Safety Culture: Building a Proactive HSE Organization

Safety culture is the collection of shared values, beliefs, and behaviors that influence worker attitudes towards occupational health and safety (OHS). A key element of ISO 45001 and QHSE performance.

Safety culture refers to the collection of shared values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors within an organization that influence the attitudes and practices of workers towards occupational health and safety (OHS). It is now recognized as a major determinant of QHSE performance, alongside technical or organizational systems. Without a strong culture, the best-documented procedures remain merely theoretical.

Definition

Safety culture can be summarized by a single principle: safety comes before production, and everyone knows it. More precisely, it translates into concrete operational choices:

• An operator can stop a dangerous production without fear of reprisal.
• The reporting of incidents is valued, not punished.
• Management invests in prevention and demonstrates it.
• Safety standby (on-call) arrangements are genuinely in place.

Dimensions of Safety Culture

Safety culture is composed of several complementary dimensions:

1. Leadership: Visible commitment from management, communication on OHS values, presence in the field.
2. Communication: Transparency on risks, accidents, and lessons learned.
3. Involvement: Worker participation in risk assessments, audits, and incident investigations.
4. Learning: Analysis of accidents and near-misses, knowledge sharing, continuous training.
5. Organizational Justice: Fair treatment of errors (distinction between individual fault / system failure).
6. Reporting: A culture of non-punitive reporting, valuing near-misses.

Levels of Maturity

Several maturity models exist (Hudson/Parker, OIF). Generally, the following are identified:

• Pathological Culture: "Safety is for whom? We do what we want as long as we don't get caught."
• Reactive Culture: "Safety is important after every accident. We fix things when they go wrong."
• Calculative Culture: "We manage risks with calculations, we follow procedures, but without ownership."
• Proactive Culture: "We actively seek to anticipate risks, we question ourselves."
• Generative Culture: "Safety is an integral part of management, we continuously improve."

Culture Indicators

Safety culture is measured by:

• Safety climate surveys (anonymous questionnaires)
• Incident and near-miss reporting rates
• Participation rates in improvement initiatives
• Behavior analysis (BBS — Behavior-Based Safety)
• Management interviews: perception of risk, safety vs. production priorities

Link with ISO 45001:2018

ISO 45001:2018 emphasizes:

• Consultation and participation of workers (Chapter 5.4)
• Leadership of top management (Chapter 5.1)
• Communication (Chapter 7.4)
• Continual improvement (Chapter 10)

Safety culture is the human dimension that makes the management system effective. Without it, the OHSMS remains a documentation-based exercise.

Application in Morocco

In Morocco, safety culture is developing particularly in large industries (chemicals, mining, automotive, food processing) under the influence of international client requirements, ISO certifications, and national campaigns. The IICP HSE Academy offers training in safety culture analysis and the deployment of targeted action plans.

Sources et références

4. Code du travail marocain (Loi n° 65-99), Titre IV — articles 281 et suivants (principes généraux de prévention) ILO NATLEX : https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=67319

5. INRS — Culture de sécurité (portail risques) https://www.inrs.fr/risques.html

6. OSHA — Safety and Health Programs (US) https://www.osha.gov/safety-management