Promoting Safety Culture in Shipping: Issues and Strategies

1. Promoting Safety Culture in Shipping:Issues and Strategies U.R.P. Sudhakar MSc, MBA Marine Consultant

2. Promoting Safety Culture in Shipping:Issues and Strategies U.R.P. Sudhakar MSc, MBA Marine Consultant

3. Presentation Overview • Historical context • ISM Code and safety culture • A model for understanding the dynamics of safety culture • Key issues • Likely strategies • Conclusion

4. Historical Context • The term “safety culture” appeared first in a report on the 1986 Chernobyl Disaster • Adopted increasingly by industries characterised by: • High capital investment • High operating risks • High public visibility Examples: • Fragile public image Nuclear, space, offshore & shipping • Cutting-edge technologies

5. Top Management Latent Unsafe Conditions Line Management Latent Unsafe Conditions Latent Unsafe Conditions Pre- Conditions Operational Activities Active Failures Safety Features Active Failures and Latent Unsafe Conditions Accident & Injury Factors leading to an Accident: The“Swiss Cheese” Model ACCIDENT [Based on: Reason, J. (1997)]

6. Accident 1 Incidents 600 Near-misses 10,000 The Accident Pyramid [Source: USCG]

7. Tip of the Iceberg?

8. Understanding Safety Culture:How do we go about it?

9. Risk, Safety and Culture • Risk = Probability of occurrence of an undesired event x Consequences • Safety: • Measures and practices undertaken to prevent and minimise the risk of loss of life, injury and damage to property and environment • Culture: • Way of life; the customs, beliefs and attitudes that people in a particular group or organisation share • Safety Culture: • Is a subset of the organisational culture • organisational culture is ‘the product of multiple interactions between people (Psychological), jobs (Behavioural) and the organisation (Situational)

10. A Model for Understanding Safety Culture [Source: Bandura (1986), Cooper (2000)]

11. Key Issues • What is safety culture and how does it manifest? • What are the factors that influence safety culture? • How to measure or benchmark safety culture? • How can we achieve “global minimum standards of safety culture”? • What has been the impact of the ISM Code?

12. Shipboard Safety Culture Shipboard safety manifests in terms of: • Ability to appreciate the risks associated with routine actions • Preparedness to deal with emergency situations • Clearly communicated safe practices and procedures • Reporting and reviewing mechanism • Perceptions about top management’s commitment to safety • Confidence in self and others to respond to emergencies

13. ISM Code & Safety Culture The ISM Code – • Established for the first time, an accountability link between ship and shore in all matters of safety management • Recognises that no two shipping companies are alike • Encourages adherence to safe practices as an inherent and felt need rather than complying with rules • Insists upon reviews and continual assessment of operational risks • Acknowledges the need for in-service and shore based- training in safety aspects

14. ISM Code: The experience so far Some of the negative factors identified: • Too much paper work and voluminous manuals • Irrelevant procedures and bought-off-the-shelf systems • No feeling of involvement in the system • Ticking boxes (in checklists) without carrying out the tasks • Not enough people or time to undertake the extra work • Lack of support from the Company [Source: Dr. Phil Anderson’s doctoral thesis: ‘Managing Safety at Sea’, Nov. 2002]

15. ISM Code: The experience so far Features common to Companies operating successful SMS: • Leadership and commitment from the very top • A sense of ownership & empowerment among personnel • Continuity of employment • Respectful, two-way communication between ship & shore [Source: Dr. Phil Anderson’s doctoral thesis: ‘Managing Safety at Sea’, Nov. 2002]

16. “Minimum Manning” or Strategic HRD? ATTRIBUTE‘MINIMUM MANNING’STRATEGIC HRD HRD Policy Not defined In line with: · - Future growth/diversification plans · - Anticipated techno/regulatory changes Complement Based on rules Minimum safe manning plus: · - Onboard trainees to meet future needs - Operational profile · - Ships’ age and maintenance work load Selection basisCoC & on-job needs CoC, on-job needs plus: · - Educational level - Ability to absorb new technologies · - Amenability to adopt a safety culture Recruitment At the lowest possible cost Reputed and vetted MET institutions (“white list”)

