Safety Culture in the DefenceDevelopment & Acquisition Environment

Rodney Tan

Rosemary Yeo

9 Mar 1997…1005hrs...

2 fatalities & 12 injured

What went wrong?Immediate cause:Armed M739 Point Detonating (PD)Fuze activated during flick ramming

User

Acquiring Org

Local Supplier

Overseas Supplier #1/OEM

Overseas Supplier #2

Root cause?

What went wrong?

Acquiring Org

Local Supplier

Overseas Supplier #1 / OEM

Overseas Supplier #2

• Failed to ensure the quality ofthe fuze entering into service use

• Failure to conduct factoryacceptance test

• Inadequate manufacturing process• Lax quality control

• Failure to conduct factoryacceptance test

Can we prevent this from happening again?

Root cause(s)?

Overview

• Factors that shape the perception ofsafety risks in Singapore

• Challenges faced by the defencedevelopment & acquisition organisation

• Definition of safety culture• Nurturing safety culture in the defence &

acquisition organisation

The Citizen’s Army...• 2 years full time

“The SAF will train our servicemen hard and trainthem realistically for the defence of Singapore, butwe will never compromise on safety nor risk thelives of our servicemen during training”

- Statement by the Minister of Defence in 2005

• Greater moral obligationto ensure the well-beingof conscripts

• Up to 40 days per yearuntil age 40 or 50

Small families

Ave no. of children = 2.1

Accidents Greater impact on family

And that’s not all...Complex systems - likely to require significant

development or integration

“Simpler” systems - likely to be purchased off-the-shelf

Complex systems...

…how do we ensure that every link in the chain isstrong as it can be?

Managing the acquisition of complex systems...

Less complex systems

Insufficient info

Suppliers unwilling toprovide info

• Off-the-shelf products

• Relatively small buyer

???

Is it safe?

Designed for min risk?

Adequate quality control?Adequate design qualification?

Org Culture“The set of beliefs, values and norms,together with symbols like dramatized

events and personalities, whichrepresents the unique character of an

organisation, and provides thecontext for action in it and by it”

A well-defined culture should reflectthe collective beliefs of the

organisation and serve as a beaconto guide the actions and behaviour

of all employees.

Putting it all together

SafetyCulture

• Leadership emphasis on safety

• Communication: multi-pronged,open & 2-way, cross-functional,cross-boundary

• Get the “right” people

• Reward people

• Establish processes

A Holistic Approach

• Build competencies

Management leadership“One of the most important primarymechanism for cultural embedding &reinforcement is what the leaders andmanagers pay attention to”

- Edgar Schein

2 levels of changes- changes to organisational elements- changes to values & beliefs

Long term sustained effort required

Management leadershipWhy is safety important to

us?

Safety is good thing?

Safety isimportant?

Accidents, such as the 1997 NZ accident, arepainful to us. Servicemen lose their lives andthose who survive may be scarred in more waysthan one. It is thus important that we activelymanage safety so that the probability ofaccidents occurring is reduced.

Safety first?

Communicating those beliefs...

Communicating across functions

Communicating across boundaries

Safety of the system is only as good as its weakestcomponent...

The right fitSkills + qualification + experience +

personality+

compatible values & beliefs

• Communicate organisation’s values &beliefs to candidates

• Nurture & reinforce the values & beliefs ofnew recruits

= better assimilation

Staff competency...

How can the organisation enable employees toeffectively exercise due diligence?

Due diligence: the care that a reasonable personexercises under the circumstances to avoid harm toother persons or their property

Basic CompetenciesRequired to build and sustain the culture & values

Applicable to all in the organization

Business CompetenciesSkill based competencies cutting across many

business units

Technical /Functional

CompetenciesTechnical know-

howrequired for

specific job in abusiness unit

One possible model:

Performance appraisals &rewards...

Is the incentive & reward system driving theright behaviour?

Project completed on time

Safety risk ALARP

??

Processes

Est. safety approach & risk management

framework

Safety Assessment Report

Form SSWG

Generate safety reqts

Processes...Shows staff the path to achieve desired outcome…

Desired behaviour is enforced & encouraged...

Adherence to process

Difficult to establish objective & clear-cut criteria for safety

≠ Safe(st) system

Safety Culture Survey:Safety Culture Survey:

1) Perceived relevance of safety culture

2) Accessibility of comms channel

3) Processes to support safety culture

4) Ability to balance safety against competingrequirements

5) Perceived mgmt support

6) Training & staff competency

7) Enthusiasm towards safety

8) Level of safety consciousness

Key Safety Culture Indicators

The yard stick

Measure the health & gather feedback

The eco-system

Developer

User

Contractor

• State safety reqts up-front

• Evaluate contractors based oncompliance with safety reqts

• Work closely with contractor to ensure systemproduced conforms to build standard

Thru’ the dynamics of the customer-contractor relationship

• Rigorously verify compliance with reqts

•• What else can we do to enlarge the safety culture of What else can we do to enlarge the safety culture ofthe eco-system?the eco-system?

Challenges•• Overcoming organisational inertia Overcoming organisational inertia

•• No precedents on how to measure safety culture No precedents on how to measure safety culture

•• How do we measure the performance of safety engr? How do we measure the performance of safety engr?

•• How do we strike a balance between How do we strike a balance betweensafety & competing needs, e.g. efficiency,safety & competing needs, e.g. efficiency,cost-effectiveness?cost-effectiveness?

•• How to enlarge the effort across How to enlarge the effort acrossboundariesboundaries

Parting thoughts...

Thank You