Safety Culture Assessment
The prevailing health and safety culture within an organisation i.e. the way
it approaches health and safety issues, is a major influence on the health
and safety
related behaviour of people at work. The development of a positive safety culture
is important if high standards of health and safety are to be achieved and
maintained.
The Safety Culture Assessment (SCA) tool is an easy to use
tool for assessing the shared values within an organisation which influence
the attitudes and behaviours of employees, supervisors and managers in relation
to health and safety. It provides an evaluation of whether or not the existing
culture emphasizes safety as the overriding priority.
There are four (4) parts to the assessment process:
- Analysis of health and safety related documentation
- Workplace observation
- Employee safety culture survey questionnaire
- Management and Health & Safety Representative interviews
The Safety Culture Assessment Tool is designed to help companies determine some important aspects of their safety culture and aid the promotion of employee involvement in health and safety issues.
"Organisations with a positive safety culture are characterised
by communications founded on mutual trust, by shared perceptions of the importance
of safety and by confidence in the efficacy of preventive measures”.
(HSE’s Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (ACSNI:
HSC, 1993)
Download the Safety Culture Assessment Tool (PDF - nine pages).
