Abstract
The “Safety Score Permit” (SSP) is a new tool that focuses on behaviour and is based on a point system which allows individual performance’s tracking, thus encouraging safe actions. The present study aims at verifying the applicability and practical validation of the first SSP version; the ultimate goal is to evaluate its coverage within different industrial contexts and identify limitations and opportunities for improvement. A pilot implementation was conducted in three large companies, presented as three case studies. The records of safety behaviour observations (SBO) of each case were analysed to verify if all the “observed deviations” fitted into the classes and subclasses typified in the system. Although the study basis was the same in all three cases, in two of them the research was based on existing SBO records collected in 2019, whilst in the 3rd case there was a much higher interaction throughout the work. In this case, the process was started from scratch, including the SBO procedure, its monitoring and subsequent data analysis, to create the necessary conditions for the implementation of the full system. The results obtained revealed that, in general, the SSP platform has the ability to cover most deviations identified in an organization. The system has the potential to become a useful and transparent tool to monitor employees’ safety performance at all hierarchical levels; it also helps to identify weaknesses in the companies’ OHS processes. This work was essentially exploratory but it shed light on how to improve the system further and also unveiled new opportunities. A key issue to enhance SSP as a management tool is to expand its scope to all types of human errors, thus offering better support to strategic OHS decisions.
Highlights
The rate of occupational accidents has decreased over the years, but statistics continue to show a high number of fatal and serious accidents
Based on the records made available by Company A and B and the records collected directly at Company C, the safety deviations found were classified either as Error, or Safety Violation or Unsafe Condition; the errors and violations were classified by class and subclass to verify if all infractions fitted, or not, in the system’s taxonomy
This study was developed with the main purpose of verifying the suitability of the Scored Safety Permit (SSP) tool
Summary
The rate of occupational accidents has decreased over the years, but statistics continue to show a high number of fatal and serious accidents. The ILO1 reports over 2.78 million deaths per year worldwide as a result of occupational accidents or work-related diseases. In Europe, in 2017, the EU costs of work-related accidents and illnesses amounted to 476 billion Euros, which is about 3.3% of the European GDP (Elsier, Takala, and Remes 2017). There have been many investments in the OHS (occupational health and safety) area related to equipment protection, and OHS management systems, among others. Several experts argue that the focus needs to be directed to the behavioural aspect, investing in improving behaviours (Goh et al 2018; Roy e Gupta 2020).
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More From: International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Safety
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