Values and Behavior:
Building a Culture that
Promotes Safety

Conclusions

Creating an accountability process that prevents such gradual system drift is perhaps one of our greatest challenges. Stated differently, one of our greatest challenges is creating systems that ensure consistency of purpose. Had the organization in the example described had a more effective process for collecting information about how well its safety process was functioning at every level of the organization, it would have been able to recognize the growing complacency. Such data would have helped the organization to respond proactively to prevent the resulting incidents that cost it several millions of dollars. Having the right information to assess complacency, and a process that ensures its use, is our most effective solution.

Published in Proceedings of ASSE's Professional Development Conference, American Society of Safety Engineers. Nashville, TX, June 2002, and also presented at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) meeting April 11, 2005.

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