Evaluation of the level of safety culture

II.10 Safety-culture-assessment / evaluation

From our research, we got some literature on the methodology of evaluating or assessing safety culture. It starts by indicating that the measurement of such a culture seems to be the equivalent of the «holy grail» for the safety world which has been made more difficult due to the lack of an agreed definition and scope, ( http://www.safetyculturetoolkit.rssb.co.uk/safety-culture-information/safety-culture-assessment.aspx).
However, the assessment of safety culture is a vital process for measuring key elements of safety culture and identifying an organisation's current level of development in order to improve. 
There are a variety of different assessment methods provided by the famous RSSB of the UK. Some of these methods are safety attitude surveys (using questionnaires to elicit workforce attitudes) and Safety management audits (using an audit process and trained auditor to examine the presence and effectiveness of safety management systems).

From the research conducted by another author, Weigman et al (2002), safety culture assessments should be conducted using a variety of methods, including both qualitative techniques (e.g. observations, focus groups discussions and historical information reviews) and quantitative methods such as interviews, surveys and questionnaires. The use of a combination of methods is commonly referred to as triangulation. Table 2 below contains samples of high-value questions that were assembled from referenced sources based on generally accepted interviewing principles. In the interview guide, the questions were organized into seven important areas for safety culture.

Table 2: Sample High-Value Questions

Source : Hartshorn, (1999).

CHAPTER III: SCIENTIFIC APPROACH