What it is
Safety culture is not a slogan or a noticeboard. It shows in decisions taken when there is no inspection: is the guard fitted on a job nobody is watching, is the short cut taken, is a hazard mentioned when it is seen.
Measurable signs
The number of near-miss reports and who they come from; the time taken to give feedback; the recurrence rate of inspection findings; the number of questions raised in training; the time management spends on site. These do not measure culture directly but they show its direction.
What does not work
An arrangement that tries to show zero accidents suppresses reporting and makes culture unmeasurable. If there is to be a reward, it goes to reporting, not to the absence of accidents.
Management's part
The fastest way to break a culture is for safety to be seen bending once under production pressure. The fastest way to build one is for the opposite to be seen at the same moment.
In Optifora
The leading indicator side shows reporting, feedback time, recurring findings and closure time together; accident count stops being the only measure.