is presented in Figure 15.1. 

In summary, many models of safety culture are presented in the literature. Analogous to the concept s definition, it is apparent, too, that there is a lack of a universally accepted model (Guldenmund, 2000 HSE, 2005a). Based on a review of safety culture models and measures, Guldenmund (2000) concluded that there was no satisfying model of safety culture (or climate). In the time since Guldenmund s review, no satisfactory models have yet been presented however, from the models proposed in the literature, it is possible to make the following conclusions ... 

FIGURE 15.3 Ball and Scotney s safety culture model detailing 13 factors that influence an organization s safety culture. (Adapted from Wright, M.S. et al.. Development of a Business Excellence Model of Safety Culture, Health and Safety Executive, London, 1999. Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence.)... 

Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, Wright et al. (1999) developed a business model of safety culture. This model (see Figure 15.6) attempts to specify what it is that an organization must do to develop and sustain an effective safety culture. Wright et al. (1999) examined each of the components of the model in order to specify a series of micro subelements. Examples are presented in Table 15.2 for the full set of subelements, the reader is referred to Wright et al. (1999). 

Source Wright, M.S. et al.. Development of a Business Excellence Model of Safety Culture, Health and Safety Executive, London, 1999. With permission. 

Cooper MD (2000). Towards a model of safety culture. Safety Sci 2000 (36), 111-136. 

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