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Culture and Sensitivity

By Dan Scungio, MT(ASCP)

 

 

Where is your overall laboratory safety culture today?  Do you think it’s at the level of the nuclear industry or is it floundering at a low interest or compliance level?  I’ve always felt that in order to have a successful safety program you must constantly maintain awareness-- awareness for staff and management of the safety regulations, awareness of your safety policies and procedures, and awareness of where your laboratory stands with regard to audit results and other safety indicators.  Some of these indicators are easy to determine, but how do you measure or get a feel for how your overall safety culture is viewed?  How do you know if you have staff or management buy-in for the safety program?

 

One way to assess your culture level is to perform a survey.  This can be written or it can be verbal depending on how many people you include.  I recommend a written survey that allows for anonymity which can provide more honest results.  If you are part of a larger laboratory or system, you could survey your management team and your safety committee members.  If you belong to a stand-alone laboratory, you could survey much of the lab staff thereby obtaining multiple viewpoints.

 

The questions you ask on your survey really depend on what you are trying to find out about your safety culture. Some possible questions include:

 

·       On a scale of 1 to 10, where would you say our overall lab culture is?

·       In your opinion, what would it take to move the lab up this scale?

·       What is the biggest need in our laboratory’s safety program?

·       How large a role does management play in the overall laboratory safety culture?

·       Do you meet with your supervisor on a regular basis to discuss your department’s safety?

·       Have you attempted to provide positive or negative feedback to lab staff about a safety situation?  How was the feedback received?

·       What part of the safety program is easiest for you? Hardest?

·       Rate your level of participation in the lab safety program on a scale of 1 to 10.

 

You already know the answer to some of these questions, but if you solicit honest answers, you will also likely be surprised by what some people write. That’s good - the more you know about your safety program, the better equipped you are to make improvements.

 

Once you have your survey responses, compile them and analyze them with an open mind.  Remember, these should be peoples’ honest opinions that you solicited, so you should guard against hurt feelings. The results you see give you a fair sense of the staffs’ idea of the safety culture in the lab. You will see where your program is strong, and you will be able to identify focused areas for improvement. Now you can get to work making improvements in your safety program!  Be sure to share the survey results with your respondents.  Don’t survey a group of people and not let them know results, they will be less likely to give opinions in the future.

 

A necessary skill for a safety officer is the ability to deal with many lab employees and managers who work at different levels of safety culture.  Being sensitive to this is key if you want to continue to elevate the overall culture level.  I believe one good way to show this sensitivity is to talk to your staff or survey them about safety.  Ask them questions and let them know that you are thinking about their well-being on the job. The benefits of this are many.  You have your finger on the pulse of the lab safety culture, and you’ve improved relations with your staff.  Just imagine, after one survey you’ve become a safety officer of culture…..and sensitivity!