In the past 15 years leaders have come to recognize the culture of organizations places limits, explains both performance success and failure, and points to opportunity. NASA faced this issue head on when the Columbia Accident Investigation Board found “organizational causes†for the Space Shuttle tragedy that occurred in February, 2003. To fly the Space Shuttle safely, NASA not only needed to address identified technical issues, but address “a broken safety culture.†The result was that NASA engaged Behavioral Science Technology (BST) to help the agency develop a process for changing its culture in ways that are systematic, measurable, and replicable throughout the agency.
This three-part article series will outline the steps NASA took to address its culture and safety climate: assessment, intervention, and initiatives currently unfolding in the rest of the agency.