Unsafe Work Practices Research Articles

Profiling the safety environment on Saskatchewan farms

ObjectivesOur objectives were four fold: (1) to provide a contemporary update on the prevalence of hazards on farms; (2) to document the safety practices of farm owner-operators; (3) to measure investments in farm safety and (4) to assess their relationship with injury within a current regulatory environment. MethodsThe study sample included 1218 farms that provided reports via a mailed questionnaire as part of a larger prospective cohort study. Participating farms were operated as individual family farms (56%), family corporations (26%), or formal partnerships (17%). Leading commodities produced included grain (88%) and beef or dairy cattle (42%). The median acreage was 1480 acres, with 28% operating more than 2500 acres. Analyses were descriptive and etiological and focused on the prevalence of hazards, investments in safety, safety practices and work habits, and how they related with farm injury. ResultsPhysical conditions on farms and associated farm operator attitudes and beliefs were often inconsistent with safe work practices. Investments in farm safety and also engagement in safe farm work practices were inversely related (p<0.05) to the presence of hazards.After adjustment for confounding, these investments and practices were related to decreased risks for farm injury, but not serious farm injury. ConclusionsReliance on safety standards that are mainly voluntary continues to put some farm people at risk for injury. Yet those that do comply with obvious and known safety measures are likely to have fewer exposures to physical hazards and unsafe work practices.

Regulating Supply Chains to Protect Road Transport Workers: An Early Assessment of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal

The Road Safety Remuneration Act 2012 (Cth) (the Act) explicitly enables the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal to make orders that can impose binding requirements on all the participants in the road transport supply chain, including consignors and consignees at the apex the chain, for the pay and safety of both employee and independent contractor drivers. The tribunal is also specifically empowered to make enforceable orders to reduce or remove remuneration related incentives and pressures that contribute to unsafe work practices in the road transport industry. Recently the tribunal handed down its first order. The article considers whether, and the degree to which, the tribunal has been willing to exercise its explicit power to impose enforceable obligations on consignors and consignees — such as large supermarket chains — at the apex of road transport supply chains. It examines the substance and extent of the obligations imposed by the tribunal, including whether the tribunal has exercised the full range of powers vested in it by the Act. We contend that the tribunal’s first order primarily imposes obligations on direct work providers and drivers without making large, powerful consignors and consignees substantively responsible for driver pay and safety. We argue that the tribunal’s first order could have more comprehensively fulfilled the objectives of the Act by more directly addressing the root causes of low pay and poor safety in the road transport industry.

Regulating Supply Chains to Protect Road Transport Workers: An Early Assessment of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal

The Road Safety Remuneration Act 2012 (Cth) (the Act) explicitly enables the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal to make orders that can impose binding requirements on all the participants in the road transport supply chain, including consignors and consignees at the apex of the chain, for the pay and safety of both employee and independent contractor drivers. The tribunal is also specifically empowered to make enforceable orders to reduce or remove remuneration related incentives and pressures that contribute to unsafe work practices in the road transport industry. Recently the tribunal handed down its first order. The article considers whether, and the degree to which, the tribunal has been willing to exercise its explicit power to impose enforceable obligations on consignors and consignees – such as large supermarket chains – at the apex of road transport supply chains. It examines the substance and extent of the obligations imposed by the tribunal, including whether the tribunal has exercised the full range of powers vested in it by the Act. We contend that the tribunal's first order primarily imposes obligations on direct work providers and drivers without making large, powerful consignors and consignees substantively responsible for driver pay and safety. We argue that the tribunal's first order could have more comprehensively fulfilled the objectives of the Act by more directly addressing the root causes of low pay and poor safety in the road transport industry.

An Unsafe Practice Analysis considering Potential Risk to Foreign Construction Laborers in Korea

Recently, the number of accidents reported involving foreign laborers has risen, and the need to prevent accidents at construction sites has become more urgent. It has been found that 90 percent of construction accidents are caused by unsafe work practices, and various studies have been conducted on these practices with the aim of preventing accidents at construction sites. However, the tendency with previous studies was to average the results of survey responses, and as a result it is impossible to consider the potential risk of how many foreign laborers feel unsafe in relation with the unsafe practices. Therefore, in this study, importance-performance analysis (IPA) was improved in order to assess the potential risk of the unsafe practices of foreign laborers at construction sites in Korea. To verify the applicability of the improved IPA, a survey was carried out, and then the results were compared with those of the IPA. Through the use of the improved IPA, unsafe practices that were not found in the previous IPA but have potential risk were identified. The method proposed in this study is expected to contribute to the prevention of construction accidents of foreign workers by enabling a more efficient management.

