A short scale for measuring safety climate

A 6-item measure that assesses global work safety climate was validated using multiple samples each from a hospital and a nuclear energy population. Across all 14 samples the 6-item measure had acceptable internal consistency. The measure was associated with better adherence to safe work practices, reduced exposure to environmental stressors, the presence of more safety policies and procedures, a positive general organizational climate, and decreased accidents. As evidence for discriminant validity, safety climate was unrelated to most demographic measures and had relatively small relationships with sleeping problems and negative mood. Evidence suggests that this measure is a reliable and valid way to assess global safety climate.     

Creating safer workplaces: assessing the determinants and role of safety climate

PROBLEM: Although there has been considerable interest in safety climate, relatively little attention has been given to the factors that determine safety climate or to testing the hypothesized mediating role of safety climate with respect to safety-related outcomes. METHOD: Questionnaire responses were obtained from 2,208 employees of a large national retail chain in 21 different locations. RESULTS: After controlling for demographic variables, three factors: environmental conditions, safety-related policies and programs, and general organizational climate, accounted for 55% of the variance in perceived safety climate. Interestingly, organizational climate made a significant contribution to safety climate, even after controlling for the other more safety-relevant variables. Partial correlations showed that safety policies and programs had the largest observed correlation with safety climate, followed by two of the dimensions of organizational climate (communication and organizational support). Using Baron and Kenny's (J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 51 (1986) 1173) procedures, the principal effects of the various work situation factors on perceived safety at work were found to be direct rather than mediated by safety climate. Safety climate influenced perceived safety at work, but its role as a mediator was limited. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: These results are discussed in terms of other recent findings on safety climate and the growing interest in understanding management and organizational factors in the context of workplace safety.     

Safety climate factors, group differences and safety behaviour in road construction

This study determines the factor structure of safety climate within a road construction organization using a modified version of the safety climate questionnaire (SCQ). It also investigates the relationship between safety climate and safety performance. The SCQ was administered to 192 employees from two districts and in two job categories — construction and maintenance. A behavioural observation measure of safety performance was also developed. Factor analysis derived six factors, which were similar to those obtained in an earlier study using the SCQ. Differences in the safety climate of job sub-groups were found on two of the factors. No differences between the two districts were found. No relationship was found between safety climate and the safety performance measure. While identical safety climate factors cannot apply to all organizations, some general safety climate factors may emerge. Discussion focuses upon the measurement of safety climate.     

Measuring safety climate: identifying the common features

In UK industry, particularly in the energy sector, there has been a movement away from ‘lagging’ measures of safety based on retrospective data, such as lost time accidents and incidents, towards ‘leading’ or predictive assessments of the safety climate of the organisation or worksite. A number of different instruments have been developed by industrial psychologists for this purpose, resulting in a proliferation of scales with distinct developmental histories. Reviewing the methods and results from a sample of industrial surveys, the thematic basis of 18 scales used to assess safety climate is examined. This suggests that the most typically assessed dimensions relate to management (72% of studies), the safety system (67%), and risk (67%), in addition themes relating to work pressure and competence appear in a third of the studies.     

Mental models of safety: do managers and employees see eye to eye?

PROBLEM: Disagreements between managers and employees about the causes of accidents and unsafe work behaviors can lead to serious workplace conflicts and distract organizations from the important work of establishing positive safety climate and reducing the incidence of accidents. METHOD AND RESULTS: In this study, the authors examine a model for predicting safe work behaviors and establish the model's consistency across managers and employees in a steel plant setting. Using the model previously described by Brown, Willis, and Prussia (2000), the authors found that when variables influencing safety are considered within a framework of safe work behaviors, managers and employees share a similar mental model. The study then contrasts employees' and managers' specific attributional perceptions. Findings from these more fine-grained analyses suggest the two groups differ in several respects about individual constructs. Most notable were contrasts in attributions based on their perceptions of safety climate. When perceived climate is poor, managers believe employees are responsible and employees believe managers are responsible for workplace safety. However, as perceived safety climate improves, managers and employees converge in their perceptions of who is responsible for safety. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: It can be concluded from this study that in a highly interdependent work environment, such as a steel mill, where high system reliability is essential and members possess substantial experience working together, managers and employees will share general mental models about the factors that contribute to unsafe behaviors, and, ultimately, to workplace accidents. It is possible that organizations not as tightly coupled as steel mills can use such organizations as benchmarks, seeking ways to create a shared understanding of factors that contribute to a safe work environment. Part of this improvement effort should focus on advancing organizational safety climate. As climate improves, managers and employees are likely to agree more about the causes of safe/unsafe behaviors and workplace accidents, ultimately increasing their ability to work in unison to prevent accidents and to respond appropriately when they do occur. Finally, the survey items included in this study may be useful to organizations wishing to conduct self-assessments.     

