Abstract
The idea of safety culture in an organization is comprised of many abstract elements that make it had to implement(Díaz-de-mera-sanchez, Gónzalez-gaya, Morales, & Rosales, 2015). The following research, therefore, studies the development of a Safety Culture Assessment Tool (SCAT). Also, a follow-up assessment on the routine safety procedures in industries that is grounded on SCAT is discussed. Ways that promote a culture of safety are also proposed and examined. Keywords; safety culture, fatalism, responsibilism, degree, rate.
Introduction
Industrial safety is a topic of great importance in the industrial world. It refers to the safety protocols, measures, and precautions taken in industries to prevent employees from injury. Industrial safety in industries has lately become a key concern to governments, health practitioners, and industry safety agencies. In the earlier years, industry safety wasn't clearly defined. Workers did their work under harsh conditions in some workplaces and without the provision of the necessary protective equipment. These days employee negligence can lead to the prosecution of an employer. Employers are required to provide employees with the necessary safety material required for their field of work.
Background and purpose of study
Research done by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade revealed that 70% of all accidents that happen in industries are caused by human faults and errors(Shi & Shiichiro, 2012). The errors include; misjudgement, defective manuals, and mis-manipulation. The research also revealed that 90% of all accidents in steel companies are caused by human error(Shi & Shiichiro, 2012). Consequently, there have been major debates regarding how human error can be reduced in industries to promote industrial safety.The safety culture concept originated from nuclear industries. Other industries have also been embracing the safety culture concept to reduce accidents and casualties while at work. The safety culture concept was introduced by the International Atomic Energy Agency after the 1986 Chernobyl Accident that caused numerous casualties(Shi & Shiichiro, 2012).
The cause of the Chernobyl accident was ruled out to be an operator error but upon further investigation the cause of the accident was ruled out to be complex organizational features. There was no established regulatory scheme at the national level. The designers of the plant had not come up with effective safety measures. Also, there was a sloppy preservation of procedures and rules and as a result, there was no well-established system to ensure the reactor's safety(Rui, Mingguang, Yinting, & Chengjiang, 2014). Consequently, what resulted was an accident that was said to have been caused by the absence of a safety culture within the Nuclear Power Management Industry. Other similar accidents that have resulted due to the lack of a safety culture include JCO's Tokai Nuclear Fuel Plant (TNFP) accident, and the nuclear reactor issues covered up in 2002 by TEPCO(Pierce, 2016). Due to these incidences and a lot more that are not mentioned here, safety culture in industries caught the global eye. Different countries all over the world started paying more attention to safety protocols and procedures and some implemented safety rules and procedures by which industries were supposed to conform. Nonetheless, due to the abstract nature of safety culture, it has proved difficult to implement an effective safety culture in industries(Chen et al., 2015). As a result, a lot of industries have failed to effectively develop safety cultures. The following study aims to analyze safety culture development strategies in industrial organizations from an industrial safety perspective.
Explanation of the topic
Industrial safety management perspective
There are two major misguided beliefs that are commonly held regarding human error. One of them is the aspect of fatalism. Fatalism suggests that human beings are susceptible to error and that nothing can be done to change that fact(Shi & Shiichiro, 2012). Individuals who take the fatalism perspective then believe that people ought to be resigned about human error since there is absolutely no redemption from it. As much as human beings are not perfect and sometimes make mistakes, the faults committed by humans can be greatly reduced by establishing a good safety culture within and organization. Human error in industries is often not solely the fault of the individual who made the fault but rather a defect in the safety regulation system of the industry. The other misguided belief is that of responsibilism. Responsibilism is the belief that those found to cause human errors should be punished and found at fault for it(Chen et al., 2015). The responsibilism belief is a misguided belief since it human beings are prone to cause errors when placed under certain conditions and also because human behavior fluctuates. Responsibilism cannot be used in coming up with strategies to counter human error since it doesn't recognize that human beings are not perfect beings by their very nature.
