New View of Safety

Introduction to Safety (Human & Organizational) Performance Training for assistant professor David Renz who teaches Safety Management and Integration at Slippery Rock University.

Recently, I had the opportunity to provide an introduction to Human Performance training for future safety professionals as part of the Safety Management program at Slippery Rock University.    The students were studying Safety Management Systems, Safety Culture and Safety Climate.  Assistant Professor David Renz asked if I could provide additional information to his classes in support of Human Performance and “Understanding the Workplace: The New View of Safety”. Having over 40 years of experience in safety, human and organizational performance, I embraced the opportunity.    

During several virtual classes with students, I was impressed with their attentiveness and especially the questions.   One of the key questions asked was about culture and values.    A key Safety Performance Principle is that behaviors (individual, leader and organizational) are influenced by organizational processes and values.    

Culture is defined by people’s behavior, and safe behavior is value-driven.   The true values of an organization are reflected in the observed acts of its people, especially its managers.   Organizational culture is that set of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that characterize the choices and behaviors of an organization’s members.   Culture is for the group what character and personality are for the individual.   A strong safety culture implies the extent to which the organization’s members adopt or internalize such values and behaviors.   What managers place importance on and what is considered “high priority” becomes valued in the organization, whether publicly espoused or not. 

REFERENCES

1.       Institute of Nuclear Power Operation INPO 06-003 Human Performance Reference Manual, p. 82.

2.       Rummler and Brache. Improving Performance. 1995.

3.       ISPI. “Online HPT Institute, Principles and Practices of Human Performance Technology.” 2000-2001, p.72. Reprinted with permission of the International Society for Performance Improvement, www.ispi.org.

4.       Schein. Organizational Culture and Leadership. 3rd edition, 2004, p.246.

5.       International Society for Performance Improvement. Handbook of Human Performance Technology: Improving Individual and Organizational Performance Worldwide. 1999, p.338.