The DSS Bradley Curve
The DSS Bradley Curve, a proven, proprietary system, helps clients comprehend and benchmark their journey to world-class safety performance. Since 1995, it’s enabled an effective safety culture for our worldwide clients. Using data collected in the DSS Safety Perception Survey since 1999, the DSS Bradley Curve shows that a successful safety culture empowers people, while improving quality, productivity and profits.
With the DSS Bradley Curve, our consultants help organizations in a wide range of industries around the world to better understand the effectiveness of a successful safety culture — from early stages through maturity (sustainable with injury rates near zero).
The value of a safety culture.
In 2009, a DSS study using the Bradley Curve showed a direct correlation between an organization’s cultural strength and an organization’s safety culture, including injury frequency rate and sustainable safety performance. Using data collected in the DSS Safety Perception Survey since 1999, the DSS Bradley Curve shows that a successful safety culture empowers people, while improving quality, productivity and profits.
In a mature safety culture (interdependent stage), safety is truly sustainable, with injury rates approaching zero. People feel empowered to act as needed to work safely. They support and challenge each other. Decisions are made at the appropriate level and people live by those decisions. The organization realizes significant business benefits through higher quality, greater productivity and increased profits.
The stages of the DSS Bradley Curve
The DSS Bradley Curve identifies four stages of safety culture maturity: Reactive, Dependent, Independent and Interdependent.
Reactive Stage - People don’t take responsibility and believe accidents will happen.
Dependent Stage - People view safety as following rules. Accident rates decrease.
Independent Stage - People take responsibility and believe they can make a difference with actions. Accidents reduce further.
Interdependent Stage - Teams feel ownership and responsibility for safety culture. They believe zero injuries is an attainable goal.
For more information, view DSS Bradley Curve video.
