Safety Culture in a Complex Mix of Safety Models: Are We Missing the Point?

Safety culture is often considered as being the role given to safety in the trade-offs made within an organization. But what is the scope of these trade-offs? If operational activities at the sharp end are naturally included in the safety culture perimeter, other trade-offs are made that structure operational activities, especially through the development of processes, procedures, organizational structure and policies but also through technological choices. These trade-offs are made within the environment of the organization, and that inevitably induces constraints on the role given to safety, as there are already trade-offs inherited from this environment. Likewise, a variety of safety models exist in this environment, in the sense of assumptions or beliefs as to how safety is ensured or more often is to be ensured. Eventually, each organization combines a mix of safety models, some partly conflicting with others. To what extent is an organization aware of the complexity of operations and of what it takes to operate safely? Is this also part of its safety culture? To what extent and how can this complexity be addressed? These are some of the questions addressed in the paper.