Further Validation of Safety Culture Measurement Tool for Improving Safety in Commuter Rail Operations

Building upon the development of a measure of safety culture based on a simplified two-factor model of meaning and behavior, a further validation study of the safety culture instrument was undertaken. The Safety Culture Assessment Survey (SCAS) was administered to a large regional railroad organization at two separate times. The instrument has demonstrated psychometric properties of reliability and validity. Combining data from two time periods also demonstrated significant differences in observed safe and unsafe behavior for those who scored high versus low on the SCAS scales. The scale demonstrated criterion validity in that that scores on the SCAS successfully differentiated those who had performed safe versus unsafe behavior as noted by supervisors. Moreover, subscales of the safety SCAS were significantly related to safety performance outcome measures, such as reported injuries, accidents, and near misses. Statistically significant odds ratios of reporting a near miss were obtained when safety culture measures from SCAS subscales were low, which indicated weak safety culture in the areas of senior and front-line management’s commitment to safety, a culture that prioritized productivity over safety, and a culture that underutilized safety practices such as job briefings. Similarly, the odds of reporting an accident were nearly five times greater if a respondent perceived the organizational culture as prioritizing productivity over safety. Overall, this study furthered the development and validation of a measure of corporate safety culture for the transportation industry. Recommendations for the measurement that can lead to the development of a strong safety culture were discussed.

• Record URL:
  https://www.ugpti.org/resources/reports/details.php?id=942
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/42627
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  National Center for Intermodal Transportation

  University of Denver
  Denver, CO  United States  80208

  Mountain-Plains Consortium

  North Dakota State University
  Fargo, ND  United States  58108

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Sherry, Patrick
• Publication Date: 2018-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 49p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Performance measurement; Railroad commuter service; Railroad safety; Railroads; Recommendations; Safety culture; Surveys; Validation
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01710727
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: MPC-18-369
• Contract Numbers: MPC-532
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 11 2019 5:26PM