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This paper aims to report on the development of a model to improve process health and safety within the context of a petrochemical environment to achieve a generative health and safety culture within that sector.

A quantitative research methodology and deductive research approach were used in the study. A survey was conducted in a major petrochemical enterprise in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa with 259 returned and duly completed questionnaires. The data was statistically analysed using statistical packages for social science version 25.

This study found that the key process health and safety critical drivers needed to grow a generative process health and safety culture were leadership commitment, chemical exposure management, health and safety risk assessment, process hazard analysis and permit to work.

This study was conducted in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa within the petrochemical industry. Because of self-reported methods of data collection, there is a probability of bias existing in the results of the study.

The contribution of this research is to understand, based on theoretical assumptions, how health and safety improvement could be institutionalised in an organisation. The developed model can be used as a practical tool.

This paper is part of the larger discussion of increasing importance in health and safety policy-making. This study aims at contributing to the literature in the field of health and safety by incorporating the drivers towards a generative process health and safety culture.

This study provides a model to assist senior management to reduce exposure to process health and safety hazards in the petrochemical industry and improve overall performance.