Rail Professional Magazine (September 2023) Article: The value of a Safety Culture Survey
In a recently published article in Rail Professional Magazine, the OPC, shares work around a consultancy project implementing a 3-year, Safety Culture Survey (SCS) with a global, maritime client, V., who are an independent global leader in ship management and marine services. Based in 30 countries, they have over 40,000 employees and operate in every ocean. Their operations encompass ship and crew management, crew and technical services, as well as additional marine services including supply chain and specialist marine insurance.
Using OPC Assessment’s Safety Culture Questionnaire (SAFECQ) tool as a base, the OPC worked with V. to create a bespoke, anonymised survey focused around 12 key building blocks about safety and safety culture. The SCS was sent to all employees across V.’s wide operational and geographical diversity.
The article explores a bit of detail behind some of the 12 safety building blocks used in the survey and what those may look like at an operational level. E.g.,
- the profile of safety,
- employee’s attitudes towards safety,
- communication about safety and
- recognition and openness towards safety in an organisation.
Key insights and findings from the safety culture survey and employee feedback can help:
- to shape HSSEQ strategies;
- intensify employee safety awareness and focus; and,
- act as a catalyst for new safety culture initiatives.
Empirical evidence suggests that safety culture is directly linked to an organisation’s safety performance, but more importantly safety culture can have a significant impact on preventing a major incident. The absence of a strong safety culture has previously been implicated in some major rail accidents. Many organisations regularly undertake safety culture audits. Including them as part of a continuous improvement programme is very advantageous in preventing safety breaches; acting as a catalyst for safety performance learning, identifying hazards and safety improvements.
“Having worked in partnership with the OPC for several years I’ve witnessed the value of the SAFECQ tool in practice. I’ve seen it help international maritime operators and service providers to measure, influence, and improve safety culture across their operations and teams. The OPC’s manner of engaging colleagues; providing clear and concise insights, and of helping develop and deliver tangible initiatives that frontline workers can connect with and relate to is invaluable. Their involvement is another extremely beneficial tool that HSSEQ leaders and teams can leverage to improve safety performance and cultural growth over time.”
Ian Trebinski, Group Director – HSSEQ at V.
If you'd like to read the article in full, click here.
The Safety Culture Survey joint work with V. was also published in the August edition #514 of Manufacturing and Engineering Magazine MEM.
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