THISPAPERHASBEENPUBLISHEDINSAFETYSCIENCE,VOL.86,2016,PAGES57-681TheCorporatequestforzeroaccidents:AcasestudyintotheresponsetosafetytransgressionsintheindustrialsectorSimonF.M.Twaalfhovena,WillemJ.Kortlevenb,*aDepartmentofManagementandOrganisation,VrijeUniversiteitAmsterdam,theNetherlandsbDepartmentofPoliticalScienceandPublicAdministration,VrijeUniversiteitAmsterdam,theNetherlandshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2016.02.010AbstractSincethe1990s,theideathataccidentsshouldbereducedtozeroisgaininggrowingacclaiminthefieldsofroadsafetyandoccupationalsafetyandhealth.Asmostoftheliteratureonthisso-calledZeroAccidentVision(ZAV)dealsexclusivelywithitsapplicationtoroadsafety,whichisapublicsectorresponsibility,thereisaneedtolearnmoreaboutthewayitisimplementedbyprivatecompanies.ThispaperreportsonacasestudyintothezeroaccidentapproachfollowedbysteelcompanyTataSteelIJmuiden(theNetherlands).ThestudysuggeststhatprivatesectoradvocatesoftheZAV,unliketheirpublicsectorcounterparts,tendtoviewsafetyaspirationsandeconomicconsiderationsasmutuallyreinforcing.However,itisshownthatthisharmonymodeldoesnotentirelyholdinpractice.Thefindingsalsohighlightanotherdiscrepancy.CharacteristicoftheZAVisasystems-theoreticfocusonidentifyingrootcausesofunsafesituationsratherthanonindividualerrorandblame.YetemployeebehaviorappearstobeamajortargetforTata’ssafetypolicyandseveralmanagersinsistonpunishingunsafebehavior.Paradoxically,thispunitivetendencyseemspartlystimulatedbyandatthesametimecouldhindertheveryambitionoferadicatingallaccidents.KeywordsOccupationalsafety;Safetymanagement;Safetyculture;Zeroaccidents;Systemstheory;Blame*Correspondingauthorat:DepartmentofPoliticalScienceandPublicAdministration,VrijeUniversiteitAmsterdam,DeBoelelaan1081,1081HVAmsterdam,theNetherlands.Tel.:+31205984314E-mailaddress:w.j.kortleven@vu.nlTwaalfhoven,S.F.M.&Kortleven,W.J./SafetyScience86(2016)57-6821.IntroductionItisalmostcommonplace,today,tosaythatwesternsocietieshavebecomeincreasinglyriskaverse(cf.e.g.Burgess,2011;Douglas&Wildavsky,1982;Furedi,2009;Scott,2000).Aspecificexpressionofthisdevelopmentisthegrowingimportanceoftheso-calledVisionZeroorZeroAccidentVision(ZAV),whichaspirestoaworldwithoutsevereandfatalaccidents,or,insomeversions,evenwithoutaccidentsatall.Sincebeingintroducedinthe1990s,theZAVandsimilarphilosophieshavebeenadoptedinseveralcountriesacrossdifferentcontinents(Sherratt,2014;Swuste,Albrechtsen,&Hovden,2012;Young,2014).TheZAVisbestknownasa(Scandinavian)roadsafetyprogram,butisalsobeingappliedinthefieldofoccupationalsafetyandhealth(Zwetslootetal.,2013).Agrowingnumberofcompaniesarecommittingthemselvestothepursuitofzeroaccidentsand,incountriessuchasFinland,GermanyandtheNetherlands,sharebestpracticesinZeroAccidentNetworks(PartnershipforEuropeanResearchinOccupationalSafetyandHealth,2014;Zwetslootetal.,2013).TheriseoftheZAVhasnotgoneunnoticedinthescientificliterature.However,mostoftheavailableliteraturedealsexclusivelywiththeZAVinroadsafety(e.g.Elvebakk&Steiro,2009;Fahlquist,2006;Johansson,2009;Rosencrantz,Edvardsson,&Hansson,2007).MuchlessattentionhasbeenpaidtotheimplementationoftheZAVasanoccupationalsafetyphilosophyintheprivatesectora.Recently,someempiricalstudieshavebeenpublishedabouttheZAVinthisratherunknownapplicationarea(e.g.Sherratt,2014;Young,2014),butthereisaneedformoreresearch(cf.Zwetslootetal.,2013).Twoquestion...
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