Results from a recent survey conducted by Norton Rose Fulbright highlight that managers at over 97% of Australian organisations believe that their organisation has room to improve in terms of its safety culture.
Over 26% of respondents also believe that their organisation does not have the tools it needs in order to order to improve its safety culture.
"These survey results demonstrate that we have our work cut out for us in seeking to embed safety in organisational culture" said Michael Tooma, Head of Occupational Health Safety and Security (Asia Pacific) at Norton Rose Fulbright.
"But recognising the problem is the first step in fixing it. The fact that people know there is room for improvement and are seeking out the tools to improve is a positive sign" said Michael Tooma.
The survey also asked respondents to rate their organisation against the Safety Culture Framework, devised by Professor Patrick Hudson, one of the world's leading authorities on the human factor in the management of safety. The Framework identifies five different models of safety culture within organisations. Approximately 11% rated their organisation is Generative, the highest rating in the Hudson model.
The survey results come as Professor Patrick Hudson is in Australia to present a series of workshops with Norton Rose Fulbright's Michael Tooma as part of Norton Rose Fulbright's commitment to advancing safety leadership in Australia.
In the workshops to be held over the next two weeks in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Canberra, Professor Hudson will draw on his experience in advising leading companies in highhazard industries on the management of safety.
The visit follows highly successful workshops run by Norton Rose Fulbright in previous years with Professor James Reason CBE, the creator of the Swiss Cheese model of accident causation.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
