Safety climate: Current status of the research and future prospects

Abstract

In order to study the current situation and prospects of an improved safety climate, this paper provides an extensive literature review and analysis of the concept of safety climate. Following that, a summary of research results and a theoretical framework is presented. First, several definitions of safety climate are reviewed and discussed, and the significance of safety climate to the workshop is considered. Future potential focus areas in safety climate research are noted through the study of measurement tools and the relationship of safety climate to safety performance and safety behavior. Second, the structural model of the safety climate principle and its connotation explanation are also proposed. The five principles consist of 22 levels of safety principles, which can be combined into an overall safety climate structure. The literature on safety climate is drawn from accidents that clearly demonstrate the impact of safety climate on enterprise, government, and society. Finally, six new trends in safety climate research are highlighted. These include the relationship between a feeling of safety and the reality theory, the elimination of cognitive biases in risk perception, safety climate research from a psychological perspective, the quantitative development of safety climate research, the multidimensional structure of a safety climate and the influence mechanisms of safety climate on safety behavior. The results indicate that the safety climate is composed of four dimensions: (1) the attitude of senior executives, (2) safety supervision, (3) safety production environment and (4) the implementation of safety training and education. The aim of this in-depth analysis is to contribute to future research paths across several domains, suggesting the need for a multi-disciplinary approach.