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Safety culture and safety management within the Norwegian-controlled shipping industry ; State of art, interrelationships, and influencing factors

Oltedal, Helle Asgjerd
Doctoral thesis
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URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/184968
Date
2011-10-21
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  • PhD theses (SV-IMKS) [17]
Original version
Safety culture and safety management within the Norwegian-controlled shipping industry ; State of art, interrelationships, and influencing factors by Helle Asgjerd Oltedal, Stavanger : University of Stavanger, 2011 (PhD thesis UiS, no. 137)  
Abstract
This research focuses attention on safety challenges within the Norwegian

shipping industry. A status picture of the shipboard safety culture and the

interrelationships with safety management and organizational factors is given.

Three research questions are explored: (1) What characterizes safety culture

and safety management within the shipping industry? (2) What is the

relationship between safety culture and safety performance within the

shipping industry? (3) What characterizes shipping companies’ application of

the safety management concept? In order to explore these research questions,

four aims were defined to guide this work: (1) to outline and discuss the

application of safety culture and safety management within merchant

shipping; (2) to outline and discuss relevant theories of safety culture and

safety management and analyze the relationship between safety culture and

safety management; (3) to support the use of a methodological framework for

the assessment of safety culture in relation to safety management; and (4) to

assess safety culture within merchant shipping and analyze the relationship

with safety management and actual performance. The research questions are

further examined and specified in six journal articles.

The thesis is divided into two main parts. Part I includes the overall

framework in relation to research aims. Part II presents the six journal articles.

In part I, chapter 1, a general introduction and a status picture of risk, safety

management, and safety culture within the shipping industry are presented,

which gives reason for the research aims and questions introduced in the

chapter. Chapter 2 outlines the safety responsibilities within the industry at

the international, national, and company levels. Emphasis is placed on the

vi

International Safety Management (ISM) Code, which provides the minimum

standards and guidelines for operational safety management. Chapter 3

provides theoretical clarification and framing with regard to safety culture and

safety management. This chapter also introduces a general working model

used in the studies of safety culture and safety management in this thesis.

Chapter 4 presents the methodological approach. The thesis builds upon a

mixed method approach where both qualitative and quantitative techniques

are used. The main results are briefly summarized in Chapter 5, followed by a

discussion in Chapter 6 and concluding remarks in Chapter 7. The concluding

remarks concern study limitations, implications, and suggestions for future

research.

The thesis draws upon theory from both the socio-anthropological and

organizational psychological directions. In accordance with the organizational

psychological perspective, a survey was carried out. A safety culture

questionnaire developed by Studio Apertura, a constituent centre of The

Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), in collaboration

with the Norwegian DNV and the research institution SINTEF was used. In

total, 1,574 questionnaires were distributed to 83 tanker and bulk/dry cargo

carriers, with 1,262 being returned from 76 of the vessels. The vessels were

initially randomly selected from the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association

member list, but as participation was voluntary, some withdrawal occurred.

Statistical analysis involves descriptive statistics, factor analysis, regression

analysis, and structural equation modeling. The statistical survey results were

complemented by qualitative data obtained through document studies, case

studies including two tanker companies and two bulk/dry cargo companies,

vii

interviews, participating observations and field studies at sea, and

participation in other maritime forums.

The study results indicate several deficiencies in all parts of a traditional

safety management system defined as: (1) the reporting and collection of

experience data from the vessel; (2) data processing, summarizing, and

analysis; (3) the development of safety measures; and (4) implementation.

The underreporting of experience data is found to be a problem, resulting in

limitations related to the data-processing process. Regarding the development

of safety measures, it is found that the industry emphasizes the development

of standardized safety measures in the form of procedures and checklists.

Organizational root causes related to company policies (e.g., crewing policy)

is to a lesser degree identified and addressed.

The most prominently identified organizational influential factors are the

shipping companies crewing policy, which includes rotation systems, crew

stability, and contract conditions, and shipboard management. The

companies’ orientation toward local management, which includes leadership

training, educational, and other managerial support, are also essential. The

shore part of the organization is identified as the driving force for

development and change in the shipboard safety culture. Thus, safety

campaigns should to a larger degree include and be directed toward shore

personnel.
Description
 
PhD thesis in Risk management and societal safety
 
The thesis is based on the following articles, some of them not yet available in Brage due to copyright.
 
PAPER 1: Oltedal, H. A., & Engen, O. A. (2009). Local management and its impact on safety culture and safety within Norwegian shipping. In S. Martorell, C. Guedes Soares & J. Barnett (Eds.), Safety, Reliability and Risk Analysis: Theory, Methods and Applications (pp. 1423-1430). London: Taylor & Francis Group.
 
PAPER 2: Oltedal, H. & Wadsworth, E. (2010). Risk perception in the Norwegian shipping industry and identification of influencing factors. Maritime Policy & Management, 37(6), 601-623. DOI: 10.1080/03088839.2010.514954
 
PAPER 3: Oltedal, H. A. (2010). The use of safety management systems within the Norwegian tanker industry—Do they really improve safety? In R. Bris, C. Guedes Soares, & S. Martorell (Eds.), Reliability, Risk and Safety: Theory and Applications (pp. 2355-2362). London: Taylor & Francis Group.
 
PAPER 4: Oltedal, H. A., & Engen, O. A. (2010). Tanker versus dry cargo—The use of safety management systems within Norwegian dry cargo shipping. In J.M. Ale, I.A. Papazoglou, & E. Zio (Eds.), Reliability, Risk and Safety (pp. 2118- 2125). London: Taylor & Francis Group.
 
PAPER 5: Oltedal, H. & McArthur, D. (2010). Reporting practices in merchant shipping, and the identification of influencing factors. Safety Science, 49(2), 331-338.
 
PAPER 6: Oltedal, H. A., & Engen, O. A. (2010). Safety Management in Shipping— Making Sense of limited Success. Safety Science Monitor, submitted.
 
Publisher
University of Stavanger, Norway
Series
PhD thesis UiS;137

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