Evaluation of the level of safety culture

TABLE OF CONTENT

DEDICATION 3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4

LIST OF FIGURES 5

LIST OF TABLES 6

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS 7

ABSTRACT 8

RESUME 9

INTRODUCTION 10

CHAPTER I: PRESENTATION OF COMPANY 12

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 16

II.1- Scope of the literature review 16

II.2- Definitions regarding safety culture: 16

II.3- Reasons for assessing level of safety culture: 19

II.4- Characteristics of identifiable good safety culture in an organism: 20

II.5- Evolution of the concept of safety culture 24

II.6- Indicators that are known to influence safety culture 27

II.7- Some key attributes of a sound safety culture: 30

II.8- Benefits of safety culture within organisations 32

II.9- Health and safety policy: 33

II.10 Safety-culture-assessment / evaluation 34

CHAPTER III: SCIENTIFIC APPROACH 36

III.1- MATERIALS 36

III.2- METHODOLOGY 36

III.2.1- In situ observation 36

III.2.2- Interviews and questionnaires: 36

CHAPTER IV: RESULTS, INTERPRETATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 38

IV.1- RESULTS AND INTERPRETATIONS 38

IV.1.1- Immediate 38

IV.1.2- Progressive 38

IV.2- RECOMMENDATIONS 42

CONCLUSION 44

REFERENCES 45

APPENDICES: 49

Appendix A - Codage questionnaire d'évaluation niveau sécurité au sein des Laboratoires BIOPHARMA S.A ayant pour objet d'améliorer la culture sécurité. 49

Appendix B - Project of a Health and Safety Policy statement 56

Appendix C - Installation of the health and safety committee - BIOPHARMA 57

Appendix D - Trainings received by the health and safety committee of BIOPHARMA 59

DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to my beloved family, friends and my lecturers.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are greatly indebted to all whose assistance helped in the elaboration of the present memoire. Our acknowledgement goes to the following:

The head of Chemistry Department in the Faculty of Sciences, Pr Luc MBAZE MEVA'A who has always encouraged continual improvement in this department.

The Coordinator of the Professional QSE Masters program, Dr Achille B. NOUGA for his appreciable and continuous coordinative spirit.

We want to seize this opportunity to thank very much Pr. Guy Anatole Blaise AZEBAZE, lecturer in the Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala, for his marvelous supervision of the present work despite the numerous projects being handled by him.

The General Manager of LES LABORATOIRES BIOPHARMA S.A, Mr Francis DJOMOU NANA, for his devotedness, understanding and comprehensive spirit as well as the moral and financial support concerning the realisation of this job within his firm.

Pr Ousmanou MOTAPON and Mr Franck MENGUE for their various forms of supports (numerous documentations and advices).

We also acknowledged the training provided to us by all our QSE lecturers.

We wish to express our sincere gratitude to our colleagues of Biopharma, friends, QSE network of the Faculty of Sciences, family members as well as neighbours whose direct or indirect assistance have been of great help to us for the achievement of this goal.

To my wife, Melanie Djomou Ngongang with all my children: Rosine, Roland, Romain, Rogenia, Doris and Franck. We acknowledge all the multiple forms of support from them as regards the tedious working and studying times.

Special thanks go to all those who contributed in one way or the other for the successful completion of this thesis but whose names could not be listed.

Of course the Almighty is always around to guide us.