Industrial Safety Management Research Articles

HRM in the airline industry: strategies and outcomes

Within the HRM literature, health and safety occupies a somewhat rhetorical role. Examines HRM and the management of health and safety in the airline industry. Argues that in response to increasing competitive conditions, airlines have adopted a short‐termist, cost‐rational approach to HRM and health and safety, evidenced by a range of strategies aimed at securing reductions in operating costs and short‐term productivity gains, where profit is prioritised over employee health and safety. Concludes that HRM may have provided a smokescreen for irresponsible health and safety management in the airline industry, while a two‐tier assault on health and safety has taken place.

RISK AND CAUSES-OF-RISK ASSESSMENT FOR AN EFFECTIVE INDUSTRIAL SAFETY MANAGEMENT

It is widely accepted that progressive improvement of industrial safety is heavily dependent on the introduction of a systematic vision of man–machine–workplace interactions. In this respect, the risk assessment is one of the most critical tasks in the management of industrial safety. The paper presents a risk assessment approach, which uses analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to directly and holistically estimate risk, showing greater flexibility in comparison to traditional methods. In the first phase (risk assessment), given a work task, the methodology allows to support risk characterization and prioritization of hazards within a hierarchical framework. In the second phase (causes assessment), the proposed methodology supports the influence analysis of the main causes of risk — machine, operator, procedures and environment — providing management with a more rational framework to make decisions and allocate resources devoted to safety improvement actions. The methodology is illustrated with reference to a case study concerning machining operations.

The quality of accident and health data in the construction industry: interviews with senior managers

Despite recent changes in legislation and advances towards an integrated project-wide approach, health and safety management in the construction industry is still a major problem, involving a substantial cost to business, society and individuals. A prerequisite to improving the situation and developing an effective management strategy is monitoring, providing a detailed understanding of the effectiveness of different approaches to intervention. This paper describes a feasibility study using in-depth interviews with senior managers to explore the quality of accident and health data of nine large, high profile companies from the engineering construction sector. The interview dialogue comprised a series of questions and issues to be explored on the organization's accident reporting systems (e.g. what is reported, analysis performed, computerization), unsafe act and near miss auditing (e.g. definition, validity), failure type indicators (e.g. auditing, quantification) and safety culture indicators (e.g. commitment, health). Although safety was a priority for companies, health (i.e. medicals and monitoring systems) had not been given the same consideration, especially with regard to subcontracted labour. This study shows that the validity of accident statistics as a measure of safety remains a limitation, and that there is a requirement for a consistent and integrated approach to the measurement of health and safety performance.

Behaviour-based safety management in Hong Kong's construction industry: the results of a field study

Hong Kong's construction industry has had a poor site safety record for over a decade. Behaviour-based methods of safety management (BSM) have proved successful in other industries and in other countries. Hence, this study aimed to test the effectiveness of BSM by applying goal-setting and feedback interventions to specific areas of safety performance on Hong Kong Housing Authority construction sites. Using a within-group experimental design and with the use of a proportional rating safety measurement instrument, data were collected on the effectiveness of BSM on Hong Kong sites. The data were recognized as time series data; this has been a serious methodological oversight in much previous research. The data were analysed using autoregressive moving averages models, and the results were mixed in that a significant improvement in safety performance occurred in the housekeeping category of intervention but no improvement was observed in the access to heights and bamboo scaffolding categories. Based on these results a goal setting/expectancy theory model of site safety improvement has been synthesized, and the lack of provision of an adequate safety infrastructure has been identified as a serious impediment to improvement.

Human error in the management of building projects

This paper seeks to improve the understanding of human error as it is applied to the generation of defects in construction projects. It reviews the literature concerning human error, commencing at the psychological basis of errors. From this, the review is expanded to include literature from forensic engineering, industrial safety, reliability engineering, sociology and quality management. Based on the literature, a model of the factors influencing the incidence of errors in project based industries is constructed. This model proposes that errors leading to defects and more dramatic failures can be generated from all levels of project organizations. They stem from primary factors (related to the performance of the individual), management factors (related to a range of managerial tasks) and global factors (related to wider external influences). These factors can be displayed as a hierarchy with primary factors at the base and global factors at the top. The paper reports on the results of an initial test of this model by reference to a survey of a sample of construction industry practitioners. The findings of the survey support the model, with some modifications. Additionally, some differences in view were noted: in particular, respondents from a construction background emphasized managerial factors more strongly than those from a design background.

Behavior-based safety management in Hong Kong's construction industry

A behavior-based approach to industrial safety management has been advocated by many authors and has been found to effectively improve safety performance in different industrial settings and on different continents. This paper reports on the implementation of a behavior-based safety management program in the Hong Kong construction industry. The behavior-based safety management techniques of performance measurement, participative goal setting, and the provision of performance feedback were introduced in a carefully controlled field experiment on seven public housing construction sites in Hong Kong. The paper describes this experiment and explains how the program was implemented. The results of the experiment were mixed. Behavior-based safety techniques were highly effective in bringing about improved performance in site housekeeping, but significant improvements in access to heights were only observed on two of the seven sites, and there was found to be no significant improvement in the use of bamboo scaffolding during the experimental intervention. The paper presents these results and discusses factors that may have contributed to the limited effectiveness of the techniques in the latter two performance categories.

