Safety Culture and Governance
The mission of the Safety Culture and Governance Section is to advance the safety culture and governance at Regulated Entities by affecting safety culture investigations; developing safety policies, tools, and metrics; and providing subject matter expertise to support decision-making activities regarding application of safety policies and practices.
Purpose
The Safety Culture & Governance (SC&G) Section provides advisory support to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to promote safety culture, which is an integral part of a safety management system (SMS), and develops guidance on related governance practices and procedures.
SC&G Section’s distinct advisory function enhances safety as a part of the SMS Branch of the CPUC’s Safety Policy Division (SPD).
Mission
SC&G Section’s mission is to advance the safety culture and governance at Regulated Entities (RE) by:
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Implementing, overseeing, and undertaking safety culture investigations.
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Developing RE specific safety policies, regulatory tools, and metrics for consideration by the CPUC.
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Providing subject matter expertise to support decision-making in active proceedings regarding the application of safety policies and practices.
Vision
To conceptualize, develop, and implement a transparent safety knowledgebase, rules, standards, and metrics that help assure a mature and effective safety culture is promoted and maintained within the utilities that the CPUC regulates.
Proceedings
SC&G Section has actively engaged in advising the CPUC in proceedings and some related items are provided below.
In this investigation, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) conducts a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for each of the wildfires included in this OII that were reportable incidents to the Commission and for which CAL FIRE determined that the ignition involved PG&E facilities.
The purpose of the RCA will be to analyze the factors that contributed to the ignition of the fires and make recommendations as appropriate so that the learnings can be implemented on a go-forward basis to mitigate the risk of similarly caused fires in the future.
The RCA will consider all potential root causes and will not be restricted to violations of GO 95. This may include systemic, programmatic, management, and structural matters that may need to be addressed to reduce such incidents in the future.
Additional information, documents, events, and next steps can be found on this webpage.
Contact
Last Updated
9/7/2023
In this investigation, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is examining whether the organizational culture and governance of Southern California Gas Company (SoCal Gas) and its parent company, Sempra Energy, prioritize safety and adequately direct resources to promote accountability and achieve safety performance goals, standards and improvements.
Proceeding information, rulings, and party comments can be read on the I.19-06-014 docket card.
Events
August 18, 2022: Workshop on SoCalGas’/Sempra’s Proposed Safety Culture Improvement Plan.
June 13, 2022: Workshop on SoCalGas’/Sempra’s Safety Culture Improvement Plan development and the issues contemplated for Phase 2.
January 26, 2022: Workshop to Discuss Independent Assessment Report on SoCal Gas and Sempra Safety Culture
- Additional details found here
- Agenda
- Presentation
- Recording
Related Documents
- July 29, 2022: SoCalGas/Sempra Safety Culture Improvement Plan
- January 14, 2022: Assigned Commissioner Ruling launching Phase 2 activities, setting workshop and issuing report
- December 10, 2021: Independent Safety Culture Assessment Report of SoCalGas/Sempra
- June 27, 2019: Order Instituting Investigation (I).19-06-014
Contact
Carolina.Contreras@cpuc.ca.gov
Last Updated
08/23/2022
In this investigation (I.15-08-019), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is examining whether Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has corporate governance, clearly documented organizational goals and objectives, and work procedures that prioritize and improve safety.
Additional information can be found on this webpage.
Proceeding information, rulings, and party comments can be read on the I.15-08-019 docket card.
Related Documents
- November 4, 2021: Decision extending statutory deadline for the proceeding to November 8, 2022 (D.21-11-010)
- March 29, 2019: NorthStar Consulting’s first update to their 2017 assessment of PG&E's safety culture
- Nov. 29, 2018: Decision ordering PG&E to implement the safety recommendations of CPUC staff as outlined in NorthStar’s (D.18-11-050)
- May 8, 2017: Independent Assessment of Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Safety Culture by NorthStar Consulting
Contact
carolina.contreras@cpuc.ca.gov
Last Updated
09/14/2023
The purpose of this Order Instituting Rulemaking (OIR) is to develop and adopt a safety culture assessment framework and identify the structure, elements, and process necessary to drive each regulated investor-owned electric and natural gas utility and gas storage operator to establish and continuously improve their organization-wide safety culture.
