The Relationship Between Workers’ Safety Culture and Accidents,Near Accidents and Health Problems

One of the dimensions treated as part of a company’s safety culture or climate is workers’ attitudes towards risk and safety. In the present study these personal aspects are defined as workers’ safety culture, which is understood as a way of acting focused on life and taking care of one’s health. A questionnaire on safety culture was filled out by 200 employees of a metallurgical enterprise. Factor analysis was used to determine empirical scales of the questionnaire, whereas variance analysis was used to test hypotheses. The results confirmed the hypotheses that people who experienced accidents, dangerous situations, and—to a lesser extent—health problems had a lower level of safety culture. Nevertheless not all of the scales determined during factor analysis turned out to be significant as far as all kinds of those undesirable situations are concerned. Proposals for future studies are formulated in the conclusion.     

基于班组安全氛围的建筑工人不安全行为预测

为拓展安全氛围在施工安全管理中的应用,提高建筑工人不安全行为可预测性,提出一种基于班组安全氛围预测建筑工人不安全行为的方法。通过文献研究获取班组安全氛围7个维度,并将其作为输入构建人工神经网络模型,利用问卷数据对模型进行训练、测试与仿真,最后通过实际案例验证模型实用性。研究结果表明:模型均方误差为0.015 4,目标输出与预测输出相关系数R大于0.9,该模型可有效用于建筑工人不安全行为预测,并在实际工程案例中准确识别出3个不安全行为因素。     

Relation between senior managers’ safety leadership and safety behavior in the Chinese petrochemical industry

Senior managers in organizations are authorized and obliged to maintain organizational safety. However, to date, little research has considered the relation of senior managers' safety leadership to safety behavior. This study addresses this gap by using path analysis to confirm the validity of a hypothetical model that relates six dimensions of senior managers' safety leadership to two safety behaviors through the safety climate in the petrochemical industry. A questionnaire survey was sent randomly to workers (other than senior managers) in two petrochemical companies in China, and data from 155 usable responses were compiled for the path analysis. Results indicate that in the petrochemical industry, senior managers' safety leadership has a positive impact on safety behavior, and the safety climate plays an intermediary role between them. From the perspective of the dimensions of senior managers' safety leadership and safety behavior, safety concern has the greatest positive effect on safety compliance. Moreover, safety vision has the greatest positive impact on safety participation, whereas safety inspiration and safety awards and punishment have negative effects on safety compliance. Personal character does not directly influence any dimension of safety behavior but indirectly does so by influencing the safety climate. On the basis of these results, measures of improving senior managers' safety leadership in the petrochemical industry are presented to help improve the overall safety performance of the industry. A new view is provided for the petrochemical industry in China to suggest that senior managers’ safety leadership can be treated earnestly.     

Safety Climate in Finnish- and Swedish-Speaking Companies

The aim of this study was to compare assessments made by Finnish- and Swedish-speaking workers in Finland about the safety climate in their companies, because an earlier study showed that the accident frequency of Swedish-speaking workers was one third lower than that of Finnish-speaking workers. 148 Finnish-speaking and 138 Swedish-speaking workers from 14 small and medium-sized companies participated in this study. They filled out a Finnish safety climate questionnaire, the reliability of which was above the acceptable level. There were no differences between the language groups in the total variables of safety climate and safety action. Based on the differences in single items, we interpreted that Swedish-speaking workers stressed collective safety more, whereas Finnish-speaking workers put more emphasis on their personal responsibility for safety.     

Developing a Questionnaire for Measuring Safety Climate in the Workplace in Serbia

This study was conducted because a real method for measuring safety climate had never been developed and assessed in Serbian industry. The aim of this paper was to start the process of developing a safety climate questionnaire that could be used in Serbia. As a starting point a 21-item questionnaire was adopted after an extensive literature review. The questionnaire was distributed at several Serbian factories; 1098 workers responded. After a statistical analysis of the data obtained with the questionnaire and a critical comparison with the available reference results, a final questionnaire with 21 questions, divided into 7 groups, was developed. The 7 groups of questions (factors) were safety awareness and competence, safety communication, organizational environment, management support, risk judgment and management reaction, safety precautions and accident prevention, and safety training.     

