1. Keeping Rail on Track:
A Best Practice Model for Safety Culture
CRC for Rail Innovation Showcase
R2.101
Associate Professor Verna Blewett
Centre for Sleep Research, University of South Australia
30 September 2010

2. Research Team
UniSA
• Project Leader: Assoc Prof Verna Blewett
• Dr Sophia Rainbird (now)
• Dr Jill Dorrian (statistical analyses)
• Dr Kasia Jaworski (from Nov 2010)
Steering Committee
• Alex Borodin (ARA) - Chair
• Reps from the three companies
• Verna Blewett

3. Safety Culture
Some contradictions:
– A contested concept
– We „know what it means‟
– Accepted as fundamental to high
performance in safety
– Need to assess safety culture
performance
– View safety culture as part of
organisational culture

4. This Research
• Funded by the CRC for Rail Innovation
– R2.101
• Three rail organisations as partners:
– RailCorp NSW, PTA WA, GWA SA
– In-kind and cash contribution
• Use/test RSSB Safety Culture Toolkit
– Hard copy questionnaire, analysis at UniSA
• Use Digging Deeper as analytical framework
• Quantitative and qualitative data collection

5. Research Aims
• Build a Model of Best Practice for Safety Culture
in the Australian Rail Industry
• Test the RSSB Safety Culture Survey
• Test the 10 Platinum Rules from Digging
Deeper project as a framework for action
• Identify improvements in the RSSB Safety
Culture Survey
• Participatively identify interventions at enterprise
level in response to identified gaps in Safety
Culture

6. Research Outcomes
For industry
• A Model of Best Practice for Safety Culture in
the Australian Rail Industry
• An upgraded Safety Culture Toolkit that is
validated for use in the Australian Rail Industry
For participating firms
• An evidence-base for future action
• At enterprise level - participatively developed
interventions in response to identified gaps in
Safety Culture as the first step to improvement

7. Research Method
• Establish Reference Group in each company
• Choose areas of organisation for study
• Ethics approval from UniSA HREC
• Run baseline RSSB Safety Culture Survey
• Analyse data – to inform next stage
• Conduct interviews and focus groups on site
• Analyse data – to inform next stage
• Participatively develop interventions – Future Inquiry
• Review outcomes of the interventions if time permits
• Follow up RSSB Safety Culture Survey
• Write report/papers

8. Confidentiality & credibility
Confidentiality is key to good data:
– Questionnaire is anonymous
– Size of population groups for analysis is 15 or larger
– Individuals (focus groups/interviews) not identified in
reports/papers
– Only de-identified and aggregated data provided to
companies and in reports, papers etc
– Triangulation of data sources
– Ethics approval from UniSA HREC
– Robust method, data and data analysis

9. Future Inquiry
• An efficient one-day planning meeting
• “Whole system” in the room
• Look for common ground
• Future focus
• Examines past, present, future
• Builds on what works
• Groundwork for action plans
• Engages new alliances for action
• Creates commitment to action

11. Digging Deeper
• Commissioned by the NSW Mines Safety
Advisory Committee & NSW Dept of Primary
Industries.
– Production bonus and safety incentive schemes
– OHS management systems and consultation
– Hours of work and fatigue management
– 53 sites, quantitative data and qualitative data
– Aimed at industry improvement
– Used FIW to develop industry strategies

12. 10 Platinum Rules
• Codify the fundamental steps to effectively
manage OHS
• Make it clear how the gaps in performance
and action can be filled
• Apply at all levels in the organisation/industry
• Are a starting point for change
• In this project are an analytical framework

13. 10 Platinum Rules
Rule 1 Rule 2
Remember you are Listen to and talk with
working with your people
people  Be inclusive
 Don‟t exhaust them  Do it often
 People aren‟t  Value and develop
machines people skills in
 Treat them with supervisors and
dignity and respect managers

14. 10 Platinum Rules
Rule 3 Rule 4
Fix things promptly Make sure your
paperwork is worth
 Don‟t let issues fester
having
 Keep people informed
 Keep it current
of progress
 Make sure it‟s
 Don‟t let them think meaningful
things only happen in
the land where pigs fly

15. 10 Platinum Rules
Rule 5 Rule 6
Improve competence Encourage people
in OHS to give you bad
news
 particularly at
management levels  Canaries are the
most important
workers in a mine

16. 10 Platinum Rules
Rule 7 Rule 8
Fix your workplace Measure and monitor
first risks that people are
exposed to
 Before even thinking
about the bells and  Don‟t just react to
whistles! incidents: fix things
before they happen.
Control risks at their
source.

17. 10 Platinum Rules
Rule 9 Rule 10
Keep checking that Apply adequate
what you are doing resources in time
is working effectively and money
 Are you achieving
what you think you
are?
 Do you know where
you are in OHS?

18. The only way to make
a workplace healthy and safe
is to make it healthy and safe
there is
no substitute for action!

19. Digging Deeper full report
available free from:
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/minerals/
safety/consultation/digging-deeper
or just google digging deeper