The match between safety and culture was made around 1986, when the INSAG delivered its initial report on the Chernobyl accident. Whether the marriage is a happy one is still a matter of debate, but it is most definitely a fruitful one. In the past twenty years, many researchers have devoted much effort to both the theoretical development of the concept as well as its assessment. Moreover, various attempts have been made to relate the concept of safety culture to several other concepts as well as various safety performance indicators. It is, of course, the latter relationship that should provide safety culture with its raison d’être, because what would be the purpose of the concept of safety culture if it has nothing to do with safety (outcomes) ? This book brings together six papers written over a period of about ten years, which are devoted to the concept of safety culture and safety climate, and which reflect the overall aspiration to come to terms with both concepts, conceptually as well practically. This quest has been guided by the following research questions: What is safety culture actually and how can it be properly explored? The first chapter provides a critical review of the safety culture literature. In the second chapter, the use of questionnaires, safety climate’s preferred research technique, is explored in depth. In Chapter 3 the safety culture toolbox is opened and equipped; the tool-box is thereupon taken to Chapter 4, in which a full case study is described. In Chapter 5 the three broad approaches to the assessment of safety culture are outlined and discussed, and its relation with the process of safety management is deliberated. The book ends with a synthesis, a description of six images depicting the most prevalent viewpoints on safety culture. (Author/publisher)
Abstract