Safety Culture Case Study

Steve McKay is the safety manager for SEA, Inc., a company that manufactures a wide range of agricultural products, including herbicides, pesticide, and fertilizers. Since he took the job, Steve has worked long hours to improve the company safety record and he has become a model for how to get things done. Yet he feels that even more can be done to achieve a company-wide safety culture, and he has approached management with some of his ideas.

In the simplest terms, what is a safety culture?

By definition a safety culture is the common and general accepted way people behave in the workplace. But in the true sense there is no single definition of a safety culture. What one may view as the best standard to safety is turned upside-down and inside out to reform their own “definition” of a safety culture. In simpler terms, a safety culture is an atmosphere within a company or organization where safety is understood and also accepted as the top priority.

In an effective organization this can be seen in the attitudes, behaviors and systems throughout the organization. This must include commitment from every individual starting from the top down. Once this culture has been established the company must also ensure that the focus on safety does not dwindle and that the culture remains intact.

Who will Steve have to recruit to aid in the development of a safety culture? Who are some of the key participants?

Safety within SEA, as in any other organization, must start with commitment from the top. That begins with top level executives and stakeholders whom must share the same drive and commitment to safety as Steve does. Those upper management individuals must in turn ensure the performance of middle managers, the quality of...

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...ld be reviewing the OHSA 300 log to see what trends are being reported. If the log is empty, then one must look to why employees are not reporting injuries. Is there a culture that frowns upon reporting accidents or are employees just not educated on the proper procedures. Lastly, I feel we must go back to the enforcement of policies and holding employees accountable for their actions. If employees willing know that they can act in an unsafe manner and without fear of recourse then they will act accordingly. The policies set fourth must be adhered to and progressive disciplinary action must be taken to show employees that safety is a top priority. In most instances this is one of the hardest areas in implement due to the fact that your are changing the attitudes of employees but by establishing negative consequences to actions then attitude shifts will follow.