Preliminary Probe and Thinking on
Constructing the Enterprise Safety Culture
Wang Mingnan, Dong Zhongling and Liu Zhijie
Longkou Coal Mining Administration, Shandong Province
Abstract: In recent years, in the enterprise safety production work, a study on the construction of the enterprise safety culture is initiating. This study will be of great significance for enhancing the enterprise staff and workers' awareness for safety production, preventing and reducing accidents of all kinds, promoting the enterprise enter into the market and participating in the international competition. This article tries to explore at the angle of the construction of the enterprise safety culture, carefully analyzed and set forth the great significance of constructing the enterprise safety culture. The article thinks deeply the concept, tasks, features and the relationship between the enterprise safety culture and other cultures, and principles to be stuck to in the construction of the enterprise safety culture and other basic issues. According to the practice in the construction of the enterprise safety culture made by this Administration over the past years, the article made a summary for the current status of constructing the coal mine enterprise safety culture. The article also pointed out some main problems existing in the construction of the coal mine enterprise safety culture, made suggestions on the study and effort to be made in a period of time to come in the construction of the coal mine enterprise safety culture.
Similar to the campus culture, tourism culture and credit culture, the safety culture is a component in the entire social cultures. The enterprise safety culture is both the foundation for the enterprise safety production and important aspect of the enterprise culture. Researching deeply the enterprise safety culture will be beneficial to constructing and making use of the enterprise culture, to enriching and developing social culture, to enhancing the stuff's awareness for the safety and accident precautions and to preventing and reducing all kinds of accident.
1.Great Significance to Construct Enterprise Safety Culture Under the New Situation
1) Constructing the safety culture is the requirement for the enterprise in participating in international competitions
With the progress of the economic globalization increasingly speeded up, the international competition is much severer. After China joined WTO, the scope of the domestic market competition has been widened and the competition starts develop internationally. Experiences in developed countries have indicated that the culture promotion has played a role that can not be substituted in enterprise development and market competition. Therefore, paying special attention to the construction of the enterprise safety culture and guaranteeing production safety will be beneficial to raise the quality of the enterprise, to enhance the enterprise strength, and to create conditions for the enterprise facing global challenges and participating in international competition. And it will also be beneficial to learn from and make use of the experiences of foreign safety culture, to promote the international exchange and cooperation of the enterprise safety culture and to raise the level of the enterprise safety management so as to achieve the enterprise safety production.
2)Construct the safety culture is the requirement of the enterprise to suit the market economy development
Under the condition of the market economy, to raise the economic benefit and open more extensive space for development, the enterprise must pay attention to the safety production at the working site. The production site is an important place where the enterprise's manpower is tightly combined with material resources and financial resources. The economic benefit of the enterprise comes from the value created by staff and workers at working sites, however, most of the enterprise accidents took place at working sites. Working site accidents cause not only casualties, direct loss of properties, the loss due to shut down and production stop, but also bring about spirit pressure of staff and workers and damage the image of the enterprise. Therefore, paying attention to the construction of the enterprise safety culture to achieve safety production for a long time will be the biggest economic benefit to the enterprise. It will be also the objective requirement for the enterprise entering into the market and developing the market economy.
3)Constructing the safety culture is the specific reflects to implement "Three Represents"
The crucial importance to carry out and implement President Jiang Zemin's important thoughts of "Three Represents" is to make the requirement of "Three Represents" worked out in light of the actual conditions of the enterprise. The speech at the Conference of Celebrating 80th Anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party made by President Jiang Zemin pointed out that in China of our time, the development of the advanced culture is just to develop the socialist culture with Chinese characteristics and to build socialist spiritual civilization. The safety culture, as the important branch of the socialist culture, is the specific reflection in the safety production of "Represent the advance orientation of the Chinese advanced culture", is a component part of constructing the socialist spiritual civilization. Therefore, paying great attention to the construction of the enterprise safety culture is the important measure taken in implementing the important thoughts of "Three Represents" and promoting the enterprise's construction of the "two civilizations".