17. “Minimum Manning” or Strategic HRD? ATTRIBUTE‘MINIMUM MANNING’STRATEGIC HRD Pre-sea training Negligible involvement Active involvement In-service training Negligible involvement Active involvement Career path Not well defined Clearly formulated & implemented Org. culture Driven by: Shaped by: - insecurity - confidence - mistrust and uncertainty - transparency - commitment to HRD - career growth & - team work RetentionLow High

18. A Road Map to Safety Culture? • Uninformed Culture • Symptoms • Gaps in knowledge, & skills needed for safe operations • Poor emergency preparedness • Lack of training • Absence of exercises • Evasion Culture • Symptoms • Perfunctory approach • Focus on paperwork • Appearances are most important • Inadequate training • Poor emergency response • Compliance Culture • Symptoms • Focus on compliance • Conversant with rules • Flawless records • Safe practices a routine • Extensive checklists • Inability to deal with unforeseen emergencies • Safety Culture • Symptoms • Safety awareness visible throughout • Collective approach • Proactive risk identification • High degrees of preparedness • Cohesive team • Culturally driven beliefs • Fatalism • Safety measures increase accident risk • No matter what you do, accidents will still occur  • Behaviour pattern • Clarity of objectives • Positive group dynamics • Professionalism • Sure of support • Confident in emergencies • Behaviour pattern • Discipline • Obedience to rules • Clear role definition • Pride in doing things right • Group commitment • Clean record matters most • Culturally driven beliefs • ‘Excessive’ safety is “bookish” • ‘Smart’ operations involve cutting corners • The chief objective is not to get into trouble with authorities

19. Two Approaches 1. Top-down approach • Safety culture as a sub-set of organisational culture • Observation: Safety culture is market driven 2. Bottom-up approach • Safety culture as learned behaviour • Observation - MET institutions in developing countries (main suppliers of seafarers) are hampered by: • financial constraints • poor infrastructure • non-availability of qualified faculty and research capabilities

20. SAFETY TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FEEDBACK ON SAFETY PERFORMANCE, TRAINING RECORDS SUPPORTING MET EEDBACK FROM SHIP GUIDELINES, INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL, TESTS HEAD OFFICE INTERACTION BETWEEN SHIP, SHORE & MET SAFETY TRAINING POLICY, SMS, GUIDELINES TO MASTER & C/E HRD MANAGER ONBOARD DRILLS Convergence Model REPORTING OF ACCIDENTS, INCIDENTS & NEAR-MISSES

21. Proposed Strategy • Combine top-down and bottom-up approaches • Shipowners and MET institutions to interact closely in matters of pre-sea and in-service training • HRD policies and practices to come under the scrutiny of ISM audits • Benchmark safety culture in terms of risk (probability x consequences) using exercises and simulations • Link HRD practices and onboard safety with risk management

22. Contextual data (Ship & Company specific) Persons (Seafarers onboard) Initial appraisal of prevailing Safety Culture Simulated Tasks & Emergencies (Group exercise) Organisation (Shipping Company) Job (Safety behaviour & group response) Quantitative Risk Assessment (In terms of Event Trees & Probabilities x Consequences) Qualitative Appraisal of Safety Culture (In terms of the three elements – Organisation, Persons and Job) Intervention strategies Linking Safety Culture with Risk Management

23. Summary & Conclusion • Bandura’s triangular model (Person, Organisation and Job) offers a dynamic perspective of safety culture. • Top-down strategic HRD measures interfacing with a bottom-up approach in close association with MET institutions will help in fostering of safety culture. • Since top-down approach is the primary intervention strategy, the HRD practices come under scrutiny. • Integration of HRD practices and risk management tools can lead to effective promotion of safety culture in shipping.

24. Safety Culture: A Top-down Mindset “ If the management is clearly seen to be giving safety the highest priority then that mindset will quickly permeate into the chain of command, from the Board Chairman through the directors, the superintendents, to the ships’ officers and crews.” • William O’Neil, Former Secretary General, IMO (Sep. 2002)

25. Thank You