Unintended Detrimental Effects of the Combination of Several Safety Measures—When More Is Not Always More Effective

Sebastian Brandhorst,Annette Kluge

doi:10.3390/safety7020037

Abstract

To ensure safety-related behavior in risky operations, several safety measures, such as safety-related rules and safety management systems including audits, rewards, and communication, are implemented. Looking at each single measure, it is reasonable to assume that each one leads to rule compliance, but how do they interact? In an experimental study, we varied (1) the salience of either safety, productivity, or both, (2) the reward for the compliance and punishment for a violation, (3) the communication of audit results (result- or process-based), and (4) the gain and loss framing of performance indicators. In a 3 × 2 × 2 × 2 factorial between-group design, 497 engineering students in the role of Control Room Operator participated in a five hour simulation of a production year of a chemical plant. Looking at single effects, salient safety goals led to a low number of rule violations compared to the salience of production goals. Interestingly, the interaction of several measures showed that particular combinations of measures were highly detrimental to safety, although altogether, they were assumed to reduce risks. For practice, this means that the effects of safety measures depend on their particular combination and can lead to unwanted effects.

Highlights

In Germany alone, four sets of laws deal with occupational safety and health; at the European level, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work is responsible for drafting directives, guidelines and standards for the member states
We looked at contextual conditions such as goal setting or the communication of performance indicators, and at concrete measures such as the consequences of rule violations and compliance and the feedback from audits
It can be said that unintended detrimental effects of the combination of several safety measures may distort the objective of reducing incidents and accidents at work

Summary

Introduction

In Germany alone, four sets of laws deal with occupational safety and health; at the European level, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work is responsible for drafting directives, guidelines and standards for the member states. Despite the amount of rules and regulations, events such as the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh in 2013 with over 1000 deaths, as well as the dam bursts in Brazil in 2015 and 2019 with a total of 278 deaths, suggest that profit goals and safety-related rules and goals seem to be perceived as incompatible. The number of reportable accidents is just over 1 million [1]. The events outlined and the accident figures show the tension between productivity and safety.

Objectives

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Discussion

Conclusion