Safety management systems and safety culture in aircraft maintenance organisations

A self-regulatory model was proposed to examine how di€erent organisations manage safety, with particular emphasis on the human and organisational aspects. The relationships of di€erent aspects of safety culture and safety management systems were explored through the deployment of di€erent research measures and methods. Studies of four aircraft maintenance organisations included analysis of documentation and qualitative interviews, surveys of safety climate and attitudes, expected response to incidents and compliance with task procedures. The model was e€ective in analysing the salient features of each organisation' s safety management system, though it underestimated the roles of planning and change. The data from management interviews, the incidents survey and safety climate survey exhibited a large measure of agreement in di€erentiating between the di€erent safety management systems and safety climate of the four organisations. The measures of compliance with task procedures and safety attitudes did not di€erentiate between the four organisations (though one organisation did di€er from the others in safety attitudes). This suggests a strong, relatively homogeneous professional sub-culture of aircraft technicians spanning the di€erent organisations. Di€erences in safety attitudes and climate were found between occupational groups, though in the case of climate the di€erences between occupational groups were a function of the organisation, suggesting a di€erentiated notion of safety culture. The professional sub-culture of technicians is likely to mediate between the organisation' s safety management system and safety outcomes. # 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.