Measuring safety excellence – a culture maturity model

Many organizations are aware of their current culture and have a clear vision of what they want to be in the future. However, they lack a strategic plan on how to transition from one culture to the other.

While some referred to the DuPont Bradley Curve as a generic model to follow, I found that every organization needs a customized approach to ensure success. The goal is to provide a comprehensive guideline that outlines what must be addressed within the organization to impact the desired culture transition.

Although each plan should be unique, the DuPont Bradley Curve serves as a checklist to ensure that all the necessary elements are included in the approach. All the elements of safety excellence influence and impact the safety culture.

Therefore, it's essential that all the influencers evolve through the stages from left to right. If any of the elements don't progress at a similar rate as the others, the process will stall or at least be sub-optimized. If strategy, leadership, and engagement don't evolve, neither will the culture. It's crucial to develop metrics to measure the progression, making it possible to manage the change.

Once the organization has a complete understanding of what culture improvement entails, the implementation of the steps can be planned and executed. Failure to address these necessary steps usually results in wishful thinking rather than meaningful progress. Having a visual representation of the necessary steps also facilitates leaders to grasp what's necessary and mentally map it toward completion.

Start at the left of the model and trace each element in the first column from left to right. This is what must happen to achieve safety excellence while shaping a safety culture that will sustain the improvements.

By incorporating these elements into your safety strategy, it's possible to create a culture of safety excellence that drives long-term success. Remember, a comprehensive safety strategy acts as a roadmap, guiding the organization toward safety excellence.