FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FEBRUARY 12, 1997 SB-97-01

NTSB TO SPONSOR SYMPOSIUM ON CORPORATE CULTURE AND TRANSPORTATION SAFETY

(Washington, DC) -- The effect that corporate management philosophies and practices have on transportation safety will be the subject of a symposium conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board in April.

In announcing the symposium, "Corporate Culture and Transportation Safety," NTSB Chairman Jim Hall said that he initiated this event to "provide an opportunity for government, industry, and academia to explore together how organizational management philosophy and practices directly affect the day-to-day operations of our Nation's transportation system."

Hall explained that this is a topic of increasing interest to the Board and that over the past few years, the Board has begun to address the role corporate culture plays in the cause of the accidents it investigates. Hall said that "the Safety Board has clearly recognized that individual human errors do not occur in a vacuum" and asked the transportation community to join the Board in examining how organizational culture influences safety so it can begin to focus on prevention. Hall stressed that the symposium is an opportunity for discussion that he prefers to have in this forum rather than after an accident has occurred.

The Safety Board has gathered a group of experts, from academia and industry, who are internationally recognized for their work in this area, and have asked them to discuss what works, what doesn't, and what can be done to address this safety issue.

Hall said he believes that "this symposium will benefit everyone from executives to employees since safety must be a cooperative effort involving entire organizations." He urged transportation leaders to demonstrate their commitment to safety by attending this conference and by urging others within their organization to join them.

This is the second educational symposium to be sponsored by the Safety Board in the last two years. In late 1995, the Board held a symposium on the effects of fatigue on transportation safety. More than 600 people from 16 countries attended the fatigue symposium, which has since served as a model for industry and the States.

The Corporate Culture symposium will be held on April 24 and 25, 1997, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Crystal City, Virginia. For further information, contact: Julie Beal at (202) 314-6000 or fax (202) 314-6293.

Media contact: Shelly Hazle

(202) 314-6100