The impact of organizational climate on safety climate and individual behavior

Relatively little previous research has investigated the meechanisms by which safety climate affects safety behavior. The current study examined the effects of general organizational climate on safety climate and safety performance. As expected, general organizational climate exerted a significant impact on safety climate, and safety climate in turn was related to self-reports of compliance with safety regulations and procedures as well as participation in safety-related activities within the workplace. The effect of general organizational climate on safety performance was mediated by safety climate, while the effect of safety climate on safety performance was partially mediated by safety knowledge and motivation.     

Associations between driver training, determinants of risky driving behaviour and crash involvement

The core aim of the study is to examine associations between formal and informal practical driver training as well as driving experience on the one hand and young drivers’ safety attitudes, self-assessment of driving ability and self-reported driver behaviour on the other hand. An additional aim is to examine the associations between attitudes, self-assessment and behaviour on the one hand and crash involvement on the other hand. The results are based on a self-completion questionnaire survey conducted among a representative sample of Norwegian drivers aged 18–20 years (n = 1419). The results showed that there were small yet significant associations between driver training, on the one hand and traffic safety attitudes and risky driving behaviour on the other hand. The amount of formal driver training was negatively associated with the respondents’ evaluation of their driving skills; although the amount of lay instruction was positively associated with such self-evaluation. The results also showed that attitudes as well as self-assessment of driving ability were significantly associated with self-reported risk behaviour. This was especially true for attitudes related to rule violations. There was a strong association between crash involvement and exposure (measured as months holding a licence). Young novice drivers’ crash involvement seems stronger associated with driving skills (manifested as self-assessment of driving ability) than safety attitudes and self-reported driver behaviour. The consequences of the results for driver training and accident prevention are discussed.     

The relationship between perceived risk of being ticketed and self-reported seat belt use

PROBLEM: Twenty-nine percent of Americans failed to use their seat belts in 2000. Efforts to improve safety belt usage can be enhanced by identifying specific factors that motivate belt use. METHOD: Motorist survey data were used to examine the effect of Perceived Risk of being Ticketed (PRT) for a seat belt infraction on self-reported seat belt use. RESULTS: Analyses indicated that individuals and groups of individuals who have higher PRT typically report higher belt usage. Factorial analyses indicated that this perceived risk to belt use relationship holds both within groups with generally high (e.g., upper income) and generally low (e.g. young men) overall self-reported belt use. DISCUSSION: Applications of PRT to improve seat belt use are discussed. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Enforcement of existing laws, perhaps through selective traffic enforcement programs, and strengthening laws to create a higher perception of being ticketed by motorists should increase safety belt use thereby saving lives and reducing cost for individuals, government, and industry.     

Predicting safety culture: the roles of employer, operations manager and safety professional

Introduction: This study explores predictive factors in safety culture. Method: In 2008, a sample 939 employees was drawn from 22 departments of a telecoms firm in five regions in central Taiwan. The sample completed a questionnaire containing four scales: the employer safety leadership scale, the operations manager safety leadership scale, the safety professional safety leadership scale, and the safety culture scale. The sample was then randomly split into two subsamples. One subsample was used for measures development, one for the empirical study. Results: A stepwise regression analysis found four factors with a significant impact on safety culture (R² = 0.337): safety informing by operations managers; safety caring by employers; and safety coordination and safety regulation by safety professionals. Safety informing by operations managers (ß = 0.213) was by far the most significant predictive factor. Impact on industry: The findings of this study provide a framework for promoting a positive safety culture at the group level.     

