EVALUATION OF HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT (HSE) CULTURE

Studies have determined that the application of technical safety measures is not adequate to protect human, economic and environmental assets in industries. Therefore, promoting Health, Safety and Environment (HSE culture), as an alternative approach, is of great importance. The aim of this study was to evaluate and manage HSE culture among employees of an industrial sector in Iran. This descriptiveanalytic research was carried out during the years 2009 and 2010. The statistical population included ten subsidiaries of the industry. To gather the required data, an HSE culture questionnaire was developed. SPSS software was also applied to analyze the data gathered. Data analysis determined that the mean of HSE culture scores was 262.7. Considering the borderline between the negative and positive HSE culture (279), it is inferred that 79.4% of personnel culture scores was negative. Finally, the study concluded that to improve safety culture in an organization, not only psychological and personal factors but also organizational and environmental factors should thoroughly be investigated. In this way, the actual problems would be identified, appropriate problem-solving methodologies be implemented and, ultimately incidents rate be reduced.

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