Creating a Safety Culture

Abstract

Preventable injuries and illnesses present a significant cost to military readiness. The National Safety Council estimates that preventable injuries and illnesses cost DoD $10 billion to over $21 billion annually [1]. In 2003, to address recent increases in accident rates, the Secretary of Defense challenged the military services to reduce mishap rates by 50 percent over a 2-year period ending September 2005 [2]. Nearly concurrent in April 2003, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Safety (DASN (Safety)) submitted a report to the Secretary of the Navy in which she recommended improvements to Navy activities supporting safety. The aim was to strengthen the contribution of safety to mission effectiveness and enhance the safety of Sailors, Marines, and civilian employees. Ensuring safety resources was among the topics addressed by the task force. With respect to this topic, the task force recommended that the Navy develop a safety resources plan to maximize the safety contribution to the Department of the Navy mission and establish guidance on tracking safety costs for ashore, afloat, ground, and aviation activities, using standard fiscal nomenclature [3]. In leading the Navy s response to the Secretary of Defense s goal, the DASN for Safety is concerned whether the Navy is fostering a culture of safety that supports meeting safety requirements at the activity and operational levels that will, in turn, support the achievement of short term goals and sustain program success over the long-term. She asked CNA to help develop a strategy to foster a culture of safety within the Navy and Marine Corps, including the identification of ways to make a business case for safety. In this study, we focus on answering the basic question of how best to raise awareness and provide focus that supports excellence in safety Navy-wide and that generates the optimum mishap rate reduction for the funds invested.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA605037

Entities

People

  • Burton L. Streicher
  • Michelle A. Dolfini-reed

Organizations

  • Center for Naval Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accident Investigations
  • Accidents
  • Active Duty
  • Best Practices
  • Civilian Personnel
  • Commerce
  • Contractors
  • Department Of Defense
  • Detection
  • Education
  • Health Services
  • Military Personnel
  • Naval Operations
  • Occupational Safety And Health
  • Personnel Management
  • Risk
  • Task Forces

Readers

  • Hydrologic Risk Analysis and Mitigation.
  • Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
  • Strategic Security Studies