Associate Professor Verna Blewett

Centre for Sleep Research, University of South Australia

30 September 2010

Keeping Rail on Track:A Best Practice Model for Safety Culture

CRC for Rail Innovation Showcase

R2.101

Research Team

UniSA

• Project Leader: Assoc Prof Verna Blewett

• Dr Sophia Rainbird (now)

• Dr Jill Dorrian (statistical analyses)

• Dr Kasia Jaworski (from Nov 2010)

Steering Committee

• Alex Borodin (ARA) - Chair

• Reps from the three companies

• Verna Blewett

Safety Culture

Some contradictions:

– A contested concept

– We „know what it means‟

– Accepted as fundamental to high

performance in safety

– Need to assess safety culture

performance

– View safety culture as part of

organisational culture

This Research

• Funded by the CRC for Rail Innovation– R2.101

• Three rail organisations as partners:– RailCorp NSW, PTA WA, GWA SA

– In-kind and cash contribution

• Use/test RSSB Safety Culture Toolkit– Hard copy questionnaire, analysis at UniSA

• Use Digging Deeper as analytical framework

• Quantitative and qualitative data collection

Research Aims

• Build a Model of Best Practice for Safety Culture in the Australian Rail Industry

• Test the RSSB Safety Culture Survey

• Test the 10 Platinum Rules from Digging Deeper project as a framework for action

• Identify improvements in the RSSB Safety Culture Survey

• Participatively identify interventions at enterprise level in response to identified gaps in Safety Culture

Research Outcomes

For industry

• A Model of Best Practice for Safety Culture in the Australian Rail Industry

• An upgraded Safety Culture Toolkit that is validated for use in the Australian Rail Industry

For participating firms

• An evidence-base for future action

• At enterprise level - participatively developed interventions in response to identified gaps in Safety Culture as the first step to improvement

Research Method

• Establish Reference Group in each company

• Choose areas of organisation for study

• Ethics approval from UniSA HREC

• Run baseline RSSB Safety Culture Survey

• Analyse data – to inform next stage

• Conduct interviews and focus groups on site

• Analyse data – to inform next stage

• Participatively develop interventions – Future Inquiry

• Review outcomes of the interventions if time permits

• Follow up RSSB Safety Culture Survey

• Write report/papers

Confidentiality & credibility

Confidentiality is key to good data:– Questionnaire is anonymous

– Size of population groups for analysis is 15 or larger

– Individuals (focus groups/interviews) not identified in reports/papers

– Only de-identified and aggregated data provided to companies and in reports, papers etc

– Triangulation of data sources

– Ethics approval from UniSA HREC

– Robust method, data and data analysis

Future Inquiry

• An efficient one-day planning meeting

• “Whole system” in the room

• Look for common ground

• Future focus

• Examines past, present, future

• Builds on what works

• Groundwork for action plans

• Engages new alliances for action

• Creates commitment to action

Digging Deeper

• Commissioned by the NSW Mines Safety

Advisory Committee & NSW Dept of Primary

Industries.

– Production bonus and safety incentive schemes

– OHS management systems and consultation

– Hours of work and fatigue management

– 53 sites, quantitative data and qualitative data

– Aimed at industry improvement

– Used FIW to develop industry strategies

10 Platinum Rules

• Codify the fundamental steps to effectively

manage OHS

• Make it clear how the gaps in performance

and action can be filled

• Apply at all levels in the organisation/industry

• Are a starting point for change

• In this project are an analytical framework

10 Platinum Rules

Rule 1

Remember you are working with people

Don‟t exhaust them

People aren‟t machines

Treat them with dignity and respect

Rule 2

Listen to and talk with your people

Be inclusive

Do it often

Value and develop people skills in supervisors and managers

10 Platinum Rules

Rule 3

Fix things promptly

Don‟t let issues fester

Keep people informed

of progress

Don‟t let them think

things only happen in

the land where pigs fly

Rule 4

Make sure your

paperwork is worth

having

Keep it current

Make sure it‟s

meaningful

10 Platinum Rules

Rule 5

Improve competence in OHS

particularly at management levels

Rule 6

Encourage people to give you bad news

Canaries are the most important workers in a mine

10 Platinum Rules

Rule 7

Fix your workplace first

Before even thinking about the bells and whistles!

Rule 8

Measure and monitor risks that people are exposed to

Don‟t just react to incidents: fix things before they happen. Control risks at their source.

10 Platinum Rules

Rule 9

Keep checking that what you are doing is working effectively

Are you achieving what you think you are?

Do you know where you are in OHS?

Rule 10

Apply adequate resources in time and money

The only way to make

a workplace healthy and safe

is to make it healthy and safe

there is

no substitute for action!

Digging Deeper full report

available free from:

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/minerals/

safety/consultation/digging-deeper

or just google digging deeper