Regulative rationalities and safety culture development.

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The RESCUE project will study how safety cultures at different organizational and societal levels influence transport safety. This includes the role of regulatory authorities and their significance for safety cultures. The sectors studied are maritime tra nsport of goods and passengers, and railway freight transportation. With Rasmussen's (1997) multi-level perspective as a starting point, we will explore how safety cultures ranging from the "sharp" to the "blunt" end of the risk management chain, influenc e safety in the sectors studied. The project includes broad involvement of representatives from vessel crews, railway personnel, transport company administrators and regulatory authorities. It is aimed not only at describing safety cultures, but also at u tilizing knowledge about safety cultures in efforts to improve safety. We will address the following research questions: 1.How do cultural traits at different organizational and societal levels affect safety within the transport sectors studied? - Sharp -end workers - Administrators/managers - Regulatory authorities 2. How do company managers and regulatory authorities view their own role regarding safety and safety culture development? 3. How are regulatory authorities roles regarding safety and safe ty culture development perceived by "sharp end" transporters and administrators/managers in transport companies? 4. How can knowledge about safety cultures on different organizational and societal levels be utilized in efforts to improve safety in the se ctors studied? We will use action research (AR) inspired methods, involving both quantitaive and qualitative data presented and discussed in work shops/search conferences. The different stakeholders will be included within three different case studies: F reight vessels, Express boats and Freight trains.