基于结构方程模型的地铁乘客安全行为影响因素分析

为了研究地铁乘客安全行为的影响因素，通过对北京、上海、广州、深圳等城市的地铁乘客的多项安全指标的抽样调查，建立了关于乘客安全行为的结构方程模型，研究了影响地铁乘客安全行为的主要因素。结果表明:良好的地铁安全氛围能有效提高乘客的安全知识水平、安全动机、安全心理水平、安全参与行为水平；安全参与行为水平同时受到乘客安全知识水平和乘客接受安全培训状况的影响，其中，乘客安全知识水平的高低取决于乘客接受安全培训状况；安全服从行为则与安全动机存在较强的正相关关系；乘客的安全心理水平只跟地铁安全氛围有关，安全氛围越好，乘客安全心理水平越高，安全知识作为中介变量同时影响着安全氛围与安全参与行为、安全培训与安全参与行为、安全氛围与安全动机以及安全培训与安全动机之间的关系，提高乘客安全知识水平是提高乘客安全行为水平的重要途径。     

组织氛围对建筑工人不安全行为的影响机理及实证研究

为了研究组织氛围对建筑工人不安全行为的影响,从班组级安全氛围、班组级安全教育和项目级安全氛围三个层面测量组织氛围,基于组织氛围与安全态度、不安全动机及安全能力之间的关系,构建建筑工人不安全行为发生的机理。通过23个项目267份有效问卷收集数据,采用结构方程模型（SEM）进行验证,采用决策试验和评价实验室（DEMATEL）进一步计算和分析各潜变量之间的影响度和被影响度。研究结果表明:班组级安全氛围对安全态度、班组级安全教育对安全态度、安全能力对安全态度、安全态度对安全动机的影响显著;安全动机和安全能力对不安全行为的影响显著;班组级安全氛围、班组级安全教育和项目级安全氛围之间相互关系显著;班组级安全氛围、班组级安全教育和项目级安全教育是典型的原因影响因素,通过安全态度共同影响不安全行为。根据研究结果,提出应对措施,可为安全管理工作提供理论指导。     

The acceptance of personal protective equipment among Hong Kong construction workers: An integration of technology acceptance model and theory of planned behavior with risk perception and safety climate

Introduction: The phenomenon that construction workers do not use personal protective equipment (PPE) is a major reason for the high occurrence frequency of accidents in the construction industry. However, little efforts have been made to quantitatively examine the factors influencing construction workers’ acceptance of PPE. Method: In the current study, a PPE acceptance model for construction workers (PAMCW) was proposed to address the noted need. The PAMCW incorporates the technology acceptance model, theory of planned behavior, risk perception, and safety climate for explaining construction worker acceptance of PPE. 413 construction workers participated in this study to fill out a structured questionnaire. The PAMCW was analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: Results provide evidence of the applicability of the technology acceptance model and theory of planned behavior to the PPE acceptance among construction workers. The positive influence of safety climate and risk perception-severity on attitude toward using PPE was significant. Safety climate positively influences perceived usefulness. Risk perception-worry and unsafe was found to positively affect intention to use PPE. Practical Applications: Practical suggestions for increasing construction workers’ use of PPE are also discussed.     

An assessment of safety climate,job satisfaction and turnover intention relationships using a national sample of workers from the USA

The association between safety climate, job satisfaction and turnover intention has not been thoroughly researched. This research is needed so that safety researchers and practitioners can begin to delineate the impact of safety on organizational and business outcomes. A path analysis was completed using data from a national sample of workers from the USA (n?=?1525). The overall fit of the model was excellent and analyses determined that both training and resource adequacy positively affected safety climate and job satisfaction. Safety climate also positively influenced job satisfaction. Both safety climate and job satisfaction were negatively associated with respondents’ turnover intention. In the study, the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention is reiterated in a sample of workers across many industries. This study is novel because it is one of the first studies to confirm that turnover intention is reduced with increased safety climate in a diverse sample of workers.     

Using a psychological contract of safety to predict safety climate on construction sites

