What does Safety Culture mean to you?

When I'm at home and I change what I'm doing to be safer because of something I've learned at work, I know our safety culture is getting through to me!

Safety culture is a multi-level structure where safety is integrated into all decisions and activities. It starts as an organizational imperative ("safety is important and is incorporated into the way we do things"). It has to be implemented through policy and procedure, but more importantly instilled as a norm or value. Supervisors at all levels have to expect, acknowledge and reward good safety practices. People have to feel that it is possible to continually improve safety (and not just a pie-in-the-sky slogan) and that the safety culture encourages open and non-punitive discussion of mistakes and ways to avoid them. We may not achieve zero injuries/incidents in the foreseeable future but we can move toward goal. ISM and work planning become routine practices. Eventually, safety becomes a natural part of the work/planning process.

On a personal note, I agree with Mike Martin that I've seen myself being more safety conscious at home as a result of the safety culture at work. I've been telling my mother and wife, "use the handrails" because of the lessons learned here at work. I've been more aware of using safety goggles and ladder safety as well. I find that I am asking myself, "what tools/PPE do I need to do this safely?" "What else could go wrong?"