Safety Culture: An Approach to Maturing Management Systems Through the Thoughtful Application of Human Factors

Abstract As the Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) matures its risk management practices, there is a desire to identify practical approaches to integrate human factors (HF) to strengthen the organization’s safety culture. The Integrity Management department at SoCalGas has previously sought to mature its HF practice within the organization. However, these initiatives have been limited by the relative difficulty associated with measuring their direct impact, the complexity of adapting the breadth and depth of the relevant knowledge base to specific projects, the potential resource burden of implementation, and general ambiguity in what constitutes industry best practice. It was recognized that to effectively leverage HF for tangible improvements (e.g., improvement of operating procedures and processes to improve safety), future initiatives must be thoughtfully integrated with existing systems and processes, balancing best practice within organizational constraints. Considering this, SoCalGas and Jiva Consulting (Jiva) developed a novel approach with the following characteristics: 1. A significant scoping and planning stage prior to commencing the development of specific solutions, which included a detailed assessment of current gaps as a basis for developing a practical roadmap. 2. A detailed literature review to identify and leverage transferable practices from other industries and sectors. 3. A highly structured, multi-year approach that allowed for careful identification of key stakeholders to ensure the development of practical and sustainable processes through the implementation of multiple pilots. 4. The iterative development of a Human Factors ‘Toolkit’ (HFTK) comprised of: • A Standardized Assessment Procedure to structure process implementation, • A Body of Knowledge and Quick Reference Guide to effectively translate key knowledge, • Assessment Forms to structure consistent data collection and analysis, • Stakeholder engagement approaches to support issue validation and prioritization, and • Presentation Materials for both staff training and organizational awareness. This has allowed SoCalGas to effectively develop a unique approach to HF that is theoretically sound and systematic while remaining practical and allowing for continuous improvement. The approach has been through multiple pilots and has created conditions to mature overall subject matter literacy within the organization regardless of roles or baseline knowledge level — ranging from field-based personnel to office-based technical staff, including senior management. The presentation of findings will outline how this approach addresses the complexities of implementing HF practices at SoCalGas via integration with the existing management system as well as early learnings from conducting its initial pilots.