Introduction: The fact that safety climate impacts safety behavior and delivers better safety outcomes is well established in construction. However, the way workers safety perception is inclined and developed is still unclear. Method: In this research, the influence of supervisors' developing safety climate and its impact on workers' safety behavior and their conceptualization of safety is explored through the lens of the ‘Psychological Contract’ (PC). More specifically, it is argued that ‘Psychological Contract of Safety’ (PCS) is a vital factor in explaining how workers attach meaning to a supervisor behavior. Extant research suggests: (a) safety climate is based on the perception of workers regarding safety; and (b) PCS is based on perceived mutual obligations between workers and supervisors. As a result, this research argues that if PCS or mutual obligations between workers and supervisors are fulfilled, then safety climate of the workers will be positively influenced. A model is presented depicting PCS as an alternative intervention in understanding how safety climate could be influenced and predicted by the level of fulfillment of mutual safety obligations. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) the model of the PCS is validated with data collected from a mega-construction project in Australia. Results: The results suggest that to have a positive and strong safety climate, top-level managers must ensure that mutual safety obligations between supervisor and workers are fulfilled. This enables the PCS to be introduced as a new ‘predictor’ of safety climate. Practical applications: The novel outcome of the research could be considered as a management intervention to modify supervisors' behavior to produce better safety outcomes.     

大学生安全素养现状调查及提升策略研究

为提高高校学生的安全素养,改善校园安全现状,本文采用问卷调查方法,从安全态度和意识、安全行为2个维度对大学生安全素养进行研究。结果表明:大学生在灭火器使用、逃生方面存在不足;学校安全氛围较弱;不同性别、学年、生源地和学院的学生安全素养存在显著差异。基于调查结果,提出加强安全文化建设和安全管理的提升策略和建议。     

Workers’ Perceptions of Workplace Safety and Job Satisfaction

A lot of attention has beenfocused on workers ‘ perceptions of workplace safety but relatively little or no research has been done on the impact of job satisfaction on safety climate. This study investigated this relationship. It also examined the relationships between job satisfaction and workers’ compliance with safety management policies and accident frequency. A positive association was found between job satisfaction and safety climate. Workers who expressed more satisfaction at their posts had positive perceptions of safety climate. Correspondingly, they were more committed to safety management policies and consequently registered a lower rate of accident involvement. The results were thus consistent with the notion that workers ‘ positive perceptions of organisational climate influence their perceptions of safety at the workplace. The findings, which have implications in the work environment, are discussed.     

Values-in-action that support safe production

Introduction: Safe production is a sustainable approach to managing an organization’s operations that considers the interests of both management and workers as salient stakeholders in a productive and safe workplace. A supportive culture enacts values versus only espousing them. These values-in-action are beliefs shared by both management and workers that align what should happen in performing organizational routines to be safe and be productive with what actually is done. However, the operations and safety management literature provides little guidance on which values-in-action are most important to safe production and how they work together to create a supportive culture. Method: The researchers conducted exploratory case studies in 10 manufacturing plants of 9 firms. The researchers compared plant managers’ top-down perspectives on safety in the performance of work and workers’ bottom-up experiences of the safety climate and their rates of injury on the job. Each case study used data collected from interviewing multiple managers, the administration of a climate survey to workers and the examination of the plant’s injury rates over time as reported to its third party health and safety insurer. Results: The researchers found that plants with four values-in-action —a commitment to safety, discipline, prevention and participation—were capable of safe production, while plants without those values were neither safe nor productive. Where culture and climate aligned lower rates of injury were experienced. Discussion and conclusion: The four value-in-actions must all be present and work together in a self-reinforcing manner to engage workers and managers in achieving safe production. Practical application: Managers of both operations and safety functions do impact safety outcomes such as reducing injuries by creating a participatory environment that encourage learning that improves both safety and production routines.     

安全价值观契合对矿工安全行为的影响:一个链式中介模型

为探索个人-组织安全价值观契合对矿工安全行为的影响机制,通过理论分析和文献研究提出研究假设模型;编制测量问卷,采用方便抽样法对640名矿工进行问卷调查;通过结构方程建模分析验证假设模型。结果表明:个人-组织安全价值观契合、安全自我效能感、工作投入和安全行为两两之间显著正相关;个人-组织安全价值观契合不仅直接影响矿工的安全行为,还通过安全自我效能感和工作投入间接影响矿工的安全行为;安全自我效能感和工作投入在个人-组织安全价值观契合与矿工安全行为之间起链式中介作用。因而不仅要重视个人-组织安全价值观契合,还应重视安全自我效能感和工作投入的积极影响。     

安全激励对具从众动机的建筑工人不安全行为的干预作用

为了研究安全激励对具有从众动机的建筑工人不安全行为的干预作用，识别建筑工人不安全行为的影响及干预因素，分别对具有从众动机的建筑工人不安全行为发生机理、安全奖励和安全惩罚的干预机理进行假定。基于调研数据，采用SPSS和AMOS工具展开模型拟合。研究结果表明:安全激励对建筑工人不安全行为有一定的干预作用；奖励对从众动机建筑工人的安全动机的端正产生0.108的正向影响、对安全能力的提升产生0.121的正向影响；惩罚对从众动机的建筑工人的安全心理健康产生0.140的正向影响、对安全知识的学习产生0.250的正向影响。基于此，提出预防具有从众动机的建筑工人不安全行为的有效措施。     

