Safety culture personal factors

Safety culture is a complex, multidimensional concept comprised of organizational, personal, psychological, behavioral, and environmental factors. 

The current safety culture of the example organization was assessed using Glendon et al. s (1994) questionnaire. A summary of the study and results is presented below. The personal protective equipment factor was dropped from this study as it was not relevant to the control room staff. 

Figure 4.12 The interrelated job, person and organisational factors that affect the safety culture of an organisation...

In this chapter we consider the value of theory in guiding our approaches to safety and health improvement. You will see how a vision for a Total Safety Culture is a necessary guide to achieve safety excellence. A basic principle here is that safety performance results from the dynamic interaction of environment, behavior, and person-based factors. Achieving a Total Safety Culture requires attention to each cf these. I make a case for integrating person-based and behavior-based psychology in order to address most effectively the human dynamics of injury prevention. 

The behavior and person factors represent the human dynamics of occupational safety and are addressed in this book. The basic principle here is that behavior-based and person-based factors need to be addressed in order to achieve a Total Safety Culture. These two divergent approaches to understanding and managing the human element represent the psychology of injury prevention. 

Paying attention to only behavior-based factors (the observable activities of people) or to only person-based factors (unobservable feeling states or attitudes of people) is like using a limited map to find a destination, as with my attempt to find Palatka, FL. The mission to achieve a Total Safety Culture requires a comprehensive framework—a complete map of the relevant psychological territory. Figure 2.4 illustrates the complex interaction of environment, person, and behavior factors. 

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 realize the power of these two interpersonal factors. Interventions capable of overcoming peer pressure and blind obedience are detailed in Section 4 of this book. What I want to stress at this point is the vital role of leadership. One person can make a difference—decreasing botii destructive conformity and obedience—by deviating from the norm and setting a safe example. And when a critical mass of individuals boards the "safety bandwagon," you get constructive conformity and obedience that supports a Total Safety Culture. 

Perhaps every reader realizes that our past experiences influence our present perceptions. In Chapter 3, we considered shifts in methods and perceptions needed to achieve a Total Safety Culture. When I give workshops on paradigm shifts, someone invariably expresses concern about resistance. "He (or she) keeps playing old tapes and is not open to new ideas," is a common refrain. Past experiences are biasing present perceptions. Actually, there is a long trail of intertwined factors here. Past experiences filter through a personal evaluation process that is influenced by person factors, including many past perceived experiences. The cumulative collection of these previous perceived experiences biases every new experience and makes it indeed difficult to "teach an old dog new tricks."... 

If you recall, our overall map or guiding principle is represented by the Safety Triad (Figure 2.3). Its reference points are the three primary determinants of safety performance—environment, person, and behavior factors. To achieve a Total Safety Culture, we need to understand and pay attention to each. 

Actively caring is planned and purposeful behavior, directed at environment, person, or behavior factors. It is reactive or proactive and direct or indirect. Direct, proactive, and behavior-focused active caring is most challenging, but it is usually most important for large-scale injury prevention. This chapter discusses conditions and situations that inhibit actively caring behavior. We need to understand why people resist opportunities to actively care for safety. Then, we can develop interventions to increase this desired behavior which is critical for achieving a Total Safety Culture. 

The 20 questions included in Figure 15.11 were selected from the actively caring person scale of our Safety Culture Survey. Each of the five actively caring states discussed in this chapter is assessed. There are only four questions per state, so this should not be considered a reliable nor a valid measure of these factors. In other words, do not read too much into this survey. Just respond to each query according to the instructions and then check the answer key in Figure 15.12 to increase your imderstanding of the five actively caring person states. 

Principle 7 A Total Safety Culture requires continuous attention to factors in three domains enviroiunent, behavior, and person. 

The psychology of safety requires us to consider both external behavior and internal person factors. Chapter 15 focused on the role of person states in influencing people to actively care for another person s safety and health. Chapter 16 showed how outside factors can be manipulated to influence these person states and, thus, increase actively caring behavior. A Total Safety Culture requires integrating both behavior-based and person-based psychology. The next several principles focus on understanding "inside" factors. 

Once you have discovered the core factors, examine each factor and determine what type of corrective action should be undertaken to eliminate that factor. Assign a person to be responsible and a target date for each factor. Reexamine the situation regularly. Reassess the situation and make new recommendations with new responsible persons and target dates until the situation has been resolved. The resolution of these situations often will not be easy or quick. Some will be struggled with for months or years. When a difficult situation does get resolved, the positive effect on safety culture will likely be tremendous. 

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