La cultura de la seguridad en una empresa constructora: evaluación e interpretación de sus resultados

Abstract

We examined safety culture status in a construction company, and practices related to management, group norms, values and behaviors, using semi-structured interviews of persons with different roles in the organization, in order to evaluate the level of safety culture development and where it stood in terms of the process of cultural transformation. Results indicated that positive changes in safety culture helped consolidate a progressive decline in accident rates from 2005 to 2013, to a low of 3.35 accidents per 240,000 man-hours of exposure in the last year. The study also allowed examination of results related to the company s safety management process, which may well have been influenced by the impact of good practices that were driving the development of its safety culture. Moreover, improved direct communication between employees and senior management, as well as the permanent presence of senior management in construction projects, appeared to provide an important foundation for the success of the organization s safety performance