The application of the psychological contract to workplace safety

INTRODUCTION: Psychological contracts of safety are conceptualized as the beliefs of individuals about reciprocal safety obligations inferred from implicit or explicit promises. Although the literature on psychological contracts is growing, the existence of psychological contracts in relation to safety has not been established. The research sought to identify psychological contracts in the conversations of employees about safety, by demonstrating reciprocity in relation to employer and employee safety obligations. The identified safety obligations were used to develop a measure of psychological contracts of safety. METHOD: The participants were 131 employees attending safety training sessions in retail and manufacturing organizations. Non-participant observation was used to collect the data during safety training sessions. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Categories for coding were established through identification of language markers that demonstrated contingencies or other implied obligations. RESULTS: Direct evidence of reciprocity between employer safety obligations and employee safety obligations was found in statements from the participants demonstrating psychological contracts. A comprehensive list of perceived employer and employee safety obligations was compiled and developed into a measure of psychological contracts of safety. A small sample of 33 safety personnel was used to validate the safety obligations. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Implications of these findings for safety and psychological contract research are discussed.     

Risk assessment for safety of soils and vegetables around a lead/zinc mine

Concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu) were determined in soils and vegetables (chrysanthemum, spinach and four cultivars of Chinese cabbage from the area adjacent to a Pb/Zn mine in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, China, and compared with the Chinese National Standards for Soil Environmental Quality. The accumulation of heavy metals in cabbage cv. Siyuegreen was investigated at different distances from the center of the mine. The vegetable plantation soils were polluted with Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn, especially by Pb and Cd. The levels of Pb and Cd were 20 and 30 times higher than the permitted standards, indicating that this Pb/Zn mining area is unsuitable for agricultural use. Chinese cabbage, chrysanthemum and spinach had different enrichment coefficients. The enrichment coefficient of Cd from soil to roots of chrysanthemum was >80% and from roots to leaves of cabbage cv. Shanghaigreen was >120%. These vegetables were polluted by heavy metals and could not be regarded as safe for human consumption. Environmental accumulation of heavy metals in the vegetable plantation soils was proportional to heavy metal accumulation in vegetables and both were inversely proportional to the distance from the lead/zinc mine.     

煤矿企业的安全文化建设探索与实践

煤矿的安全生产与企业安全文化有着内在的联系,两者相辅相成、相互联系。结合莒山煤矿对安全文化建设进行探索与实践,坚持以“三个代表”重要思想为指导,通过健全管理组织体系,完善各项规章制度,采取丰富多样的宣传手段,装备有效的安全设施以及强化安全基层基础管理等途径,倡导和树立安全发展理念,激发员工“关注安全、关爱生命”的本能意识,塑造正确的安全价值观,建成能充分保障员工安全与健康的安全文化体系。     

模糊综合评价法在道路运输企业安全评价中的应用

我国道路运输企业交通安全形势比较严峻,推行道路运输企业安全综合评价是降低道路运输企业交通事故的有效途径之一.本文运用Delphi法和AHP法建立了道路运输企业安全层次分析模型,构建了安全综合评价指标体系.选用基于"差动"原理的赋权法--G1法计算各指标的权重,应用模糊综合评价法对其进行安全综合评价.采用平均加权法对评价因素的各项指标进行量化处理,从而得到道路运输企业安全的综合评价结果.最后,对陕西省一家道路运输企业进行了实际验证,比较真实地反映了此企业的安全状况.     

危险品道路运输风险分级指数法研究

危险品道路运输过程风险影响因素多,随机性和不确定性大,定量风险评价比较复杂,至今没有统一的风险评估模型.为了有效预防危险品运输事故和进行快速风险评估,基于运输危险品本身特性和相关的风险影响因素探讨了运输危险品现实风险分级指数法.该方法由危险品风险分级指数、路线影响因素和安全措施补偿因子3部分构成.危险品风险分级指数由危险品加权平均风险等级和运输危险品量、泄漏点与居民区距离以及危险品扩散因子等级确定.危险品加权平均风险等级涉及其健康危害性、可燃性、化学反应活性以及特殊危险性(氧化性和与水反应性)等级的确定.路线影响因素包含运输道路特征、气象条件、交通状况和影响人员分布4类.安全措施补偿因子为车辆、设备、容器、包装因子,人员素质因子和安全管理因子3类.该方法可对运输危险品的潜在风险进行快速分级,有利于采取有效的安全预防和控制措施,降低运输事故概率和沿线影响人员风险.     