Safety culture development strategies
The first step to coming up with an effective safety culture in an organization is assessing the existing safety culture for weaknesses(Lax, 2016). Evaluation of the safety culture proves to be a difficult task in many cases since there is no defined evaluation system. However, recently the Japanese Institute for Science of Labour (ISL) have come up with an evaluation system for culture safety in organizations. The system is divided into ten aspects that are; rules and documentation, safety statement, roles, authority and responsibility, safety and productivity, education and training, troubleshooting, cooperation with outsiders, working conditions, institution, and activities and communication and information channel(Bayburin, 2015).Another important element of a safety culture is the extent to which behaviors and safety attitudes are shared by the members of the industry or organization(Pierce, 2016). Sharing the same safety attitudes and behaviors is essential for forming a safety culture since a culture cannot be formed unless there are common attitudes shared by a group of people.
Relevance
The topic of safety culture is of high relevance since safety in industries can only be maintained if everyone holds certain attitudes and behaviors. Safety is not an individual thing in the industry but rather a team effort(Pierce, 2016). This is why it doesn’t make sense to punish an individual for a fault and expect that punishment is an effective method to stop human error in industries. In industry, one person cannot be expected to follow safety protocol while the other blatantly ignores it. Safety is a key issue in industries since accidents at work have led to serious disabilities and problems and sometimes even death. The topic of safety culture is also relevant due to a large number of industrial managers who fail to uphold safety protocols since they do not want to spend money investing in the safety of their employees. Ignoring the safety culture always leads to a greater loss in the long term.Also, this topic is relevant due to the recent industrial accidents that have occurred. They include the Chernobyl accident and the Fukushima plant accident. To avoid accidents in future, we must look into what we are doing wrong and what we are not doing that we are supposed to do to enhance industrial safety(Lax, 2016). Exploring the safety culture provides insight into what we are supposed to do if we are to prevent industrial accidents in future. We must remember that not only do industrial accidents lead to casualties but they can also damage the reputation of the organization, lead it into endless lawsuits and cause major losses to the company.
Summary
Since culture does not simply develop in a day, it is right to say that the safety culture of an organization may take the time to develop. This is because it involves the integration of new beliefs and values into people’s lives. It also requires the constant practice of the behaviors for them to be adopted. Safety culture is something we constantly hold in our conscious mind and can only be achieved when we put together activities that aid in its implementation. Moreover, the staff needs a constant reminder of the importance of upholding the safety culture through things like seminars or educational workshops. For an industrial safety culture to be effective, it should also use modern materials for ensuring safety. An organization should come up with a way to constantly improve the safety culture. There are wide views of the term culture. Different actions can be used to suggest culture, for example, setting objectives for culture safety, defining a balance between productivity and safety or removing features that cannot be narrowed down to procedures(Shi & Shiichiro, 2012). We need to acknowledge that culture is something we obtain only after we understand certain procedures and practice them in our day to day lives. Culture is dynamic which means it's always changing and growing. It is not a constant. Therefore, we must continue its activity and think on ways to better it, otherwise, if we fail to do so it will start retrogressing.
Conclusion
Safety culture is essential in every industry. Governments should establish regulations that require every organization to have a well-stated safety culture. Staff members should be educated on the importance of a safety culture and no member of staff whether manager or chief executive officer should be exempt to the safety protocols. Safety protocols in an industry should be followed at all times and no assumptions should be made. The industry should ensure the safety culture is continually being improved. Creating a safety culture is the beginning of eliminating industrial accidents.
References
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Chen, T., Funnell, J., Pollard, R. W., Chen, T., Funnell, J., Pollard, R. W., Ab, C. (2015). ScienceDirect Monitoring Safety of Process Industrial Workflows. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 48(8), 451–456.
Díaz-de-mera-sanchez, P., Gónzalez-gaya, C., Morales, F., & Rosales, V. (2015). Strengthening Competencies in Learning of Industrial Safety focused on Projects. Procedia Engineering, 132, 183–189.
Lax, M. B. (2016). The Perils of Integrating Wellness and Safety and Health and the Possibility of a Worker-Oriented Alternative.
Pierce, J. T. (2016). Exposure Assessment : Industrial Hygiene and Safety, XIII(0897), 82–85.
Rui, W., Mingguang, Z., Yinting, C., & Chengjiang, Q. (2014). Study on safety capacity of chemical industrial park in operation stage. Procedia Engineering, 84, 213–222.
Shi, G., & Shiichiro, I. (2012). International Symposium on Safety Science and Engineering in China, Study on the Strategies for Developing a Safety Culture in Industrial Organizations, 43, 535–541.
