NEBOSH IG1 Element 3.1 Notes | Health and Safety Culture

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NEBOSH IGC Element 3
Element 3: Managing Risk Understanding People and Processes

Element 3.1 (Health and Safety Culture)

Definition

The safety culture of an organisation is the
shared attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviours
relating to health and safety. (It will be positive or Negative)

The Relationship between Culture and Performance

Positive Culture: ✅

  • People think that safety is important.
  • Safety is considered in all management decision-making.
  • People work safely because they want to, not because they are told to.
  • All workers are positively influenced by this peer-thinking and behaviour.

Negative Culture: ❌

  • Lots of people think safety is of low priority.
  • Safety is not considered in decision-making at any level.
  • People will only work safely if they are told to and think that they will be caught and punished if they don’t.
  • All workers are negatively influenced by this peer-thinking and behaviour.

Indicators Used to Assess Culture

  • Accidents, and the standard of investigation.
  • Sickness rates.
  • Absenteeism.
  • Staff turnover.
  • Compliance with safety rules.
  • Worker complaints about conditions.

Influence of Peers
Put people together in groups

  • Interaction occurs.
  • Influence is exerted.
  • A hierarchy forms:
    • Known as ‘pecking order’.
  • ‘Norms’ of behaviour are established.
  • Peer group pressure is exerted.
    • Good indicator of H&S culture.
    • This can be harnessed to encourage good safety-related behaviour.

The Influence of Peers

In groups, a hierarchy naturally forms:

  • Pressure is exerted from the top down.
  • Can happen in informal groups, or formal team.

Peer-group pressure can result in:

  • “Good people” breaking rules to fit in.
  • “Bad people” coming into line and working safely!

Key is to get the influential people on board:

  • E.g., through training.

Key performance indicators of Safety Culture:

  1. Reporting culture:
    Are near-misses and unsafe acts reported?
  2. Learning culture:
    Are lessons learned from incidents and near-misses shared?
  3. Just culture:
    Is there a fair system in place for identifying blame vs. system failure?
  4. Flexible culture:
    Can procedures and teams adapt quickly to new safety challenges?
  5. Informed culture:
    Are employees aware of hazards and how they are controlled?

Factors Promoting a Negative Culture

  • Lack of leadership from management.
  • Presence of a blame culture.
  • Lack of management commitment to safety.
  • Health and safety a lower priority than other issues.
  • Organisational changes.
  • High staff turnover rates.
  • Lack of resources, e.g., too few workers, low investment.
  • Lack of worker consultation.
  • Interpersonal issues, e.g., peer-group pressure, bullying.
  • Poor management systems and procedures.
  • External influences, e.g., economic climate.

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