JAL – Empowering middle management: guidance material

Safety Leadership Charter, Guiding Principle 8: "Regularly assess and improve organizational Safety Culture".

Background

JAL has been conducting a Safety Culture Survey for several years, but the results were not to its expectations. There were variations in perceptions regarding safety among each division, and the airline was not able to observe improvement in some of the areas. The COVID-19 pandemic gave JAL an opportunity to focus on the restart and recovery of the operation in a safe and sustainable way.  It also allowed the team to allocate time and resources to renew the Safety Culture Policy in the Safety Management Manual, making an initial step by establishing a team to work on it. 

Brief description of the action/initiative 

The Aviation Safety Research Department in the Corporate Safety Division initiated a project to improve JAL’s safety culture.

The airline has now formed a Safety Culture Working Group, with representatives from each operational division and JAL Group Airlines.  JAL considers this very important for alignment and commitment to enhance safety performance. 

What positive changes this action/initiative helped bring?  

The first task of the Safety Culture Working Group was to foster the reporting culture: to create an atmosphere of psychological safety, for employees to feel confident to report openly. To achieve that the airline created a guidance material for the middle management, who are responsible for receiving safety reports and taking the initial action. This material guides the middle management that takes care of the report to follow the “Just Culture” policy. This is crucial for promoting the “Safety Culture”. 

JAL is now ready to publish a conceptual guidance material called “My Safety Culture” for all staff. 

Middle managers across the organization now have a reference on Safety Culture.  Additionally, the guidance material highlights the importance of Safety Culture for Japan Airlines. 

Main challenges and lessons learned

Safety Culture is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach, nor is it a matter of having a policy document.  Overcoming the barriers to reach a consensus within JAL’s working group required considerable time and effort.   

• It is important to recognise that there are variations in perceptions regarding safety among each division and accept some variations. It is important to understand that people are doing their best at work with good intentions. 
• While it’s straightforward to reference documentation or expert opinions, it’s essential to acknowledge that certain aspects may not align with the organization’s culture.  

• It is a long and continuous journey that requires daily application by all employees, at every layer of the organization.   
• The middle management plays a particular role, as they are responsible for the performance and efficiencies of the operation.  But ultimately, it is all about the energy and the people involved.