This site is RSSB’s one-stop-shop for safety culture assessment, improvement and good practice exchange designed for the rail industry.
It provides organisations with a safety culture self-assessment package, guidance on safety culture improvement and the opportunity to share good practices on all aspects of safety culture across the industry. RSSB provides additional help and guidance for Railway Group Members. At the present time usage of the toolkit is limited to RSSB members only
For more information about the Safety Culture Improvement Toolkit select options below.
Put simply, safety culture is “the way we do things round here”, in other words how well the employees and managers work together to tackle safety issues. A good safety culture means that everyone shares a belief in the importance of safety and strives to ensure health and safety is done properly and that safety is always given high priority.
A safety culture assessment allows an organisation to better understand how its people perceive safety and the company’s approach to health & safety management. It allows the organisation to identify both strengths and weaknesses which then allow it improve its approach to health and safety. There are many approaches, but the HMRI expects rail companies to conduct and act on safety culture assessments.
This site should be used by rail safety managers and supervisors involved in planning and implementing safety policy and safety management schemes.
The site is relevant to all companies – rail & non-rail -- regardless of your current level of safety culture: there is always room for improvement in terms of safety culture and the site will offer advice and good practice guidance specific to your current level of safety culture.
Also, if you have examples of good practice from schemes and methods you have found effective in improving attitudes and behaviours towards safety, this site offers an opportunity to share these with other members of the rail industry.
Following the investigation into the Clapham Junction accident (Hidden, 1989), Sir Anthony Hidden suggested that development of a ‘positive safety culture’ was the key to improving the safety of Britain’s railway network (Clarke, 1998). Since that time the industry has devoted huge efforts into enhancing safety culture throughout the industry.
A safety culture assessment allows an organisation to better understand how its people perceive safety and the company’s approach to health & safety management. It allows the organisation to identify both strengths and weaknesses that then enable it to continuously monitor and improve its approach to health and safety.