Critical Features of an Auditable Management System for an ISO 9000-Compatible Occupational Health and Safety Standard

An International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:1994-harmonized occupational health and safety (OHS) management system has been written at the University of Michigan, and reviewed, revised, and accepted under the direction of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS) Task Force and the Board of Directors. This system is easily adaptable to the ISO 14001 format and to both OHS and environmental management system applications. As was the case with ISO 9001:1994, this system is expected to be compatible with current production quality and OHS quality systems and standards, have forward compatibility for new applications, and forward flexibility, with new features added as needed. Since ISO 9001:1987 and 9001:1994 have been applied worldwide, the incorporation of harmonized OHS and environmental management system components should be acceptable to business units already performing first-party (self-) auditing, and second-party (contract qualification) auditing. This article explains the basis of this OHS management system, its relationship to ISO 9001 and 14001 standards, the philosophy and methodology of an ISO-harmonized system audit, the relationship of these systems to traditional OHS audit systems, and the authors' vision of the future for application of such systems.

Critical features of an auditable management system for an ISO 9000-compatible occupational health and safety standard.

An International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001: 1994-harmonized occupational health and safety (OHS) management system has been written at the University of Michigan, and reviewed, revised, and accepted under the direction of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS) Task Force and the Board of Directors. This system is easily adaptable to the ISO 14001 format and to both OHS and environmental management system applications. As was the case with ISO 9001: 1994, this system is expected to be compatible with current production quality and OHS quality systems and standards, have forward compatibility for new applications, and forward flexibility, with new features added as needed. Since ISO 9001: 1987 and 9001: 1994 have been applied worldwide, the incorporation of harmonized OHS and environmental management system components should be acceptable to business units already performing first-party (self-) auditing, and second-party (contract qualification) auditing. This article explains the basis of this OHS management system, its relationship to ISO 9001 and 14001 standards, the philosophy and methodology of an ISO-harmonized system audit, the relationship of these systems to traditional OHS audit systems, and the authors' vision of the future for application of such systems.

Perceived Nuclear Risk, Organizational Commitment, and Appraisals of Management: A Study of Nuclear Power Plant Personnel

This study examined to what extent nuclear risk perceptions, organizational commitment (OC), and appraisals of management are associated with each other among nuclear power plant personnel. The sample consisted of 428 nuclear power plant workers who completed a questionnaire at their workplace. Perceived nuclear risk and OC were most closely related to the appraisals of the top management of the organization. As the trust in and satisfaction with the top management increased, perceived nuclear safety and acceptance of the organizational goals and values heightened. This result is discussed in the context of industrial safety management.

Safety management in the construction industry in Saudi Arabia

Safety programmes of sixteen construction companies in the Eastern Province were evaluated and it was found that larger firms had more formal safety training which resulted in higher standards of overall safety.

A review of: “Industrial Safety—Management and Technology” David A. Colling Prentice Hall 1990

A review of: “<i>Industrial Safety—Management and Technology</i>” David A. Colling Prentice Hall 1990

Organizational behaviour and safety management in the construction industry

This research paper examines the relationship between organizational theory and accident causation/prevention theory as applied in practice to the construction industry. Part of the research work consisted of an information survey of groups of various categories of workers, managers and owners to establish their perceptions of accident causation. The findings indicate that the emphasis of current accident prevention measures in force is more suited to mechanistic organizations than to organic types of which the construction industry is one. The conclusions reached are that the emphasis must be concentrated more on education and training and the spread of information on the hazards of the working environment and their avoidance.

Human factors of industrial robots and robot safety management in Japan

Japan has the largest world market share of industrial robots and also two fatal accidents due to robots. Ergonomics points of view should be applied to robotics to prevent new types of accidents. The concern of this paper is to explain Japan's situation concerning the installation of robotics and current safety regulations. Three experiments about the possibility of unsafe behaviour are described, and the man-robot system failure is analysed based on Fault Tree Analysis and the actual data. The appropriate safety measures are compared in terms of their cost-effectiveness. Finally, ergonomics points of view are provided to prevent accidents due to industrial robots.

Attributional processes and hazard control management in industry

This paper examines the applicability of attribution theory research to safety management in industry. Behavioral research on the perception of causality is reviewed in relation to: (a) how individual workers appraise the risks associated with various workplace hazards, (b) responses of first-line supervisors to safety incidents, and (c) the impact of upper management on the safety climate of the organization. Particular attention is given to the sources of attributional bias most likely to exist in organizational settings. Conclusions and safety program recommendations are presented.

Is your company in safe hands?

The Risks of business interruption — let alone the damage to property and possible loss of life — is so great that methods of determining and managing industrial fire risks has become almost a ‘new science’, the basis of which should be the concern of all industrial managers. With losses caused to industry by fire damage expected to reach a record £400 million in 1980, it is appropriate that this year's International Fire Security and Safety Exhibition and Conference (IFSSEC ‘80 April 21–25) will be devoting a complete morning's session to the latest developments in Industrial Fire Safety and Risk Management’ techniques as a part of its overall conference programme.

The management of industrial safety.

The management of industrial safety.