A three-year nationwide study explored the effects of corporate culture on the level of safety performance (Erickson, 1994). The goal was to provide scientific data that would further the cause of optimal safety program organization and functioning. An extensive literature search performed as a prelude to that research indicated that no similar studies had been performed. The safety profession needed a scientific basis to support widely held opinions and numerous anecdotes that corporate philosophy played a major role in the level of a company’s safety performance.
EHS professionals must understand and be familiar with the scientific and empirical foundation on which any safety intervention is based. If independent studies are not the basis for these interventions, there is a reasonably good chance that companies may be wasting their time, money and effort on them.