Workplace activities to promote small attempts for safety. Toward development of safety culture in a nuclear power plant

Activities that could possibly grow into learning activities for developing safety culture were explored by intensive fieldwork in a nuclear power plant depending on Engestroem's activity theory. As a first step to achieve this goal, workers' small attempts that might contribute to nurturing a safety culture were investigated. Eight kinds of activity were observed and interpreted as having the possibility to facilitate small recognition and small practice, i.e., activities including (1) workgroup as community, (2) other workgroups and other departments as community, (3) meeting drawing remarks as mediating artifacts, (4) study session and Off-the-Job-Training as mediating artifact, (5) award as mediating artifact, (6) extended leave as mediating artifact, (7) check sheet as mediating artifact, and (8) skill-transfer system as mediating artifact. (author)