Risk Perception And Risk Communication Regarding Pesticides Use In Agriculture Among Students From A Rural School In Nova Friburgo, Rio De Janeiro State, Brazil

Background: Youth in Nova Friburgo, Southeast Brazil engage in agriculture at younger ages, some of them manipulating pesticides and other toxic chemicals. Objectives: Our study aims to analyze teenagers' risk perception regarding pesticides use in local agriculture and evaluate the effectiveness of a tailored risk communication strategy. Methods: A risk perception study was conducted using VIPP (Visualization in Participatory Program) techniques through group workshops with students (n=27, 12-17 years old) attending the 9th grade at a rural school in Vargem Alta, rural Nova Friburgo. Based on study results, tailored risk communication strategies were developed to these students and younger ones (at 5th grade, n=16, 10-14 years old) and evaluated through group workshop discussions. Data was transcribed and categorized using Content Analysis. Results: Teenagers were able identify safe and unsafe working practices, but most agreed that unsafe practices are utilized by them and their parents. Students relied more on parent's information on the subject than those discussed at school. Children respond more effectively to the risk communication strategy (activities based on a comic book reading) than teenagers. The use of real life situations, attractive layout and use of comic books were identified as positive aspects, while teenagers found the messages infantile. Conclusions: Data suggests that gaps exist between messages learned in school and its adaptation to the reality of work. Tailored risk communication strategies are effective when age adjusted. One might conclude that youth in the community are still a vulnerable group, regardless of the continued efforts by their teachers.

Survey of Safety Practices among Hospital Laboratories in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Unsafe working practices, working environments, disposable waste products, and chemicals in clinical laboratories contribute to infectious and non-infectious hazards. Staffs, the community, and patients are less safe. Furthermore, such practices compromise the quality of laboratory services. We conducted a study to describe safety practices in public hospital laboratories of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. Randomly selected ten public hospital laboratories in Oromia Regional State were studied from Oct 2011- Feb 2012. Self-administered structured questionnaire and observation checklists were used for data collection. The respondents were heads of the laboratories, senior technicians, and safety officers. The questionnaire addressed biosafety label, microbial hazards, chemical hazards, physical/mechanical hazards, personal protective equipment, first aid kits and waste disposal system. The data was analyzed using descriptive analysis with SPSS version16 statistical software. All of the respondents reported none of the hospital laboratories were labeled with the appropriate safety label and safety symbols. These respondents also reported they may contain organisms grouped under risk group IV in the absence of microbiological safety cabinets. Overall, the respondents reported that there were poor safety regulations or standards in their laboratories. There were higher risks of microbial, chemical and physical/mechanical hazards. Laboratory safety in public hospitals of Oromia Regional State is below the standard. The laboratory workers are at high risk of combined physical, chemical and microbial hazards. Prompt recognition of the problem and immediate action is mandatory to ensure safe working environment in health laboratories.

Survey of Safety Practices among Hospital Laboratories in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Background: Unsafe working practices, working environments, disposable waste products, and chemicals in clinical laboratories contribute to infectious and non-infectious hazards. Staffs, the community, and patients are less safe. Furthermore, such practices compromise the quality of laboratory services. We conducted a study to describe safety practices in public hospital laboratories of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia.Method: Randomly selected ten public hospital laboratories in Oromia Regional State were studied from Oct 2011- Feb 2012. Self-administered structured questionnaire and observation checklists were used for data collection. The respondents were heads of the laboratories, senior technicians, and safety officers. The questionnaire addressed biosafety label, microbial hazards, chemical hazards, physical/mechanical hazards, personal protective equipment, first aid kits and waste disposal system. The data was analyzed using descriptive analysis with SPSS version16 statistical software.Result: All of the respondents reported none of the hospital laboratories were labeled with the appropriate safety label and safety symbols. These respondents also reported they may contain organisms grouped under risk group IV in the absence of microbiological safety cabinets. Overall, the respondents reported that there were poor safety regulations or standards in their laboratories. There were higher risks of microbial, chemical and physical/mechanical hazards.Conclusion: Laboratory safety in public hospitals of Oromia Regional State is below the standard. The laboratory workers are at high risk of combined physical, chemical and microbial hazards. Prompt recognition of the problem and immediate action is mandatory to ensure safe working environment in health laboratories.Keywords: laboratory safety, district hospital, Oromia Region

Adverse Health Effects of Organophosphate Pesticides among Occupationally Exposed Farm Sprayers: A Case Study of Bhopal Madhya Pradesh, India.

