A former University of Minnesota professor and vice-president for organisation services at Northwest Airlines, Ken Myers explains how to successfully implement a culture of safety in an airline
Airline industry executives are no doubt aware of the considerable financial liabilities and other penalties resulting from accidents occurring where work zone safety is not up to scratch. As a result many carriers have made work zone safety compliance an operational priority. Unfortunately, many have also found their efforts achieve disappointing levels of success. Often the reason for this disconnect can be chalked up to "the culture thing".
Organisational culture - now one of the factors that the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and others investigate at accident sites - can be simply stated as "the way things are done around here". Building a culture of safety is perhaps one of the toughest things an airline will ever attempt. Sometimes rational, always challenging, culture change often means influencing opinion and behaviour from top to bottom.
The process of making work zone safety an integral part of an airline's organisation culture at all levels of the company must take into account these general principles:
It is hard to convince anyone of the need for a shift in safety culture without actual, visible top management commitment and funding. Safety has to be on the same level as other priorities with key managers, or it will be squeezed out. Culture change means re-education and reshaping the reward system from top to bottom. Employees do not pick up fresh habits or shed old ones without understanding the reasons or the consequences. Policy, training and organisational action guidelines must spell out specific safety requirements in simple terms. Communicate, communicate and communicate about the safety commitment and expected standard of new and continuing behaviour. Unionised? Get union leaders into the picture early. Work zone safety is a good place to build or re-build positive working relationships for the long haul. Non-unionised? Want to keep the status quo? Visible concern for safety can foster good relations with the workforce. In addition, the safety improvement process can be shaped to both spur employee involvement and facilitate management-employee communication.When it comes to actually implementing job site safety, airlines should also consider working from the bottom up as a platform for creating safer work conditions. Front line supervisors who are physically in the work zone are the real cultural trendsetters.
To ensure that these vital changes do actually materialise on the ramp and elsewhere, the carrier should:
Educate its employees and communicate what is required, why it is critical to the company's welfare, and what is in it for them. Hold workers accountable for actual job site safe procedures and practices. Reward employees for sustained positive action. Additionally, key managers might consider routinely visiting the work area, discussing and praising safety compliance with front-line supervisors. Create distinctive work wear which signifies a ramp chief or other's supervisory position, as well as demonstrating state-of-the art work zone safety gear. Incorporate working supervisors into existing safety structures and activities. Create or reconstitute a supervisory safety council and give it the power to act within appropriate guidelines.Working safer is working smarter. An airline culture that pays only lip service to work zone safety increasingly runs the risk of habitual regulatory inspections, potential shutdowns, and varying degrees of financial or other penalties.
On top of these already burdensome costs, they may also have to increase their legal staff to handle what may become routine visits from plaintiffs' lawyers. All told, about as much fun as a root-canal procedure.
Source: Airline Business