高速公路汽车追尾预警系统的开发研究

对高速公路汽车追尾预警系统进行了总体设计,把系统划分为主控单元、雷达测距单元、信息采集单元、显示-声光报警单元4个子系统。在分析汽车动力学基础上,提出了系统安全距离模型,并对各子系统进行了软、硬件设计。通过模拟试验和实际装车实验,验证了系统所要求的各种性能,雷达测距准确,系统报警及时有效.     

示踪技术用于气体泄漏扩散模拟的多元线性回归分析

采用江苏工业学院油气储运安全综合实验模型平台,利用示踪技术(以CO2为示踪剂),模拟了有害气体瞬时泄漏扩散的整个过程.并结合多元线性回归分析的基本方法,定量分析了气体泄漏扩散过程,建立了多元线性回归模型,初步确定了泄漏气体浓度与相关物理量的变化关系,在此基础上得到了2个定量评价指标:确定性系数R=0.991,相关系数r=0.995.研究表明,在实验室建立的试验模型能较好地反映现实情况,模型仿真度较高,数据拟合效果较好.研究可为评价模型的相似性提供理论参考,对有害气体泄漏扩散事故应急救援、实施有效的现场控制,具有一定的科学参考价值.     

城市天然气工程环境风险评价

结合广州、深圳、东莞、佛山等城市的天然气工程情况,对城市天然气工程的环境风险评价进行了讨论,并采用穆尔哈斯(Moorhowse)和普里恰特(Prichard)提出的热辐射预测模式和爆炸冲击波预测模式对城市天然气工程进行了风险评价.结果表明,如果发生天然气泄漏并引起火灾,假设在10 min以内,城市门站、调压站和城市高中压管道的火球对建筑物和设备的严重损害范围( A 级)最远距离分别为35.8 m、18.0 m和28.7 m,爆炸冲击波严重损害范围( C1 级)分别为距事故处54.8 m、27.8 m和44.4 m.最后从城市门站、调压站选址及输气管道选线、安全防范距离、作业过程中的风险控制与管理以及事故应急对策四方面提出了风险事故的防范措施与对策.     

基于SPA模型的煤矿瓦斯危险源风险评价

根据危险源理论和三类危险源的观点,采用集对分析(SPA)方法,进行了安全一事故集对的同异反分析,指出应采取措施控制不确定项,尤其要控制其中的第二类、第三类危险源才能使系统趋于安全状态;同时建立了煤矿瓦斯危险源风险评价模型,通过联系度的计算得出煤矿瓦斯的安全等级.研究表明,将集对分析方法应用于某煤矿瓦斯危险源风险评价,计算简单,结果较为精确、可靠,为不确定系统的评价提供了一条新思路.     

2006年7-8月国内安全事故统计分析

统计了2006年7-8月国内发生的各种安全事故279起,包括矿业事故、交通事故、爆炸事故、火灾、毒物泄露和中毒及其他事故.统计表明,在这些事故中,交通事故最多,占55.91%,其次是矿业事故(22.22%)、爆炸事故(9.32%)、其他事故(5.73%)、毒物泄露和中毒(4.66%)、火灾(2.15%).279起事故共死亡1 253人,伤1 519人,死亡人数的百分比分别为交通事故52.27%、矿业事故26.74%、爆炸事故11.65%、其他事故4.79%、火灾2.39%、泄露中毒2.15%;受伤人数的百分比分别为交通事故53.59%、泄露中毒17.38%、爆炸事故14.42%、矿业事故10.73%、其他事故2.63%、火灾1.25%.