Transcript Safety Perception Surveys

CLIMATE CHANGE!
How to measure the Safety Climate in your organization
www.consultproactIve.com
Whitney Martin
Results. For a change.
Overview
• Safety “Culture” vs. “Climate”
• Leading vs. Lagging Indicators
• The Who, What, and Why behind doing Safety Perception
Surveys
– Who should consider doing a safety survey?
– Why should I do one?
– What will I get out of it?
• The Logistics of Doing a Survey
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Safety “Culture”
• “Safety Culture” first used in reference to Chernobyl
disaster, and later Challenger and Columbia shuttle
explosions, King’s Cross underground fire in London,
Continental 2574 crash in 1991.
• “The product of individual and group values, attitudes,
beliefs, competencies, and patterns of behavior that
determine commitment to, and the style and proficiency of,
organization’s health and safety management.”
– Advisory Committee on Safety in Nuclear Installations (ACSNI)
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“Culture” vs. “Climate”
• Safety Climate is described as safety culture in action, the
tangible outputs of safety culture, a “snapshot” of safety
culture
• Both Exist on a continuum
• Both are created through messages sent (actions and
words) and determine behavior
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Measuring Safety
• What you measure sends a message
• C-Suite measures-- Percentage Profit, Market Share,
Return on Investment, Quality, Productivity, Customer
Satisfaction– positive, measures of success
• Safety Staff measures-- Injuries? Lost time? Measures of
failure. Our success results in the lack of an outcome, so
we need to find a way to measure the inputs instead (i.e.:
safe behavior, safety awareness, safety attitude…)
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The Problem with Lagging Indicators
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Under reporting
Don’t accurately account for “luck”
Don’t reflect potential severity of hazards
Severity of event difficult to quantify
Can result in complacency
Ideally, result in lack of data!
Measure outcomes, not causes
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The Problem with Lagging Indicators
• Requires system failure
“Of course you can use frequency-severity figures to measure
your firm’s safety program, as long as you realize that in
almost all instances these figures are absolutely worthless.”
-- Dan Peterson
• Need to shift to a proactive, upstream measure
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What is a Safety Perception Survey?
• Measures values, beliefs, and attitudes that drive behavior
• A proactive measure of safety-- allows you to identify the
state of safety within the workplace without having to wait
for the system to fail
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Why Conduct a Safety Perception Survey?
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Send a message (internal and external)
Create alignment and engagement
Add a communication channel
Make informed decisions
Change behavior
Avoid “plateau”
Bottom-line impact
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure”
--Peter Drucker
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Where Perception Surveys Fit
SAFETY!!
BEHAVIORS
ENVIRONMENT
BELIEFS & ATTITUDES
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Who Should Do a Survey?
Companies who want to:
• Demonstrate a true commitment to safety (success, not
failure)
• Go beyond compliance
• Transcend the “plateau”
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What Will Survey Results Tell Me?
• Where you are vs. where you want to be
• Whether you’re getting better or worse at it
• If your actions and interventions are
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Effective (working)
Reliable (happening consistently across all areas of the org.)
On-target (proportionate to risks)
Efficient (not wasting time, dollars, and energy)
“Only when you know why you have hit the target can you
truly say you have learnt archery” --Chinese proverb
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What Can I Do With the Results?
• Evaluate the impact of programs and activities
• Make more informed, focused decisions and action plan
based on sound information
• Pinpoint areas of concern where interventions are needed
• Look at trends over time
• Facilitate change and improvement
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What Should I Measure?
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Management commitment
Supervisor competence
Priority of safety
Time pressures
Policies and Procedures
Practices/patters of behavior
Communication
Training
Trust
Reward/Repercussion Systems
Behaviors outside of work
• Risk Perception
• Effectiveness of Safety
Committees
• Investigations
• Employee Empowerment/
Ownership
• Environment, PPE, and Systems
• Emergency Preparedness
• Hazards
• Employee Wellness
• Substance Use/Abuse
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What Should I Measure?
1) Organizational Commitment
Extent to which upper management:
• identifies safety as a core value/guiding principal of the organization
• demonstrates enduring positive attitude towards safety (even in a
pinch)
• actively promotes safety in a consistent manner across all levels of
the organization
• consistently provides adequate resources and supports development
and implantation of safety activities.
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Weigmann, Zhang, von Thaden, Gibbons, Sharma
Results. For a change.
What Should I Measure?
2) Management Involvement
Extent to which both upper and middle management:
• get personally involved in critical safety activities within the
organization (participation communicates/demonstrates commitment
to safety which influences the degree to which employees comply
with safety rules/practices)
• participate in training, meetings, committees, etc.
• are able to “stay in touch” with risks involved in everyday operations
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Weigmann, Zhang, von Thaden, Gibbons, Sharma
Results. For a change.
What Should I Measure?
3) Employee Empowerment
Extent to which front line employees
• understand and accept that they are the last line of defense against
errors/accident prevention
• are motivated to “make a difference” and go beyond the call of duty
• have a substantial voice in safety decisions
• hold self and others accountable for actions
• take pride in safety record.
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Weigmann, Zhang, von Thaden, Gibbons, Sharma
Results. For a change.
What Should I Measure?
4) Reward Systems
• Manner in which both safe and unsafe behaviors are evaluated
• Consistency in which rewards/penalties are doled out
• Extent to which reward/repercussion system is understood and
internalized by employees and therefore drives safe behavior
(rather than promoting counter-productive behavior)
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Weigmann, Zhang, von Thaden, Gibbons, Sharma
Results. For a change.
What Should I Measure?
5) Reporting Systems
• Key to identifying weaknesses and vulnerabilities before
accidents occur
• Formal reporting system that is actually used comfortably by
employees (without fear of reprisal from management or coworkers)
• Provides formal, valuable, and timely feedback to employees
on what was done with their suggestions/input
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Weigmann, Zhang, von Thaden, Gibbons, Sharma
Results. For a change.
How Do I Measure?
• Qualitative—Employee observations, focus groups
discussions, historical information review, case studies.
• Quantitative—numerically capture using standardized,
calibrated instruments such as structured interviews and
questionnaires.
• Combination– Qualitative to follow up and clarify issues
found in Quantitative
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Characteristics of Questionnaires
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Questions vs. Statements
Open vs. Closed
Make Items Short and Clear
No Double-Barreled, Double-Negative, Leading, or Bias Items
Ensure relevance to the scope of the project
Make sure respondents are competent to answer
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Other Survey Considerations
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Custom or “Off-the-Shelf”
Reliability and Validity
Appropriateness of Scales
Coding of Written Scales
Inclusion of Interviews
Administration Method
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Administration Method
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Participation Rate
Confidentiality/Ability to facilitate trust
Administration Options
Logistical Issues
3rd Party vs. In-House Administration
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Analyzing Results
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Begin with the End in Mind…
Ensure results are meaningful, digestible, and actionable
Slicing and Dicing
Format should lead to ACTION
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Results. For a change.
Top 10 List– Pitfalls to Avoid
10) Lack of FULL Organizational Commitment
9) Wrong Motives
8) Doesn’t Address the REAL Issues
7) Fail to Recognize that Perception IS Reality!!
6) Bad Timing/Wrong Conditions
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Top 10 List– Pitfalls to Avoid
5) Process takes too long
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Results aren’t communicated completely or effectively
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Changes aren’t attributed to the survey
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It’s an EVENT
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Nothing is done with the results
www.consultproactIve.com
Results. For a change.
Questions?
Whitney Martin
[email protected]
502-742-7411
www.consultproactive.com
www.consultproactIve.com
Results. For a change.