India being an agricultural land, pesticides consumption causes a serious environmental and public health problem. Due to the steep competition and a large demand, many farmers are resorting to extensive and rather over use of organophosphate pesticides to increase their agricultural yields. The sprayers who are involved in the spraying activity of pesticides in fields get the direct exposure of pesticides due to unsafe and non-preventive work practices. They do not use the safety masks, gloves and other protective gears during the spraying of pesticides which results into the access of pesticides in the blood stream through inhalation and dermal exposure which can adversely affect their eyes, skin and the respiratory system. In the present study relationship between the extent of pesticide used and signs and symptoms of illnesses due to exposure among spray farmers of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh India, who sprayed pesticides by themselves and therefore were directly exposed to pesticides were assessed. 105 spray farmers were interviewed using previously designed questionnaires during a cross sectional survey. The 18 months exposed spray farmers reported maximum acute signs and symptoms like burning/stinging of eyes (18.42%), blurred vision (23.68%), skin redness/itching (50%), excessive sweating/shortness of breath (34.2%), dry sore throat (21.05%) and burning of nose (28.9%). The signs and symptoms were found to be duration dependent among the sprayers. It is concluded that there is need for creating more awareness among the farm sprayers and authorities in implementing and ensuring the use of protective gear while handling pesticides.

0057 Qualitative findings from a safety communication and recognition program on safety awareness and teambuilding in construction

ObjectivesTo qualitatively explore the impact of a safety communication and recognition program (“B-SAFE”) on safety attitudes and beliefs among construction workers.MethodB-SAFE consisted of weekly, detailed feedback to foremen and workers...

Contractor-, steward-, and coworker-safety practice: associations with musculoskeletal pain and injury-related absence among construction apprentices

This paper sought to assess organizational safety practices at three different levels of hierarchical workplace structure and to examine their association with injury outcomes among construction apprentices. Using a cross-sectional sample of 1,775 construction apprentices, three measures of organizational safety practice were assessed: contractor-, steward-, and coworker-safety practice. Each safety practice measure was assessed using three similar questions (i.e., on-the-job safety commitment, following required or recommended safe work practices, and correcting unsafe work practices); the summed average of the responses ranged from 1 to 4, with a higher score indicating poorer safety practice. Outcome variables included the prevalence of four types of musculoskeletal pain (i.e., neck, shoulder, hand, and back pain) and injury-related absence. In adjusted analyses, contractor-safety practice was associated with both hand pain (OR: 1.27, 95 % CI: 1.04, 1.54) and back pain (OR: 1.40, 95 % CI: 1.17, 1.68); coworker-safety practice was related to back pain (OR: 1.42, 95 % CI: 1.18, 1.71) and injury-related absence (OR: 1.36, 95 % CI: 1.11, 1.67). In an analysis that included all three safety practice measures simultaneously, the association between coworker-safety practice and injury-related absence remained significant (OR: 1.68, 95 % CI: 1.20, 2.37), whereas all other associations became non-significant. This study suggests that organizational safety practice, particularly coworker-safety practice, is associated with injury outcomes among construction apprentices.

Emotional exhaustion and medication administration work-arounds

Burnout is very common and has significant negative outcomes for both nurses and patients. However, this literature has only recently begun to address the processes that explain why health care provider burnout leads to negative patient outcomes. This article extends that literature by examining how satisfaction with work processes impacts the link between nurse burnout and work-arounds. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between emotional exhaustion and potentially unsafe work practices (work-arounds) in the context of nursing administration of medication. The data were collected using online survey software and pencil-and-paper surveys returned directly to the researchers. The study was conducted among nurses in 2 acute care hospitals in the Midwestern United States. For one of the samples, data on work-arounds were provided by the nurses' supervisors. For the other sample, data were collected at a 6-month interval. The survey included measures of emotional exhaustion (the Maslach Burnout Inventory), work-arounds, and nurse satisfaction with medication administration processes. We found that exhaustion was associated with greater use of work-arounds of medication administration processes. We also found that when nurses were more satisfied with the medication administration process, exhausted nurses were less likely to engage in work-arounds. The findings suggest that although exhaustion in nurses can lead to potentially unsafe practices, satisfaction with the work process can either exacerbate or reduce the problem.

