Safety culture maturity: A problem disguised as a solution (June 2025)

Summary

Safety culture, initially proposed as a comprehensive solution to emerging safety challenges, has evolved into a problematic construct in its own right, particularly regarding its establishment, maintenance, and measurement. Central to this discourse is the concept of safety culture maturity, often depicted as a developmental journey through several levels or stages. Widely used models, such as the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) culture ladder and the DuPont Bradley curve, however, lack operational clarity and fail to provide the critical knowledge necessary for defining current states, setting achievable goals, and specifying actionable steps for progression.

This shortfall renders safety culture maturity an aspirational yet impractical concept, that relies on persuasive, but vague characterizations and unsupported assumptions. The limitations of safety culture maturity models are emblematic of broader issues in safety management: the reliance on monolithic solutions that simplify complex socio-technical realities into singular, ostensibly universal remedies.

Content

This paper critically examines the theoretical and practical deficiencies of safety culture maturity models, emphasising their inability to provide meaningful guidance for real world application.

Drawing on historical and contemporary perspectives, it highlights the inherent challenges in measuring safety, defining generative cultures, and operationalising leadership and resilience as solutions.

Ultimately, this work argues that the popular appeal of safety culture maturity obscures its practical limitations, perpetuating a reliance on counterfactual reasoning and creating new problems disguised as solutions. In doing so, it calls for a more nuanced and systemic approach to managing safety in increasingly complex socio-technical environments.