“We’ve taken important steps to foster a safety culture that empowers and encourages all employees to share their voice. But there is more work to do,” Boeing said Monday.
A new report by federal safety experts found major issues with Boeing's safety culture — including a "disconnect" between senior management and other employees, and a fear of retaliation when reporting safety concerns.
The report released Monday had been requested by Congress and was completed by a panel of experts that convened in March 2023.
The report found “gaps in Boeing’s safety journey” and described the safety culture as “inadequate” and "confusing.”
So I'm seeing a few comments deriding "safety culture", as in "vAlUiNg LiFe iSn'T a CuLtUrE" and "tHeY ShOuLd dO ThAt AnYwAy"
But, see, in this country (and many others), production and getting it done tends to trump everything else. I personally know roofing laborers, laborers, who would rather fall off of a roof than wear a fall protection harness. They don't get a bonus for finishing faster, they don't have to buy the safety gear. They just don't want safeguard themselves because a) it's a hassle, and b) "I've never needed it before".
Safety culture has to be developed in just about any enterprise. Labor and management both have to exert effort to develope and maintain a dominant attitude of life safety. And that dominant attitude is what people mean when they talk about "safety culture".
Yes, protecting life above profit should be the default setting. Should. But it isn't. Yes, management should bear the brunt of fault when safety culture is lost, yet there's still a measure of responsibility on labor to maintain a safety culture and push back against the siren call of getting the job done