2.Basic Issues Related to the Construction of the Enterprise Safety Culture
1)Concept and Task of the Enterprise Safety Culture
To achieve the enterprise safety production, the first thing is to create nice environment for safety production; The second thing is to standardize thoughts and behaviors of the staff and workers. The thoughts and behaviors of staff and workers are the most active factors, which pay the crucial role in the safety production. Therefore, the enterprise safety culture is a kind of cultural outcome formed during a long period when the social culture combines with the enterprise safety production. It comprehensively reflects the safety concept, management systems, the group awareness and behavior standards which have formed in the course of the production of the enterprise. It takes staff and workers as the object, by mean of the scientific concept, methods and approaches, impact and standardize the thoughts and behaviors of the staff and workers, seek unity of thinking of staff and workers as much as possible in order to achieve safety production.
The construction of the enterprise safety culture is a systematic engineering project, which has multi-functions include guideline, standard, binding, incentive, mix together, nurture and image shape, etc. Main tasks of the enterprise safety culture include: 1) Nurture and educate the safety concept, initiate to take human beings as the foundation. The safety concept includes guideline thinking, the value modes of thought, living philosophy, the highest target and code of conduct, etc. Its purpose is to guide staff and workers set up a correct sense of safety. In various social activity factors, the human life is the most valuable. The first thing of the safety production is to maintain and protect the human life rights. Always take human as the foundation, this is the key concept of the enterprise safety culture. 2) conduct the safety education, constantly enhance the quality of staff and workers. The safety education includes learning and training, broadcasting, seeing film and watch TV, newspapers and exhibition, books pictures and paintings, entertainment activities, case analysis, ethics and emotion, media supervision, scientific and technical dissemination, etc. Its purpose is to enhance the safety culture quality of staff and workers, and the consciousness that managers direct based on regulations and operators work based on regulations. 3) strengthen the safety management and standardize behaviors and actions. The safety management includes laws and regulations, internal systems, management mechanism, inspection and supervision, material reward, moral encourage, administrative disciplinary measure, economic punishment and other administrative, economic and legal measures. Its purpose is to standardize the thinking and actions of the staff and workers by means of necessary systems, scientific management, effective supervision and strict reward and punishment. The relationship of aforementioned three things is that the education is a "flexible" management, the management is a "rigid" education. The education and management impacts on the concept, the concept then reacts on education and management.
2)Main Characteristics of the construction of the Enterprise Safety Culture
The enterprise safety culture has common features of the social culture and enterprise culture, and it has its own characteristics which includes: the first point is the characteristics of depending on something. The course of the enterprise production and management is also the course of implementing safety production. The second point is the incentive characteristics. Attaching importance to protect human resources, maintain labourer's life rights is responsibility of the enterprise. Therefore, by taking various incentive measures, the enterprise safety culture will guide staff and workers pay attention at any time to "value yourself, be concerned about others and take good care of lives". The third point is the characteristic of compulsion. The safety production is both unity and opposities with worker's own interest. Staff and workers usually emphasis on immediate interests at work and neglect of safety production. Therefore, the enterprise safety culture will fully make use of administrative, economic and legal measures to force staff and workers make sure the safety production. The forth point is of a mass character. The safety production involves every working site of the enterprise. It is the work related to the mass. Therefore, the enterprise safety culture can not do it just relying on a few people, it must rely on the participation of staff and workers and make every worker aware of it. The last point is the character of ahead of times. The enterprise safety situation is easy to change with the variation of the production environment, conditions, tasks, workers' composition and ideological status. Therefore, the enterprise safety culture must predicts in advance factors that may impact safety production so as to take measures to stabilize the safety situation. The character of ahead of times is a difficult point and focal point in best doing the safety culture.
3)The Relationship Between Enterprise Culture and Other Cultures
The first is the relationship to enterprise culture. The enterprise culture is the spiritual treasure belong to the enterprise created during production and management. It can be divided into the production culture, management culture and safety culture, etc. Constructing the enterprise safety culture must submit to the enterprise safety culture construction as well as blazing new trails in the work by combining with its own features. The second is the relationship with the social culture. Social culture is the spiritual treasure created by human beings in the social practice. The enterprise safety culture is the specific reflection of the social culture in the safety production. To construct the enterprise safety culture, we must rely on the culture resources in surrounding society, and participate in the social safety cultural activities so as to raise the level of the construction of the enterprise safety culture. The third is the relationship with other enterprises. Excellent cultural achievements are common treasures created by human beings. To construct the enterprise safety culture, we must make use of the advanced safety culture achievements made by other enterprises and foreign enterprises, adopt good qualities from all quarters, constantly promote the development of the construction of the enterprise safety culture.
