Safety culture informs how we perceive, think, and feel about safety. 

 

The figure to the left illustrates a multidimensional, multi-layer conceptual framework of safety culture.  This model uses Edgar Schein’s three levels to categorize the safety culture dimensions identified through the review, and provides an integrated, comprehensive conceptual model of safety culture. The dimensions presented in this model are positively framed, representing the attributes of a positive safety culture.

 

Basic Assumptions: The innermost ring represents the core of the model and the shared common values of a group that guide decision-making and goals. 

 

Espoused Values: The middle ring features the six most common dimensions of safety culture, as determined and categorized by a literature review. These dimensions fall in line with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Committee's framework.

 

Artifacts: The attributes in the outermost ring are more concrete and observable than concepts in the inner rings, and the outer terms can range from positive to negative practices, serving as valuable indicators of safety culture.