This proceeding will implement the statutory requirements of Senate Bill (SB) 901 (Stats. 2018, Ch. 626, codified in Public Utilities Code Section 8386.2), which requires the Commission to establish a safety culture assessment for each electrical corporation, conducted by an independent third-party evaluator, at least every five years.
Proceeding information, rulings, and party comments can be read on the R.21-10-001 docket card.
Events
February 24, 2023: Technical Working Group Meeting #5: Safety Culture Assessment Framework (continued)
October 31, 2022: Technical Working Group Meeting #5, Safety Culture Assessments Workshop
July 28, 2022: Technical Working Group Meeting #4, Safety culture maturity model, indicators, and metrics
July 22, 2022: Technical Working Group Meeting #3, Safety culture assessment schedule and process
June 24, 2022: Technical Working Group Meeting #2, Collaborative Approaches to Safety Culture & Benchmarking
June 16, 2022: Technical Working Group Meeting #1, Safety culture definitions and framework
March 30, 2022: Telephonic prehearing conference (PHC) for R.21-10-001 commencing at 10AM, to determine the parties, positions of the parties, scope, and schedule of the proceeding, and other procedural matters.
March 11, 2022: Initial kickoff workshop featuring safety culture experts and CPUC Commissioner.
Related Documents
- September 2022: Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Ruling and Staff Concept Paper #2
- July 2022: ALJ Ruling and SPD Staff Concept Paper #1
- April 2022: Assigned Commissioner's Scoping Memo and Ruling
- October 2021: Order Instituting Rulemaking R.21-10-001
Contact
carolina.contreras@cpuc.ca.gov
Last Updated
09/14/2023
Other Activities
SC&G Section has actively engaged in advising the CPUC through other safety related activities and related information is provided below.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Office of Energy Safety Infrastructure (Energy Safety), in their joint commitment to safety, transparency and accountability, have called on investor-owned electric utilities to present updates on their electric safety related efforts, pursuant to PU Code section 8389(e)(5).
Note: Although a quorum of Commissioners, their advisors or other decision-makers may be present, no action will be taken at these events.
Events
July 6, 2023: Bear Valley Electric Service and Pacific Gas and Electric
- 1:00pm - 5:00pm
- CPUC Auditorium, 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102
- Agenda
- BVES Presentation
- PG&E Presentation
July 20, 2023: Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric
- 1:00pm - 5:00pm
- CPUC Auditorium, 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102
- Agenda
- SCE Presentation
- SDG&E Presentation
Contact
Carolina.Contreras@cpuc.ca.gov
Last Updated
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Office of Energy Safety Infrastructure (Energy Safety), in their joint commitment to safety, transparency and accountability, have called on investor-owned electric utilities to present updates on their electric safety related efforts, pursuant to PU Code section 8389(e)(5).
Note: Although a quorum of Commissioners, their advisors or other decision-makers may be present, no action will be taken at these events.
Events
September 22, 2022: San Diego Gas and Electric Service and Pacific Gas and Electric, 9:00am -12:30pm
- Agenda
- Recording
- CPUC Public Comment
- Presentation Material
September 14, 2022: Bear Valley Electric Service and Southern California, 9:00am -12:30pm
Contact
Carolina.Contreras@cpuc.ca.gov
Last Updated
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Office of Energy Safety Infrastructure (Energy Safety), in their joint commitment to safety, transparency and accountability, have called on investor-owned electric utilities to present updates on their electric safety related efforts, pursuant to PU Code section 8389(e)(5).
Note: Although a quorum of Commissioners, their advisors or other decision-makers may be present, no action will be taken at these events.