Effects of safety climate on safety norm violations: exploring the mediating role of attitudinal ambivalence toward personal protective equipment

Problem

Research on the role of organizational and psychosocial factors in influencing risk behaviors and the likelihood of injury at work showed that safety climate also has great impact on workers’ behavior. However, the mechanisms through which this impact operates are still partially unclear.

Method

In order to explore the role that attitudinal ambivalence toward wearing PPE might play in mediating the impact of safety climate on safety norm violations, a questionnaire was administered to 345 Italian workers.

Results

Three dimensions of safety climate (i.e., company safety concern, senior managers’ safety concern, supervisors’ attitudes towards safety) were found to be positively associated with the individual ambivalence level, whereas the fourth one (i.e., work pressure) was negatively correlated with it. In turn, low levels of ambivalence were associated with a lower tendency to break the safety norms, even though the perception of a good safety climate also maintained a direct effect on unsafe behaviors.

Impact on industry

Designers of training program for the prevention of work related injuries must pay great attention to the psycho-social factors (such as the effects of the safety climate perception by employees on their attitudes and behaviors), and include specific contents into the prevention programs in order to improve workers compliance with safety norms.     

An Ergonomics Study of a Semiconductors Factory in an IDC for Improvement in Occupational Health and Safety

The study aimed to conduct an ergonomic intervention on a conventional line (CL) in a semiconductor factory in Malaysia, an industrially developing country (IDC), to improve workers’ occupational health and safety (OHS). Low-cost and simple (LCS) ergonomics methods were used (suitable for IDCs), e.g., subjective assessment, direct observation, use of archival data and assessment of noise. It was found that workers were facing noise irritation, neck and back pains and headache in the various processes in the CL. LCS ergonomic interventions to rectify the problems included installing noise insulating covers, providing earplugs, installing elevated platforms, slanting visual display terminals and installing extra exhaust fans. The interventions cost less than 3 000 USD but they significantly improved workers’ OHS, which directly correlated with an improvement in working conditions and job satisfaction. The findings are useful in solving OHS problems in electronics industries in IDCs as they share similar manufacturing processes, problems and limitations.     

安全氛围三“心”模型的构建与检验

把安全氛围定义为一种知觉特性;在勒温的场理论基础上,通过对影响员工安全绩效的环境因素中的行为进行分析,构建安全氛围的通用模型,其包括3个因素:安全管理承诺、员工安全卷入和组织安全沟通;通过问卷调查的方法收集某石油化工公司两个生产厂一线职工的353份有效数据,探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析以及相关分析的结果分别说明,"三因素"模型具有较好的结构效度和预测效度。通过对3个因素的进一步分析,结合实践,提出安全氛围的三"心"模型:领导关心、员工上心、上下一心。要获得安全水平的持续提高,需要3个方面的共同努力。     

Safety climate in Finnish- and Swedish-speaking companies.

The aim of this study was to compare assessments made by Finnish- and Swedish-speaking workers in Finland about the safety climate in their companies, because an earlier study showed that the accident frequency of Swedish-speaking workers was one third lower than that of Finnish-speaking workers. 148 Finnish-speaking and 138 Swedish-speaking workers from 14 small and medium-sized companies participated in this study. They filled out a Finnish safety climate questionnaire, the reliability of which was above the acceptable level. There were no differences between the language groups in the total variables of safety climate and safety action. Based on the differences in single items, we interpreted that Swedish-speaking workers stressed collective safety more, whereas Finnish-speaking workers put more emphasis on their personal responsibility for safety.     

Validating a Safety Climate Model in Metal Processing Industries: A Replication Study

This paper attempts to replicate a safety climate model originally tested in Australia to assess its applicability in a different context: namely, across production workers in 22 medium-sized metal processing organizations in Austria. The model postulates that safety knowledge and safety motivation mediate the relation between safety climate on the one hand and safety compliance and participation on the other. Self-report data from 1075 employees were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results of the replication study largely confirmed the original safety climate model. However, in addition to indirect effects, direct links between safety climate and actual safety behavior were found.