Abstract
DuPont understands the direct connection between safety, quality and environment through employee behaviour. Safety has been important to DuPont for two centuries, and the DuPont safety philosophy was based on concepts promoted by its founder, E.I. du Pont.
Through years of experience within its own plants, DuPont has found that safety needs to focus on people. A DuPont study has found that unsafe acts are the cause of 96 percent of all injuries at work, whereas only four percent are related to technical causes.
This papers highlights the DuPont belief that a good safety culture is essential for the well being of a company. It will describe the DuPont philosophy and how it has helped in creating strong safety values within the organisation, and the resultant positive results.
Its philosophy includes:
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All injuries are preventable.
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Safety is a condition of employment.
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Safety off-the-job is just as important as safety on-the-job.
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Good safety is good business.
The paper will use case studies to illustrate how if people are placed at the centre, from all levels within the organisation, the safety culture will improve drastically. And this does not just apply to safety. If people act responsibly towards safety, then they will do the same for quality and all other core values.
This paper also describes the interplay between ‘management’ and ‘worker roles’ and how these are affected within the model of cultural development – from dependence to independence through to interdependence.
In conclusion. Safety should be an integral part of the behaviour of all employees, at all levels. By ‘walking the talk’, DuPont has been able to achieve its status as the safest science and technology company worldwide. To achieve a strong safety culture, companies must be willing to devote all the time and resources necessary to encourage employees in the development of personal commitment, individual accountability and a strong sense of interdependency.
