Wayne’s isn’t kidding. The term “safety culture” is everywhere. Google it and you’ll get 780,000 hits. But where does the term come from, and what does it mean?

Most sources trace the origins of the term “safety culture” to the nuclear power industry and the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. More precisely, the term appeared and figured prominently in the post-accident report of the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG). Nuclear accidents in Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and other places, according to INSAG, were attributable to not just technical failures but faults in organizational procedures and attitudes. The belief in the safety of these facilities was “a mirage.” Systems were inadequate and operator errors commonplace. “From top to bottom, the body corporate was infected with the disease of sloppiness,” INSAG concluded.

In 1991, the International Atomic Energy Association defined safety culture as: “That assembly of characteristics in organizations and individuals which establishes that, as an overriding priority, nuclear plant safety receives the attention warranted by their significance.”

The use of the term “safety culture” to describe an organization’s attitude and commitment to safety caught on and began being applied to other dangerous industries such as aviation. The National Transportation Safety Board blamed the 1991 Continental Airlines crash of Flight 2574 in Texas on management’s failure “to establish a corporate culture which encouraged and enforced adherence to approved maintenance and quality assurance procedures.” Before long, the term was being used in all industries.

The term “safety culture” also came into vogue among safety’s intellectuals, spawning more than 100 different articles in academic journals between 1987 and 2000. It remains a subject of fierce debate today.

Story Tools:  Email This Post  Print This Post Top