The Role of Safety Culture in Preventing Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes (2007)

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37 A P P E N D I X A Project Statement of Work

38 CTBSSP MC-14 The Role of Safety Culture in Preventing Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes This work plan describes the research synthesis plan for Transportation Research Board (TRB) Commercial Truck & Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) project MC-14 enti- tled Synthesis Report on the Role of Safety Culture in Prevent- ing Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes. This safety synthesis project attempts to assist the commercial vehicle safety man- agement community, specifically safety program managers, in understanding the role that company safety practices and philosophies can play in nurturing safety in the workplace. Major safety synthesis data sources will include research literature on industrial and transportation safety manage- ment, direct surveying of CMV carrier safety managers, driv- ers and other experts, and interviews with individuals who have experience and expertise in CMV safety management. Per the requirements of the Synthesis program, this work plan provides the following: • Proposed details of the literature review. • Organizations (including government and industry) and individuals to be interviewed. • A description of proposed survey processes, and the gen- eral content of survey questionnaires. • An outline of the planned synthesis report, including chap- ter and subchapter titles and major content. • Schedule for project completion. Background and Problem Statement The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) recently released the results of a CMV “crash predictor model” study which provides statistical documentation for future crash probability based on different CDL driver risk behaviors. While research such as this continues to back the premise that en route risk behaviors are ultimately initiated by drivers, there is statistical support (Knipling; Lantz) that some carriers have essentially become havens for unsafe driv- ers. Alternatively, there is both empirical and anecdotal sup- port that “safe” carriers—as defined by numerous metrics including SafeStat scores, safety awards, and industry safety statistics—produce and attract safe drivers. While the major components that compose the overall “safety culture” of a carrier have not been dissected and stud- ied in a holistic manner, specific safety factors and correlations that contribute to safety culture have been analyzed. These include compensation schema (ATA); non-financial reward programs (Transanalytics, ATRI); and ISO 9000 certification’s nexus to safety (University of Minnesota, ATRI). It is also clear that other industry sectors that contain safety-sensitive posi- tions such as aviation, mining and heavy equipment manu- facturing have researched the tangible and intangible mecha- nisms that contribute to a positive safety environment. The Safety Culture study team intends to identify and ana- lyze significant safety and non-safety programs and initia- tives across relevant sectors that create/support or could create/support a positive safety culture within the trucking and motorcoach industries. These programs and initiatives will be synthesized and analyzed, resulting in a documented best practices outline of the factors and attributes that likely offer the greatest influence on developing and enhancing a culture of safety. The team also intends to identify non- programmatic factors that help cultivate or improve an overall culture of safety, such as leadership roles (within management and among CMV drivers). Finally, and in con- junction with CTBSSP MC-13 data collection, the study team hopes to add to the overall CMV Safety Culture litera- ture by identifying and demonstrating qualitative and quan- titative relationships between positive safety cultures and safety outcomes as defined by the research, literature review, and industry members. Objectives and Scope The objective of this study is to provide information that will assist the commercial vehicle safety management community (especially safety program managers) in understanding how and what company safety practices and philosophies favor and nurture safety in the workplace. Specifically, this study will investigate the following aspects of motor carriers and bus operators, which define the concept known as safety culture: • Attitudes, values, norms, and beliefs with respect to risk and safety within bus and truck organizations; and • Visible practices and procedures and the requisite behaviors they target which characterize a “safe” commercial operator. The safety culture synthesis study undertook three major research tasks to reach this objective: 1. The documentation and analysis of major factors, pro- grams, and attitudes that create a positive safety culture within trucking and motorcoach operations; 2. Calculation of the relationships between positive safety cultures and operational safety as defined by accepted safety metrics; and 3. The development of a high-level Best Practices plan for incorporating the significant programs and attributes into the safety programs of trucking and motorcoach operations. This last objective will provide the practical transfer of research synthesis findings to industry safety stakeholders.