Organisational safety indicators: Some conceptual considerations and a supplementary qualitative approach

This article discusses the extent to which indicators can represent organisational qualities in relation to safety and how a qualitative approach called the Operational Safety Condition (OSC) method can be a supplement and help improve safety. In light of the recent Safety Science debate on safety indicators, we suggest that it is difficult to capture organisational conditions using indicators, although they are indisputably important when identifying the risk of accidents. Safety climate and risk analysis approaches are discussed as methods that can build and assess indicators in relation to organisational safety quality. OSC and similar qualitative approaches can capture the complexity of organisational conditions, aid organisational learning at a double loop level and offer a tool for risk management.