Safety Culture

Definitions
How
do
we
derive
corporate
or
organizational culture
Three levels of culture
Universal features of safety culture
Illustration of safety culture
Follow up ACTION PLAN to enhance safety
culture
Tangible evidence
Recommended further reading Safety
Culture, A Report by INSAG, Safety Series
No. 75-II

Definitions of Concepts
Culture - A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the
group learned as it solved problems of external adaptation
and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be
considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new
members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in
reflection to those problems. ---(Edgar Schein)

Organizational Culture - individual and group

values, attitudes, perceptions, competencies, and patterns
of behavior that determine the degree of an organizations
commitment to certain ways of doing things

Definitions of Concepts
Safety Culture - The assembly of characteristics
and attitudes in organizations and individuals
which establishes that, as an overriding priority,
protection and safety issues receive the attention
warranted by their significance.
Security Culture - The assembly of
characteristics, attitudes and behaviour of
individuals, organizations and institutions which
serves as a means to support and enhance nuclear
security
Transformative technological developments,
major events or happenings could bring cultural
shifts

How do we derive
Corporate/Organizational Culture?

From answers to the following key Qs that

focus on vision, goals and strategies:o
o
o
o
o

Who are we?

What do we believe in?
What inspires us?
Where are we going?
What will it look like when we get there?
leaders have to translate these into
action, by explicitly establishing,
supporting and reinforcing practices

Safety and Security Culture(s) as subsets of

organizational culture
Both include values, attitudes, beliefs - towards
safety and security Plus the style and proficiency with which the
organization manages safety and security

Common Goal: Protect individuals, public and

environment from undue radiation risks.

How to balance the needs of legal compliance &

financial viability
via efficient procedures of risk-management

Safety and Security cultures share a

common objective
Limiting
Risks
unintentional)

(both

intentional

and

to not merely guard infrastructure and products, or prevent

unauthorized access, but rather to foil any action that will
cause inadvertent OR deliberate harm to people and the
environment.
to contribute to making the existing infrastructure robust
enough to withstand an act of sabotage
to design procedures that detect incidents quickly, and
trigger remedial actions in the short term (emergency
response) and the long term (emergency preparedness).

Safety and Security professionals need to understand

each others language, viewpoint, thinking, objectives
and objections

Levels of culture go from the tacit &

invisible to the visible
Level III
Artifacts &
Behavior

Level II
Espoused Values

Level I
Basic
Assumptions

= Visible and tangible: procedures,

documented priorities, greeting
rituals, dress, forms of address

Intangible but can be elicited:

strategies, goals, philosophies,
principles, values

Unconsciously felt and invisible:

beliefs, assumptions, perceptions

Universal features of safety

culture
Individual
awareness of the importance of safety.
Knowledge and competence, conferred by training
and instruction of personnel and by their selfeducation.
Commitment, requiring demonstration at senior
management level of the high priority of safety and
adoption by individuals of the common goal of
safety.
Motivation, through leadership, the setting of
objectives and systems of rewards and sanctions,
and through individuals' self-generated attitudes.
Supervision, including audit and review practices,
with readiness to respond to individuals' questioning
attitudes.
Responsibility, through formal assignment and

Safety Culture has two major

components:
the framework determined by organizational policy
and by managerial action, and
the response of individuals in working within and
benefiting by the framework

Success depends, however, on commitment

and competence, provided both in the policy
and managerial context and by individuals
themselves

Illustration of safety culture

Follow-up Action Plan to Enhance

Safety Culture
Self-assessment

Conclusions (Identified
Weaknesses/Gaps)

The Management Team develops an

ACTION PLAN

TANGIBLE EVIDENCE

GOVERNMENT AND ITS ORGANIZATIONS

Legislation and government policies for the use of nuclear

power set broad safety objectives, establish the necessary
institutions and ensure adequate support for its safe
development.
Governments assign the responsibilities of such institutions
clearly, arrange that conflict of interest in important safety
matters is minimized, and ensure in particular that safety
matters are addressed on their merits, without interference
or undue pressure from bodies whose responsibility for
nuclear safety is less direct.
Governments provide strong support for regulatory agencies,
including adequate powers, sufficient funds for all activities
and guarantees that the regulatory task can be pursued
without undue interference.
Governments promote and contribute to the international

TANGIBLE EVIDENCE
REGULATORS

The management style of regulatory agency ensures that

common concern for safety leads to relations with operating
organizations that are open and cooperative and yet formal
and separate.
Controversial topics are dealt with in an open fashion. Those
whom they regulate have an opportunity to comment on the
intent.
Standards are adopted that call for appropriate levels of
safety.
Regulators recognize that the primary responsibility for
safety rests with the operating organization and not the
regulator. To this purpose, they ensure that regulatory
requirements are clear but not so prescriptive as to set
undue constraints.
In dealing with new problems, while a generally conservative

TANGIBLE EVIDENCE
OPERATING ORGANIZATION LEVEL

Corporate Policy Level;

In judging the effectiveness of Safety Culture in an operating

organization, it is necessary to start at the corporate policy
level since it is there that attitudes, decisions and methods of
operation demonstrate the real priority.
The primary indication of corporate level commitment to
Safety Culture is its statement of safety policy and
objectives.
Establishment of a management structure, assignment of
responsibilities within it and allocation of resources are all
primary responsibilities at corporate policy level.
Senior management initiates regular reviews of the safety
performance of the organization.

TANGIBLE EVIDENCE
OPERATING ORGANIZATION LEVEL

Plant Level;

At the plant itself, safety is an immediate concern, and an

effective Safety
Culture is an essential feature of day to day activities. Three
different aspects are considered:
o the environment created by the local management, which
conditions individuals' attitudes;
o the attitudes of individuals, in all departments and at all
levels from the plant manager down;
o actual safety experience at the plant, which reflects the
real priority given to safety in the organization.

TANGIBLE EVIDENCE
SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION LEVEL

The important management provisions and individual

attitudes which characterize an effective Safety Culture in
an operating organization may be adapted to suit all
supporting organizations, particularly through emphasis
on the demand for product quality.
Research organizations have in place mechanisms for
monitoring relevant work around the world.
Design organizations may seek the input of external
experts, if necessary to complement their own capabilities.

ECOMMENDED READING FOR FURTHER DETAIL

Safety Culture, A Report by INSAG
Safety Series No. 75-II