Safety and the Misunderstood Ingredient - Culture
Any organization concerned about safety can benefit from the lessons
learned in the world’s top high reliability organization – the U. S. Military. To
date, numerous industries have incorporated parts of the Military’s Aviation
CRM (crew resource management) program. But there is much more to learn from
military aviation. My work in military aviation has involved a tool very
different than CRM and very different than anything most companies have ever
used before. It is the “next generation” safety tool.
I work with organizational and peer group culture. What exactly do I
mean by culture? It is that force which is actually driving an organization.
And it has several levels. At the more visible levels, it is “the way we do
things around here.” At the deeper and most controlling level, it is the shared
beliefs and values of the organization which, by the way, are generally
invisible to that organization. So, if the most controlling aspect is invisible,
it stands to reason that a systematic approach to defining and working with
culture is needed if that organization wants to sustain long term performance
or needs to evolve. Numerous studies have shown that long term performance is a
direct reflection of organizational culture.
When an entire organization (not individuals) takes part in the
development, implementation, and evaluation of safety programs, success is all
but assured. Not only does culture shift in the right direction, but new
programs are implemented more quickly and effectively. It sounds almost too
simple and in some ways is. The key is in using a proven and systematic
approach to working directly with the organization’s culture. Surveys,
questionnaires, newsletters, training sessions, root cause analysis, suggestion
boxes, error reporting systems, and CRM are not examples of working directly
with culture. Military aviation has used all of these for many years and will
continue to do so because of their value. But the military’s latest tool in
reducing error is working directly with culture. By working directly with
culture, Naval Aviation alone has saved $1.1 billion in the last 5 years and
reduced its already low error rate by an additional 33%.
Is your organization using a proven and systematic program to work
directly with its culture? Many organizations would say that they are and that
they are promoting a culture of safety. Promotion is not working directly with
culture. Promotion may or may not have an effect. Safety programs have the
potential to make an organization safer, but don’t guarantee a “culture of
safety”. The only way to work
directly with culture is to first define it. And defining the safety culture in
an organization can only be done in groups. Why? Because culture is a group
phenomenon. You won’t get it from surveys or questionnaires or even
speaking directly with individuals.
“If culture can't be defined, it can't be measured or
managed.” Edgar Schein, professor at the
So, how does this all fit into non-military industry safety? Well, most
organizations not only want to improve safety, but also to develop a more
safety oriented culture. Many refer to this as a needed ‘culture shift’. There
are three basic ways to shift a culture. The first is a sort of automatic shift
that usually occurs when faced with absolute failure. The organization would
normally resist this change, but has no other choice. The second is to
implement changes in operations and training to improve performance. It is
assumed that culture will shift with the performance. A few organizations are
finding some success in shifting culture by implementing new programs and not
working directly with the culture. But how much has it shifted, how much more
could it shift, and will it be permanent? The third is to work directly with the culture
to develop, implement, and evaluate the necessary changes. There are two huge
benefits to this method. The first is that by exposing the current existing
safety culture, it is very easy to see what needs to be done to improve. No
guess work needed or hoping an expensive new program works. The second is that
culture begins shifting before needed changes ever even take place, simply because
of the improved communication found in this process.
Most organizations use method two. This is not uncommon, and in fact,
the way Naval Aviation operated for over 50 years. It is never too late to
begin working directly with culture. So, what about culture is being
misunderstood? It’s the way in which we help it to shift or evolve.
Implementing safety programs and training may very well move a culture in the
desired direction. But they may not. Seat belts in cars are a great safety
tool, unless they aren’t worn. And if they are worn, but a greater sense of
personal safety leads to more reckless driving, they again lose their value.
Great safety programs don’t guarantee a culture shift in the right direction. What
worked at one company, may not work at yours, given the current culture. The
key here is implementation. So, you need to know how your current culture will
aid or hinder implementation. Too many organizations are confident in their
safety programs, yet hopeful that culture will shift because of them. It’s sort
of like safety through trial and error.
Relying on trial and error in a high risk organization doesn’t make
sense. High risk organizations must take control of the culture-performance
equation in order to ensure increased reliability and improved safety. If a
culture shift in the direction of safety is desired, why not work directly with
the culture? Most organizations don’t
know how.
Answer the following
questions to determine if you are or ever have worked directly with you organization’s
culture:
1. Does
the average employee in your organization know the vision statement of your
organization?
2. Can
the average employee correctly list the core values of your organization?
3. Can
your senior leadership accurately, yet independently define your current safety
culture?
4. Has
someone outside your organization (not part of your culture) worked with
logical peer groups within your organization?(the only proven way to work
directly with culture)
If you can’t answer
yes to all four or are not sure, your organization is not working directly with
its culture in creating a culture of safety.
So, does your industry
need to work directly with its culture?
James
Bagian, Director, VA
“The biggest
challenge in reducing medical errors and making hospitals safer places is
changing the culture of medicine.”
From
the article Culture Shock, The Combat Edge (Jan 95).
The founder of the safety culture assessment program
in the military today, Lt Col Alan Groben, explained:
“… many recent mishaps occurred not because an
individual forgot to perform a required inspection or a pilot violated a
regulation or procedure. Instead, there
were dysfunctional unit cultures that allowed the
errors to happen, and these cultures were the root
causes of the mishaps.”
Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.
former CEO IBM
“The thing I have learned at IBM is that culture is everything.”
Jack Welch, CEO G.E.
Spends 35% of his time on culture. He increased
market value of GE from $12 billion to $240 billion by focusing on culture.
Yes, any industry that wishes to create true and lasting change in
safety needs to begin working with culture right now. Remember, promotion, new
programs, better investigation tools, surveys, and error reporting don’t work
directly with culture. They have the potential to make you safer, but don’t
guarantee a culture shift. But with a true culture shift, current and future
programs implement faster and more effectively. Working directly with culture
pays.
“The only thing
of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture.” “If you do
not manage culture, it manages you, and you may not even be aware of the extent
to which this is happening.”
Edgar
Schein, professor MIT Sloan School of Management
Tom Garcia
Culture Dynamics
tom@culturedyn.com
561 315-4587