Case studies: Australia

Safety culture survey at Sunrise Dam creates a benchmark

The safety culture of an organisation is a fundamental determinant of the level of safety prevailing in that organisation. This is the view of management at Sunrise Dam Gold Mine, and it is against this background that management took a decision to measure the safety culture at the site so that they could proactively manage this important aspect of safety.

SAFEmap, an international consulting company which specialises in the field of safety culture, was appointed to carry out the measurement using their Safety Culture Survey technology. This allowed for the easy identification of site-wide strengths and weaknesses, as well as departmental specific strengths and weaknesses. Focused actions can then be initiated at all levels on site.

Through a consultative approach with their employees and major contractors, Sunrise Dam arranged for the surveys to be conducted over five days (split over two weeks to capture shift roster changes). A series of 25-minute survey sessions was held on site to complete the survey.

This exercise reached 83% of the workforce, electronically capturing their responses to a list of statements. General Manager at Sunrise Dam, Mike Erickson, describes the process as having been very worthwhile, in that by ensuring anonymity and confidentiality of participants’ perceptions, they have more faith in the accuracy of the results.

Since the same survey has been conducted over several years on numerous mine sites throughout Australia, it was possible to benchmark Sunrise Dam’s results against the average results across the Australian mining industry.

Some of the site-wide results from this survey indicated the following:

Organisation 1. Commitment 2. Policy 3. Goals 4. Leadership style 5. Value 6. Security Management 7. Credibility 8. Commitment 9. Balance 10. Style Supervision 11. Credibility 12. Commitment 13. Balance 14. Style		Processes 15. Consultation 16. Information 17. Discipline 18. Participation 19. Follow-up 20. Decisions		Job factors 26. Risk incentives 27. Work pressures 28. Tools and equipment 29. Satisfaction 30. Risk level 31. Job design
				Team factors 32. Rule compliance 33. Risk-taking 34. Team spirit 35. Conflict 36. Team work
		Safety systems 21. Safety staff 22. Systems quality 23. Safety rules 24. Training 25. Recognition		Individual factors 37. Fatalism 38. Duty 39. Motivation 40. Stress 41. Risk perception

• The safety culture at SDGM is significantly more positive than the average in the Australian mining industry.
• All levels surveyed record more positive trends than the industry average.
• Perceptions of management and supervisors are positive – in particular, there is a high level of trust.
• A significant number of people do not believe they are being appropriately recognised for safety efforts.
• There is still concern among managers that people have to break safety rules to get jobs done.
• A strong team approach to safety exists.
• The majority of people on site do not believe there are serious safety problems at Sunrise Dam.
• The fatigue management programme is well understood and accepted by many.
• The drug and alcohol policy is well understood and felt to be consistently and fairly applied at SDGM

The results of the survey were communicated to all employees at SDGM; Department Managers (including Contractor Managers) were asked to develop their own department action plan. This plan will to be reviewed quarterly by the site safety committee. It was also agreed to develop a safety recognition programme to promote and reinforce positive behaviours.

By redefining the role of safety at SDGM as a business imperative, and developing among employees and management a common approach to safety, beyond the level of personal commitment, safety will become a key driver in change management. Debates around safety, as a core organizational value will be promoted so that leadership can be demonstrated through value-adding actions. A Safety Forum/Workshop is being planned, where safety leadership training will be provided to ensure that the managers have the knowledge, expertise and skills to fulfil their roles.