HSS WORKERS DON’T TRUST SENIOR MANAGEMENT, SAFETY CULTURE REVIEW FINDS

A review of the safety culture within the Department of Energy’s Office of Health, Safety and Security found “a pervasive lack of trust” for senior management among HSS workers, according to a report released late last week. The review, performed early this year, identified “numerous areas” that needed improvement for HSS to achieve a “healthy” safety culture, the report says. The review also found that HSS has not been “immune from the pressures and organizational issues that have contributed to weaknesses in safety culture at all DOE nuclear projects and other organizations assessed by HSS over the past two years,” the report says.

Among the safety culture review’s findings is that the lack of trust for senior HSS management results “from the perception that Senior Management has little respect for the professionals in the organization, has little understanding of many of the functional areas it is responsible for, displays favoritism among a select few and uses a very strong top down management style,” the report says. It also notes, “The lack of participation in the focus groups during this assessment, the high number of survey respondents who chose the Prefer Not to Respond category on the demographic variables, the number of Hotline inquiries and requests made to the Team are all indicators of a fear of reprisal for raising potentially negative concerns or issues against HSS Senior Management.”

Another concern identified by the review is a belief within the HSS office that it is driven by “external stakeholders,” the report says. “Many perceive that during the last four years there has been a shift in the relationship within the sites that has reduced the effectiveness of HSS in its efforts in enforcement and oversight,” the report says, adding, “There is a perception that while some oversight still exists in the assessment mode, it is more collaborative than independent. The model of self-regulation implemented is being questioned by some HSS staff members for its effectiveness in being proactive about potential issues across the complex.” The full HSS safety culture assessment report can be found here.