试论安全科学研究的特殊矛盾

提出安全科学研究的特殊矛盾是安全与事故的矛盾，也就是研究危险。设计出了安全、危险、事故相互转化的示意图。论述了危险的普遍性、特殊性、绝对性、可转化性、可认识性以及认识安全科学研究特殊矛盾的重要意义。     

《化工厂危险程度分级》在大化肥厂的应用

评述１９９０ 年以后以天然气为原料的川化集团公司大化肥厂,利用化工部青岛劳保所开发的《化工厂危险程度分级》方法开展安全评价,并对评价出的潜在危险采取了安全措施,从而有效地提高了工厂的安全可靠性。在运用该评价方法时,一是将《分级》中安全管理等级的评定部分增加了评定内容,使之更符合工厂客观实际;二是将固有危险等级评价的手工处理和计算部分编制成计算机软件,提高了评价工效     

Age differences in safety attitudes and safety performance in Hong Kong construction workers

PROBLEM: Safety in the construction industry is a major issue in Hong Kong, representing about 46% of all occupational injuries in 1998. This study explored linear and curvilinear relations between age and safety performance (accident rates and occupational injuries), as well as safety attitudes, in construction workers in Hong Kong. METHOD: A Chinese version of the Safety Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ by Donald & Canter) was developed and administered to a sample of Chinese construction workers (N=374, 366 males, 8 females) from 27 construction sites. RESULTS: Accident rates were not related to age. Occupational injuries were related to age in a curvilinear manner, with injuries at first increasing with age, then decreasing. Two safety attitude scales were related to age with older workers exhibiting more positive attitudes to safety. If age and tenure are controlled, some attitude scales are predictors of safety performance. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Management/supervisors, team leaders, and workers are all responsible for safety, and any negative bias toward older construction workers is unfounded.     

高危岗位矿工个体风险感知影响因素仿真研究

为探索高危岗位矿工风险感知的影响因素,在文献研究和复杂适应系统理论分析基础上,从个体角度构建矿工风险感知影响因素的系统动力学模型。运用Vensim 软件模拟仿真各工作时间段中,矿工风险感知水平及各因素对其影响的动态演化过程。研究表明:工作初期,情绪稳定性水平对风险感知水平促进效果显著,工作倦怠的抑制作用较突出;在工作后期,自我效能感对风险感知水平的削弱影响显著,风险规避态度则发挥较大的促进作用;风险知识经验超出一定范围会对风险感知水平起到反作用;安全教育培训与安全监管对风险感知水平的促进作用相对稳定持久。因此,煤矿企业应根据各因素在工作时间段的不同作用,采取相应措施以提高矿工风险感知水平。     

Development and initial validation of an Aviation Safety Climate Scale

PROBLEM: A need was identified for a consistent set of safety climate factors to provide a basis for aviation industry benchmarking. METHOD: Six broad safety climate themes were identified from the literature and consultations with industry safety experts. Items representing each of the themes were prepared and administered to 940 Australian commercial pilots. RESULTS: Data from half of the sample (N=468) were used in an exploratory factor analysis that produced a 3-factor model of Management commitment and communication, Safety training and equipment, and Maintenance. A confirmatory factor analysis on the remaining half of the sample showed the 3-factor model to be an adequate fit to the data. DISCUSSION: The results of this study have produced a scale of safety climate for aviation that is both reliable and valid. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This study developed a tool to assess the level of perceived safety climate, specifically of pilots, but may also, with minor modifications, be used to assess other groups' perceptions of safety climate.     

运输系统中的危险辨识及其安全控制

笔者将运输系统的危险分为两类:固有危险、变动危险;并给出两类危险的定义;对构成两类危险的因子进行了深入的讨论;提出辨识运输系统两类危险的基本方法,即静态辨识法和动态辨识法;对两种方法的应用范围及条件进行了初步界定.在对运输系统进行危险辨识的基础上,就如何运用控制论的理论与方法解决运输系统的安全控制问题进行探讨;提出系统安全状况的恶化实际上是系统中危险因素失控的结果.保证系统安全的核心任务是对系统危险因子进行控制.就运输系统而言,对系统变动危险因子的控制要比固有危险系统困难.     

刍议企业风险管理与安全管理

企业系统风险管理是以最低成本实现最佳安全生产保障的一种科学管理方法。文章着重从风险管理的内涵和风险管理技术等方面进行了初步探讨;并指出有效的风险管理不仅能改变我国安全生产工作的被动局面,而且有利于对企业安全生产进行风险管理决策