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Comparing safety culture and learning culture

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Abstract

This article examines the alignment of learning and safety culture in organisations. It tests the hypothesis that factors that indicate a good learning culture might also signify good safety and vice versa. The hypothesis was tested through an intensive literature review. Areas of alignment of learning culture and safety culture were identified. Six components of learning culture and safety culture can be measured by the same instrument. These components form guiding principles for measurement of safety culture and learning culture. Another eight component areas were identified where learning culture and safety culture partially align. Four further components were found to be relevant to either safety culture or learning culture and do not align. Overall, there is a relationship between learning culture and safety culture, but gauging one does not provide a reliable measure of the other.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by BP International. The authors are grateful to Dr Urbain Bruyere (BP’s Vice President, Operating Culture) who helped devise and test the hypothesis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK

    Allison Littlejohn

  2. Glasgow Caledonian University – GCU London, 40-48 Fashion Street, Spitalfields, London, E1 6PX, UK

    Dane Lukic

  3. Caledonian Academy, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, G4 0BA, UK

    Anoush Margaryan

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  1. Allison Littlejohn
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  2. Dane Lukic
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  3. Anoush Margaryan
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Correspondence to Allison Littlejohn.

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Littlejohn, A., Lukic, D. & Margaryan, A. Comparing safety culture and learning culture. Risk Manag 16, 272–293 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/rm.2015.2

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