4)Principle to Be Stuck to in Constructing the Enterprise Culture
The first principle is that we must stick to the Party's policy for the safety production in constructing the enterprise safety culture. The Party and government always attaches importance to the safety production. The Party's policy "Safety First, Precaution Predominant, Comprehensively Harness and Overall Promotion" is the guiding thought in constructing the enterprise safety culture, which must be carried out constantly in the practical work. The second is that we must always apply it to practice in constructing the enterprise safety culture. The construction of the safety culture is to directly serve the safety production. So its contents and form must be practical, be aiming at the specific conditions and be easy to implement so as to pay the role of educating and standardizing staff and workers. The third is that we must insist on constantly reform and bringing forth new ideas in constructing the enterprise safety culture. With the enterprise reform being deepened, the economic components, economic interests, form of organizations and employment posts have been diversified. When we face new situation in constructing the enterprise safety culture, we must study and solve new problems, and keep development in bringing forth new ideas.
3.Basic Evaluation on the Status of Constructing Enterprise Safety Culture in Coal Mine Enterprises
It has been over 20 years since the "reform and open up" policy was carried out. Under the correct leadership of the Party and governments at all levels, who also pay great attention to coal mine safety production, the construction of the enterprise safety culture has got new results, which played important role in promoting coal mine safety production and improve the safety situation. Generally, it can be divided into three phases. The first phase was from 1978 to 1987. In this phase the main tasks were to resume implementation of and gradually build the responsibility system for safety production., meanwhile pay attention to the propaganda and education on safety production towards staff and workers. The second phase was from 1988 to 1997. In this phase the main tasks include a serial of safety reward and punishment systems had been drawn up based on the practice that coal mine enterprises implemented the responsibility systems of operation on contracting basis. The systems combine the status of safety production with staff wage, choose model worker and leader appointment, etc., which have become the important basis to evaluate the work at each post. In the meantime, with new situation appeared after the employment system was reformed, workers' safety training and ideological education has been strengthened. The construction of the safety culture has changed a lot in both contents and form. There are a various forms of management measures such as safety education and training, cultural activities, safety supervision and inspection, etc. The special full-time safety supervision mechanisms continue to play good role. The mass safety supervision organizations, the staff family assisted management committee and youth safety supervision teams are constantly developed. The third phase was ever since 1998. In this phase main tasks include: based on the new situation that coal mine enterprises were put under the jurisdiction of local governments, and a serial of effective measures have been carried out and deepened, the safety work is aimed at promoting bringing forth new ideas to safety culture, combining the safety work with ethics construction and legal system construction to implement the management according to law and administrate enterprises according to ethics. Make great efforts in enhancing the staff workers safety culture qualities, thus a new development in the safety production has been made.
Through probe and practice for many years, the construction of the safety culture in Longkou Coal Mining Administration is gradually strengthening, especially in recent years this work has got new development. It can be shown in the following aspects:
The first is the safety concept in a new particular period has been nurtured. "Four Concepts" have been initiated and set up, i.e. (1) Paying attention to safety is the concept "Concern about politics, keep stability, promote benefit", associate safety production with the social stability, enterprise rise and fall, staff workers safety and happiness; (2) Concept "Precaution predominant, control in advance". Turn passive disposal of accidents into control it ahead of times, make great effort in controlling safety situation; (3) Concept "find out good example, strive for a realistic spirit and make constant development". Initiate pioneering and bring forth new ideas, strive for self-overstepping. Take safety results as only one criteria in evaluating safety work; (4) Concept "Safety depends on management, accident depends on precaution, qualities depend on training and work depends on bringing for new ideas". Abolish the formalism of "Carry out the document gist by means of issuing document, implement meeting requirement by means of convincing meeting". Make great efforts to the implementation of the work at working site. The following working methods have formed: "strengthen management, the top leader makes great effort to it, and supervise and urge the top leader; renew traditional thought, pay attention to working sites, make great efforts to the 'large sites'; to implement tasks depends on staff and workers, pay attention to being concerned about enterprises; push forward at all aspects, grasp typical cases, attach importance to media guide; stress main points, constantly make great efforts and grasp relapse".
