When we arrive at a site or enter a facility, the first impression we get is of its safety culture. You can sense it from the first moment. You see how employees use their PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment) and how they operate work-related vehicles. This is a reflection of the safety culture: the way things are done when no one is watching, without a supervisor. (Tracey, 2024)
But who creates this safety culture, and who plays a crucial role in shaping it?
In my opinion, leadership plays a crucial role in establishing and maintaining safety culture. Leadership is not just about who holds a formal position of power, but rather about the behavior and influence of those in leadership roles within the team or organization.
Effective Process Safety leadership includes having a competence process safety team, possessing process safety knowledge and experience, and implementing an effective Process Safety Management System. Leaders ensure proper Process risk assessment and carried out, and they oversee performance evaluation, corrective action and corporate oversight, process audits, and investigations into incident or near miss. (Tracey, 2024) All these efforts ensure that the team complies with legislation and standards.
In a team or an organization, not only the leaders, but also the team members and employees are critical to maintaining a strong safety culture. Safety culture in not about one person doing something, it is about everyone working together. The actions that each team member takes in their daily works shape safety culture. Moreover, employees can influence their leaders to improve the safety culture. Experienced employees can help their leader understand the process safety better, highlighting areas that need to be improved.
In a process safety system, every team member is important. Together, they create and influence the safety culture.
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Reference: Tracey Kelly, 2024, IOSH Process Safety training, Dublin.