Safety culture attitude change

Harvey, J., Bolam, H. D., Gregory, D., Erdos, G. (2001). The effectiveness of training to change safety culture and attitudes within a highly regulated environment. Personnel Review, 30, 615-646. 

The safety culture action principle, behavior based attitudes theory and accident triangle principles work together to promote the change of zero accidents concept to zero accidents objective from three indispensable aspects of idea , action and methods , as is shown in Figure 4. Three principles commonly guide zero accidents concept, which is one of the key elements of safety culture, to strengthen enterprise safety management, prevent accidents and lessen accident rate, as follows ... 

Safety management normally experiences more resistance than any other aspect introduced into an organization. The safety culture that is embedded in the organization tends to prevail in the future. Safety attitudes and behaviors experienced in the past tend to be carried over to the future. These can only be changed with a deep, ongoing, and concerted effort to make the implementation of the safety system work. 

The safety culture change journey is a tough, long, and sometimes tedious one. Everyone involved with the organization must be on board or the change will not happen. This change in safety attitudes cannot occur at the worker level only. It must start with the leadership and cascade down to all echelons within the organization, and must involve contractors and temporary employees as well. 

A positive safety culture seems like a good idea. Surely to have a safety aware workforce, imbued with safety attitudes, open about error and so forth must be helpful But is there any evidence that changing the culture is likely to improve the quality of healthcare or the safety of patients A few years ago the answer to this was simply no, or at best only indirect evidence. Now however, a cadre of brave researchers undaunted by conceptual and methodological minefields have begun to address this issue. But it is difficult and there are no simple answers. 

The Hopkins team assumed from the outset that safety interventions could only take root if the front line staff were aware of the hazards patients faced and a need for change. A positive safety culture was regarded as essential, by no means sufficient to produce change but a necessary foundation. The safety critical attitudes, beliefs and behaviours need to be embedded at all levels of the organization, so that as far as possible everyone begins with a shared set of assumptions. 

The discussion is based on theory on lO effect on safety, perspectives on learning, communication principles and culture, attitude and mindset as a basis for change. 

Summarising the various concepts and definitions proposed, safety culture appears to be the broader, manifest concept behind the fiamewoik of safety climate. Safety cultme is the source for patterns of behaviour which can be observed, described and changed (Goodmaim 2004), whereas safely climate is the sum of behaviours and attitudes based on common assumptions and beliefs toward patient safety. Cox and Flin (1998) describe culture as an organisation s personality while climate is seen as the organisation s mood . 

Safety culture surveys were mentioned earher and can be used to gauge perceptions, attitudes and values. Introducing change may need methods of facilitation where people s existing perceptions, attitudes and values can be opened up and examined in a supportive envirorunent. The new or altered paradigm (set of values, attitudes and beliefs) can then be introduced. The third step is to gain adoption and ownership of the new paradigm and lock it in. 

Systems thinkers understand the link between behavior and attitude. A small change in behavior can result in a beneficial change in attitude, followed by more behavior change and then more attitude change—eventually resulting in total commitment. So behavior-based safety sets the stage for systems thinking and interdependent teamwork, and this can lead ultimately to a Total Safety Culture. 

Staley, B.G. 1992. Culture shock—changing attitudes to safety in mines. Proceedings of the Safety, Hygiene and Health in Mining Conference. Harrogate, UK. 1 263-273. 

The aim of this chapter is not to dissect the meaning of paradigm nor to debate whether one or more paradigm shifts have occurred in industrial safety. Instead, I want to define ten basic changes in belief, attitude, or perception that are needed to develop the ultimate Total Safety Culture. These shifts require new principles, approaches, or procedures, and will... 

The shift in how paradigm is commonly defined does contain an important lesson. When we adopt and use new definitions, our mindset or perception changes. In other words, as I indicated in the previous chapter, we act ourselves into a new way of thinking or perceiving. This is a primary theme of this book. When employees get involved in more effective procedures to control safety, they develop a more constructive and optimistic attitude toward safety and the achievement of a Total Safety Culture. Let us consider the shifts in principles, procedures, beliefs, attitudes, or perceptions needed for the three new Es—ergonomics, empowerment, and evaluation—and for achieving a Total Safety Culture. 

Two of these system variables involve human factors. Each generally receives less attention than the environment, mostly because it is more difficult to visibly measure the outcomes of efforts to change the human factors. Some human factors programs focus on behaviors (as in behavior-based safety) others focus on attitudes (as in a person-based approach). A Total Safety Culture integrates these two approaches. 

To achieve a Total Safety Culture, we need to integrate behavior-based and person-based psychology and effect large-scale culture changes. The five chapters in Section 3 explain principles and proce-dures founded cm behavioral research which can be applied successfully to change behaviors and attitudes throughcmt organizations and communities. This chapter describes the primary characteristics of the behavior-based approach to the prevention and treatment of human problems and shows their special relevance to occupational safety. The three basic ways we learn are reviewed and related to the development of safe vs. at-risk behaviors and attitudes. 

The impact of an intervention can be measured by comparing perception surveys given before and after implementation. At one plant, our baseline Safety Culture Survey indicated that secretaries had below-average levels of perceived empowerment, as assessed by the measures of self-efficacy, personal control, and learned optimism described earlier in Chapter 15. A special recognition intervention was devised and later the survey was administered again to measure changes in the five actively caring person states as well as safety perceptions and attitudes. 

Behavior analysis" is the term used by researchers and scholars in this area of applied psychology. This implies that behavior is analyzed first (Chapter 9) and, if change is called for, an intervention process is developed with input from the clients (Chapters 11 to 13). Civen that "analysis" can sound cold or bring to mind Freud, I have recommended the label "behavior-based approach" for several years. This contrasts nicely with the "person-based approach" that focuses on attitudes, feelings, and expectancies. As I have repeatedly emphasized, a Total Safety Culture requires us to consider both behavior-based and person-based psychology. 

Obviously, building a Total Safety Culture requires a long-term continuous improvement process. It involves cultivating constructive change in both the behaviors and attitudes of everyone in the culture. This book provides you with principles and procedmes to make this happen. Applying what you read here might not result in a Total Safety Culture. However, it is sure to make a beneficial difference in your own safety and health, and in the safety and health of others you choose to help. 

Developing or enhancing the current safety culture is a necessary task if your company wants to stay in business. Changing the safety culture will undoubtedly be a difficult and time-consuming task for a variety of reasons. Because culture is people-dependent, in order to build or develop culture, we must change people s attitudes and behaviors. 

If team members believe that they could not voice their legitimate concerns about safety problems that they encounter on the job without fear of reprisal, then that belief needs to be changed immediately. An attitude or perception that complaints from team members regar ng safe and healthful working conditions cause negative effects toward long-term successful employment will impede safety culture development. 

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