The second is that the regulatory systems have been perfected. At first, we stress the implementation of "Law of Coal Mine Safety", "Law of Coal", "Rules of Coal Mine Safety Supervision", the new "Regulations on Coal Mine Safety" and other safety regulations, then we revised and modified the responsibility systems on safety production for all level leaders, each department/post. With regard to the routine work of production and technical management, we modified some special management systems such as ventilation and three precautions (fire, methane and water), roof management, mechanical and electric and transport management systems. We also drawn up "Evaluation method for the status of coal mine safety", combine static evaluation with dynamic evaluation, thus guaranteed the implementation of the safety management systems.
The third is that we carried out the safety technical training based on the standard. Approved by high lever administrative department, Longkou Coal Mine Training Center has been set up. Training schools have been set up in each coal mine. The training topics have been rationally assigned and the training is carried out according to different levels. The priority of the training is specific topic technical and knowledge training. Other training will be management concept, strategic target, enterprise culture and professional ethics, etc. The training will start from analyzing typical cases, then conduct case study and other teaching activities. The training will combine theory with practice to promote enhance staff's qualities of safety culture.
The fourth is that we have conducted a variety of activities for safety education. Various forms of safety education have been conducted, which include making use of broadcasting, television, black board, propaganda wall paper and other media, and safety speeches, entertainment performance, knowledge competition, slogans and pictures, typical workers explain cases by citing their own experience, worker family members show their concerns to and look after miners, students write letters to miners showing their concern for the safety, etc. All these activities are very effective to safety education, and are good media supervision to typical accidents. The safety culture organizers also initiated other activities, for example, "the demonstration post held by Party members", "Youth supervision post", "staff workers without breaking rules and regulations, without accidents" and "be a good miner's wife in assisting in safety production". In addition, some special on-site safety meeting is convened as required. The meeting summaries and evaluated and safety work, and set up good examples, which have promoted the safety production.
The fifth is to move forward the safety management and constantly make it improved.
Each year the Administration authority issues No.1 Document planning the safety work of the whole year and assigning the safety tasks and measures to each working group and team. For the resolution of the safety meeting held once a week in the Administration, and the safety meeting held once a week in each coal mine, each meeting participator will sign on it. Longkou CMA is the first Administration that implements the special appointed safety supervision system. The managing personnel and safety supervisors must wear a sign of different title. Supervisors have to compete for the post and make working report. All the engineering equipment is under scientific management. The Administration encourages leadership and professional departments grasp the safety work sincerely and actively with their whole-heartedness, and improve safety inspection methods combining inspection of "one place" with overall inspection. The safety inspection should focus on the safety system making and modifying, and the situation after studying and carrying out safety documents. Thus, the new mechanism, which coal mines manage the safety work by the safety system, has been formed. Strengthening the construction of the enterprise safety culture has made the safety situation better. Over the past years, the Administration eliminated accidents of all kinds and the death rate of one million tons of coal reduced by less than 0.3, and has been enjoying the title of the safety production model unit of the state-own key coal mines, and was chosen as the winning unit in "the safety and health cup competition" by China Labor Union and the State Economic & Trade Commission. Some of new safety measures have been popularized in the whole province.
Currently commonly existing problems in the construction of coal mine safety culture are: the first problem is that efforts made in the construction of safety culture are not as big as expected. Someone always think the safety culture is not so realistic, so they are not so active as in grasping specific safety problems. The second is lack of careful study on the construction of safety culture. Someone not to take it as a routine important work, they always do it only when it is needed. They do not treat it as a long-term cultural work. The third is lack of new ideas. Some measures are not suitable to the current status of workers thinking, thus can not play its proper role.
