Introduced by Sofema Aviation Services (SAS) www.sassofia.com
What is meant by the term Safety Culture
- “Safety Culture is the set of enduring values and attitudes regarding safety issues, shared by every member of every level of an organization.
- Safety Culture refers to the extent to which every individual and every group of the organization is aware of the risks and unknown hazards induced by its activities; is continuously behaving so as to preserve and enhance safety; is willing and able to adapt itself when facing safety issues; is willing to communicate safety issues, and consistently evaluates safety-related behaviour.”
What is meant by the term “Just Culture”
- “Just Culture is clearly an element of [a Safety Culture framework] (in the Justness Characteristic or component).
- Throughout the literature, on Safety Culture it is quite obvious that Justness is indeed an indispensable component of Safety Culture.”
Commission Regulation (EU) No 691/2010 defines just culture as:
- A culture in which front line operators or others are not punished for actions, omissions, or decisions taken by them that are commensurate with their experience and training, but where gross negligence, wilful violations, and destructive acts are not tolerated;
- An important part of a good just culture depends on how an organization oversees safety reports which may contain information about potentially unsafe/risky actions, either directly or indirectly taken by its employees;
- These may be the result of slips, common mistakes, technical failures, or can even be related to systematic training issues.
When reviewing such occurrences, consideration should be given as to whether the person’s actions were reasonable.
- It could be that the actions taken were the same as what another competent person may have reasonably taken in a similar situation.
- Part of this is ensuring that the right level of expertise is available to help understand the context and situation surrounding what occurred.
- Employees at all levels should be encouraged to report any occurrences or issues that may affect safety and be open to learning from these.
A safety culture and a just culture should be fostered. However in rare cases, in which gross negligence, wilful violations, or destructive acts are apparent, such acts/behaviour should not be tolerated.
Through following clear and proper procedures, anyone involved in cases of possible gross negligence will receive fair treatment and proportionate remedial action to prevent a reoccurrence.
Next Steps
Sofema Aviation Services (SAS) www.sassofia.com & SofemaOnline (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com offer Classroom, Webinar & Online Regulatory Compliant and Vocational Training Courses. Please contact team@sassofia.com for additional details
Tags:
aviation, aviation safety, Safety Management System, Safety Culture, EASA regulations, SAS blogs, European Commercial Aviation Safety Team (ECAST), (EU) No 691/2010
