A framework for developing safety management competence

The safety management competence plays a crucial role when managing safety in organisations. Developing managers’ safety competence is one way of achieving better safety performance. The aim of this study is to construct a safety management competence development (SMCD) framework based on previous studies and empirical results in a Finnish case organisation. The framework consists of definition of safety management competence requirements, self-assessment of the competence, definition of development needs, and imple-mentation of competence development activities. Assessing and developing managers’ safety competence provide them with knowledge of their responsibilities and expectations, company-wide safety procedures and targets, as well as tools for promoting safety. The SMCD framework provides the means for systematically improve managers’ safety competence as an integral part of general competence development in organisations. Moreover, the assessment and development activities influence managers’ perceptions of and attitudes toward safety and encourages their commitment to safety.