Introduction To establish employee’s perception of the safety culture in a multinational manufacturing facility, the status of safety management, in particular to measure the intangibles such as management commitment and employee beliefs and involvement in safety.

Method Cross sectional data was collected from 455 employees who voluntarily participated in the study. The research study was implemented based on a descriptive survey in order to estimate certain population parameters in relation to safety climate, safety culture and behavioural based safety in the workplace. They were asked to prioritise in relation to their perceived importance, the eight sections which had a total of fifty-four statements to address all of the important factors in safety management including beliefs and practices.

Results A valid sample of 89.2% was achieved for this study. The data showed a strong organisational commitment to safety, with 99% employees agreeing with this statement. 90% of employees agree that management commitment is evident; however, opportunities were identified in ensuring greater supervisory presence in the workplace. The lowest scoring values were the beliefs by employees that all accidents were preventable and that they were linked to personal behaviour. 65% agree that zero accidents are achievable, 23% agreeing that if they had an accident it would be their own fault, these results remain a significant challenge for the organisation and may reflect a lack of understanding of the organisations injury data which reflects that over 50% of accidents are linked to behaviour.

Discussion This research study confirmed the validity of the one of the most important factors in the model of safety management, which is management commitment and employee involvement. If these ‘soft’ factors are identified and present within an organisation, this will then lead to excellence in safety.