Evolution of a Safety Culture
The following model was developed for managing successful change within organisations. Its strength comes from the fact that it is intended to change both the individuals and the organisations they constitute, and realises that changing one without the other is impossible.
The model puts together the requirements for change of individual beliefs that are so crucial in cultural development. It can apply to safety, but it can also apply to any other desirable development in an organisation. It gives substance to the oft-heard cries for workforce involvement and shows where and why such involvement is crucial, especially in the later stages of evolution towards a full safety culture.
AWARENESS
AWARENESS: Knowledge of a better alternative than the current state
CREATION OF NEED: Active desire to achieve the new state
MAKING THE OUTCOME BELIEVABLE: Believing that the state is sensible for those involved
MAKING THE OUTCOME ACHIEVABLE: Making the process of achieving the new state credible for those involved
INFORMATION ABOUT SUCCESSES: Provision of information about others who have succeeded
PERSONAL VISION: Definition by those involved of what they expect the change to be
PLANNING
PLAN CONSTRUCTION: All people involved in the change create their own action plan
MEASUREMENT POINTS: Indicators of success in the process are defined
COMMITMENT: Staff and management sign up to the plan
ACTION
DO: Start implementing action plans
REVIEW: Progress is reviewed with concentration upon successful outcomes
CORRECT: Plan is modified where necessary
MAINTENANCE
REVIEW: Management reviews change process at regular (and defined in advance) intervals
OUTCOME: Checks to see whether new values and beliefs have become second nature
REFERENCE
Professor Patrick Hudson is recognised internationally for his work on safety management systems. Based at Leiden University in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Hudson is an active member of the ICAO Human Factors Awareness Group, Flight Safety Australia, Sept-Oct 2001.