Safety culture is defined as the attitudes, values, norms and beliefs held by a certain group of people in regard to risk and safety.

This culture is often defined by the degree to which individuals and the group assume responsibility for safety and actively take precautions, prepare and communicate in regard to safety issues, as well as strive to actively learn, adjust and modify behaviour on the basis of knowledge gained from errors. These actions result in benefits that fit with the values of the culture.

"Here and now" picture of current safety situation

Safety atmosphere/safety climate is a psychological phenomenon that is typically defined as the perception of the safety situation at a given time. It is a "snapshot" of a safety culture, which is relatively unstable and subject to change.

By employing a questionnaire known as the Marine Safety Factors Questionnaire (MSFQ) to examine safety factors, it is possible to assess strong indicators of a company's safety culture and safety climate.

The methods of the safety factors questionnaire are based on the assumption/premise that a certain view is connected to a high or low safety performance. For example: low motivation, morale or trust in management is seen as being linked with poor safety performance.

The study provides results that can show how an organisation's safety procedures are carried out in practice, or how procedures are viewed or followed.

SMAQ poster080115_SMAQ_poster.pdf (Danish version. Opens in a new window)

SMAQ case sheet (Danish version. Opens in a new window)