4.Ideas on Deepening the Construction of Coal Mine Safety Culture
1)Enhance the awareness on the construction of safety culture, pay more attention to strengthening the leadership towards this work
Over the past years, although coal mine enterprises have done a lot of work in the construction of the safety culture, how to improve the work according to the requirement for culture construction, this issue is in the probe phase. Therefore, we must deeply study the internal gist of the construction of the safety culture, fully understand that the safety culture is an important engineering project which could play the role of standardizing staff's thought and action, preventing and reducing accidents. It is of great significance that many accidents can be avoided only best doing this work. We can never think the safety culture is merely doing some activities such as propaganda, education and organize entertainment performance, etc. we should strengthen the leadership and organization over the construction of the safety culture. At present, some enterprises have set up the enterprise cultural department specializing in enterprise culture study including safety culture construction. This is very necessary. Under the situation of coal mine enterprises deeply implementing reform policy and controlled by local governmental departments, all enterprises should have a special department which is responsible for the construction of the safety culture. In order to facilitate coordinate and unify between enterprise culture and the construction of the safety culture, it is suggested that the work on the construction of the safety culture in coal mine enterprises be under the leadership of the Party committee propaganda department (or enterprise cultural department), the safety supervision department provide assistance, and this work be listed in the safety production plan for planning, studying and carrying out. Put into effect the working method of "under the unified leadership of the Party Committee, the Party and Administrative government jointly takes charge of it, each professional department takes its own charge of it, propaganda and safety supervision departments are responsible for coordination and staff and workers participate in it". Achieve the division of work with individual leadership responsibility, the special departments set up, everybody takes charge of his own task. In this way, the enterprise's construction of the safety culture will be smoothly implemented.
2)Tightly meet the requirement of the safety production, make a good job of the basic construction of the coal mine safety culture
Concerning the basic construction of the coal mine safety culture, generally speaking it is rather weak at present. It can not meet the requirement for the safety production in the new situation. Therefore, we should obey the principle "overall planning, rational arranging, implementing according to self-strength and being practical and realistic", further increase the safety input., carefully grasp the construction of safety culture position and media. Strive for perfecting the club, library, activity center and other entertainment facilities. Make good job of broadcasting, television, newspaper and magazine, Party school, cadre school, professional school and other cultural disseminating media, make it play good role in the construction of the safety culture. We should point out that the investment used for the construction of the safety culture is as important as that used for the safety technologies and engineering measures. It is suggested to list the safety investment into the financial plan for the safety technologies and engineering measures. We should be as the requirement of "build well the safety team, optimize the structure, enhance qualities and conform to development", select those who know propaganda, know operating technologies, and have good ability to work on the safety culture program, and adopt the same attitude towards them as towards the professional safety staff workers. Make great efforts to build a high quality safety culture team, constantly open up a new prospect of safety cultural work under the new situation.
3)Develop the spirit of bringing forth new ideas as our age developing, make great efforts to promote the study on the construction of the coal mine safety culture
The biggest challenge faced to the enterprise safety production under the new situation is how to aim at diversified in staff's thinking and psychology status and meet the requirement of "safety first" by seeking unity of staff's thinking in order to enhance the awareness of safety precaution and safety qualities to achieve self-protection and protecting one another. Therefore, we should be under the guide of the thought "Represent the advance orientation of the Chinese advanced culture", take the actual demand in safety production as central task and deeply develop the study on the construction of the safety culture. The study should focus on the law of staff's thinking and action variation. Find out the psychological requirement of staff and workers in different posts for safety production. Think it out how to improve the safety system, working methods, management system and other measures and approaches used in accident precaution. Especially, we should consider and solve specific problems which influence on staff and workers safety production. Put the concern, ethics, feelings, exchange views and other cultural factors into actual work for safety to enhance the appeal of the safety culture towards staff and workers. We should also strive for develop useful approaches of all kinds in safety cultural activities, make great efforts to disseminate and apply the results gained from the safety culture study, strive for promoting further development of the safety culture study and application.
4)Strengthen communication and contact between inside and outside of enterprises, develop exchanges and cooperation on safety culture
To construct the enterprise safety culture, it is necessary to have a good communication and contact with other organizations, carefully make use of advanced experiences of the safety culture created in other sectors including the experience on the construction of safety culture from foreign enterprises. Make efforts to promote exchange and cooperation of the safety culture. We should learn from the advanced management systems, operating mechanism and working methods of the safety culture to smoothly carry out each task of the safety culture based on actual situation of the enterprise. It is hopeful to make the construction of the enterprise safety culture going up to a new level, and make it play bigger role in stabilizing coal mine enterprise safety production.