Just Culture in practice - Lessons from 4 companies in the (petro)chemical industry
Summary
In the period December 2019 - October 2020 the companies Vopak, Air Liquide, Sachem and Aspen Oss B.V. participated in a pilot project to apply the principles of Just Culture. This report 'Just Culture in Practice, The Lessons from Four Companies in the (Petro)Chemical Sector' describes how this project went and what the main learning outcomes and recommendations are.
This report is structured in the following four parts.
Part 1, Introduction
This part describes the framework within which this pilot project was conducted. The Just Culture - phase 3 pilot project is part of the Sustainable Safety 2030 programme. In this programme, the business community, government and science work together to create a safer (petro)chemical industry. This is followed by an explanation of the concept of Just Culture, the DEGAS Circle model and an explanation of the scope and working method of the pilot project.
Part 2, Experiences of pilot companies with the five-step plan
This part describes how the pilot companies took the first steps towards a Just Culture from January to October 2020. The five-step plan described in the earlier report on phase 2 of DV2030's Just Culture project was central to the organisation of the project. The five-step plan was designed there as a guide to the gradual development of Just Culture. Phase 2 also described six building blocks typical of a Just Culture. These six building blocks are collectively referred to as the DEGAS Circle.
The motivation, approach and experiences of the four pilot companies are described step by step in this section. Reflection and practical experience will alternate at each of the five steps. This helped the companies to prepare the development of their 'own' Just Culture and to implement their action plan. The working methods and experiences of the companies themselves are described per step in (total of 12) company-specific text boxes.
Part 3, Just Culture: direction, leadership and perceived dilemmas
This part describes how the activities can be directed and what role leadership plays in this. Examples are given of leadership dilemmas that the pilot companies encountered on their Just Culture journey. The dilemmas are structured on the basis of (clusters of) the six Just Culture
The dilemmas are structured according to (clusters of) the six building blocks of Just Culture in which they were particularly addressed. Examples are given of the dilemmas for which the companies
companies have found ways of solving - partly through intervision with fellow companies - and applied in practice.
Part 4, Practical tools to get started
This section introduces five useful tools that can help companies get started with Just Culture and put the five-step plan into practice. Subsequently, this section also contains a list of links for further reading, watching and 'talking' or sparring about Just Culture. The first four tools were developed within the Just Culture Lab. The fifth tool was made available by the pilot company Aspen Oss B.V.
