Avoid “fingerprints” for an effective safety culture

For a safety culture to be effective and thrive, three key initiatives are required. Don’t hold employees accountable, respond proactively to workplace accidents, and make sure contingent workers are familiar with the organization’s safety policies.

Piyush Sharma

That’s the conclusion of a team of Australian researchers. “Safety failures are usually a series of events,” says Piyush Sharma, a contributor to a recent study that examined safety culture from a multi-stakeholder perspective. “Why should I hold you accountable?”

“Towards an Effective Occupational Health and Safety Culture: A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective” is published in Volume 82 of the National Safety Council. Journal of Safety Research.

Sharma, who previously worked as a quality control engineer, is a professor at the Curtin University School of Management and Marketing in Perth. he recently safety + health About research.

Below is the edited transcript.

of Journal of Safety Researchis a joint publication of the National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd., disseminating peer-reviewed research in all areas of safety and health. learn more.

what is your research?

Organizations tend to start assigning responsibilities after an incident. “Who did it? We had good policies in place. Someone screwed it up.” It leads to avoidant behavior. People fear that if they speak up, they will somehow be condemned. There is also an overall trend towards temporary employment of the workforce. They are not very invested in the whole idea of safety. How can this temporary worker be trained in the most appropriate way? His third thing we discovered is that organizations can often be very checklist driven when it comes to safety. But even then there are safety issues. It is important to update safety procedures as the work environment changes.

What is the biggest takeaway from this research?

Don’t take it for granted. Hiring a safety consultant to develop this entire beautiful safety plan is pointless if it is not implemented unless employees, especially temporary workers, are involved. A shortcut is taken. Violate safety standards. And then one day something happens.

What surprised you about the results?

I was amazed at how casual some of these companies and managers were. Safety is where everyone’s lives depend. I was shocked because I couldn’t feel the urgency and importance of it.

How does your research directly impact workers?

When your employees aren’t available, don’t have the right tools, and don’t have the right training, disaster is waiting to happen. If organizations pay attention to these issues, it should help workers do a better job of staying safe and avoiding accidents.

Which industries will benefit most from your research?

Mostly process-driven organizations such as manufacturing, power plants, energy, oil and gas, and mining.

Are there any limitations to this research?

We have become too focused on the manufacturing, mining and engineering sectors. Future research will likely look to other areas. These areas present their own challenges, even in an office environment.

What are the next steps for research on this topic?

Why should safety studies be published only in safety journals? It should be discussed with the board. It should be part of your business strategy. We would like to incorporate this body of research into a mainstream management journal.

The entire study is available free on ScienceDirect for six months.

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Avoid “fingerprints” for an effective safety culture

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