Events
November 10, 2021: Bear Valley Electric Service and Pacific Gas and Electric, 10:00am -12:30pm
- Presentation Material
August 25, 2021: San Diego Gas and Electric Service and Southern California Gas, 10:00am -12:30pm
- Presentation Material
Contact
Carolina.Contreras@cpuc.ca.gov
Last Updated
Educational Information
The SC&G Section provides the following information for visitors of this page to highlight some key details related to safety culture and governance.
As described in CPUC Investigation (I.)15-08-019, a public utility with a mature safety culture has an organizational culture and governance that prioritize safety and achieves a positive record of safe operation. This proceeding further defines an effective safety culture as one that includes:
- A clearly articulated set of principles and values with a clear expectation of full compliance.
- Effective communication and continuous education and testing. ‘Employees will do it right sometimes if they know how. They're more likely to do it right if they fully understand why.'
- Uniform compliance by every individual in the organization, with effective safety metrics, recognition, and compensation, and consequences or accountability for deviating or performing at, above, or below the standard of compliance.
- Continuous reassessment of hazards and reevaluation of norms and practices.
To build and continuously maintain a strong safety culture, organizations must implement organizational safety management practices.
Maintaining a positive safety culture requires continual organizational oversight and diligence. While emphasis on safety from senior leadership is a critical component of a mature safety culture, cultivating a safety culture is a gradual process that must permeate all levels of an organization and be constantly reinforced.
A sound organizational safety culture reinforces and supports an effective SMS.
- Safety Culture and SMSs are inter-dependent: safety culture represents the commitment to achieving safety, while SMS embodies the competence to do so.
- A graphical representation of Safety Culture and SMS logic are summarized below in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Relationship between an organization’s safety culture and SMS. Adapted from EuroControl/Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), “Safety Culture in Air Traffic Management: A White Paper”.
- EuroControl/FAA, “Safety Culture in Air Traffic Management: A White Paper,” Action Plan 15 Safety (2008)
- Institutional Organization for Safety and Health, “Promoting a positive culture: A guide to health and safety culture" (2015)
- Karlene Petitt, "SMS, Safety Culture, and the Four Pillars of Safety Applied to Airline Pilot Training: NextGen Demands to Improve Safety." International Journal of Aviation Systems, Operations and Training (IJASOT) 4, no. 2 (2017)
- U.S. Department of Transportation, “Safety Management System Components”
- James Reason, Managing the risks of Organisational Accidents (Farnham: Ashgate, 1997)
- National Transportation Research Board, “Strengthening the Safety Culture of the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry”
Safety Culture and Governance
EVENTS
Recent and upcoming SC&G Section related efforts are provided below. Additional details are provided in the Proceedings area of the SC&G Section’s webpage.
- 12/05/22 Workshop: (I.19-06-015) PG&E 2017- 2018 Wildfires: Root Cause Analysis Workshop
- 10/31/22 Workshop: (R.21-10-001) Goals and Guiding Principles for Safety Culture Assessments
- 8/18/22 Workshop: (I.19-06-14) SoCalGas’/Sempra’s Proposed Safety Culture Improvement Plan
- 7/28/22 TWG Meeting 4: (R.21-10-001) Rulemaking to Develop Safety Culture Assessments for Electric & Natural Gas Utilities
- 7/22/22 TWG Meeting 3: (R.21-10-001) Rulemaking to Develop Safety Culture Assessments for Electric & Natural Gas Utilities
- 6/24/22 TWG Meeting 2: (R.21-10-001) Rulemaking to Develop Safety Culture Assessments for Electric & Natural Gas Utilities
- 6/16/22 TWG Meeting 1: (R.21-10-001) Rulemaking to Develop Safety Culture Assessments for Electric & Natural Gas Utilities
- 6/13/22 Workshop: (I.19-06-014) Investigation into SoCal Gas’ Safety Culture