The attitudes of Australian radiography students towards the use of assistive transfer devices to reduce biomechanical stress in the clinical setting

The duties performed by radiographers, which includes transferring patients onto and off the examination table, can increase their risk of developing back and neck pain. This study used a survey to identify the assistive transfer devices Australian radiography undergraduate students are familiar with and have had practise using in the clinical setting. It also sought to determine whether students are being encouraged by other radiographers to use these devices during clinical training and if they would conform to practicing unsafe transfers if instructed to by senior staff.Results indicated that radiography students were familiar with the majority of the surveyed assistive devices such as the Patslide and X-ray cassette slider. Many of the students were unlikely to participate in unsafe work practices and were able to provide alternative methods of transferring patients. However, some of the respondents could be coerced into participating in unsafe patient transfers. Radiographers should therefore be vigilant in refraining from practicing unsafe transfer techniques as it could lead to students believing it is acceptable and emulating these practices in the work place.

Worker’s Competency and Perception toward Safety and Health on Forest Harvesting Operation in Indonesian Long Rotation Plantation

Despite of prevention measures such as government regulations and recommendations through technical and managerial researches, unsafe working practices are still a common practice in Indonesia's forestry work, especially in tree harvesting operation. In order to determine competency level of both field supervisor and workers as a baseline in developing participatory occupational safety and health (OSH) protection program, a previously developed competency assessing instrument has been modified. Further, the redesigned instrument was used to verify competency level of field supervisor and forestry workers (chainsawman, hauling workers, and truck drivers) from 6 different forest sites with similar working method. Results showed that both group of respondents had overestimated their competency level in practical aspect, indicated by the gap existence between OSH self-perception value and the standard-based assessment value. The gap significantly occurred in knowledge, skill, and attitude elements; however working attitudes rest in the worst level. This finding then indicated that improving working attitude should be taken as the goal priority in the OSH protection programs in Indonesia. In short, when the discussion is pointed to practical activities, OSH protection program should adapt such strategies which put serious consideration on control mechanism.

Factors influencing the decision to engage in unsafe work practices: an air freight case study

BackgroundThe air freight work environment contains hazards that constantly need to be monitored and mitigated by safe work practices. As well as the risks posed by manual handling tasks, workers...

Debra R. Comer and Gina Vega (eds.): Moral Courage in Organizations: Doing the Right Thing at Work

Having read the late Rushworth Kidder’s (2005) book, Moral Courage: Taking Action When Your Values are Put to the Test, and having taught business ethics courses for several years, I undertook reviewing Comer and Vega’s edited ‘‘Moral Courage in Organizations: Doing the Right Thing at Work’’ wondering if it would provide any new insights into this complex construct. Indeed—for me—it does, and much more. Well suited as a supplemental text for semester-long courses in ethics, morality, principled leadership, and related courses, this well-edited and eclectic text is a worthwhile read. In addition to students benefiting from individual chapters as homework assignments for in-class dialogue and debate, I also easily can envision instructors and ethics workshop trainers applying selected sections as provocative in-session discussion material. With an easy-on-the-wallet price point for both e-text and paper versions, I plan to use it in my graduate and undergraduate business ethics courses. As with all edited books, the authors of the book’s fifteen chapters offer unique styles, approaches, contexts, anecdotes, and angles of expertise. From my perspective, nearly every chapter will serve to clarify and enrich readers’ understanding of this all-too-rare ‘‘moral courage’’ phenomenon. Moreover, I believe readers who process its messages deeply may even be emboldened to undertake courageous moral action when warranted. Indeed, one of the book’s strengths is the convincing case made that moral courage is a worthwhile and learnable skill—albeit, difficult to learn and act on. If moral courage is so valuable, why doesn’t it come naturally to us social beings? Part of the challenge, according to noted ethics scholar Moses Pava in the book’s Foreword, is that most of us are constrained by an instinctively selfish, me-first, you-second nature. Such a protect-self-first inclination makes it difficult to act on others’ behalf when there are potential costs to oneself for doing so—and, in moral situations, there are almost always costs. Workers typically can easily identify the potential costs to self about, for instance, questioning privacy breaches, confronting a harsh boss, speaking out about unsafe work practices, and commencing dialogue about perceived pay and promotion inequities. Yet, have we not learned the costs of not moving beyond selfish concerns? As even the most casual news reader knows, the failure of insiders to summon the courage to effectively confront massive ethical breaches at some of the largest global companies—for example, at Lehman Brothers, MF Global Holdings, and Olympus Corp.—has resulted in severely tarnished reputations, plummeting shareholder wealth, and job losses at all organizational levels. For many of us, organizational life has become much too individualistic, competitive, and—to paraphrase Thomas Hobbes (1651) in Leviathan— ‘‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.’’ Can such selfishness be sustainable? As a remedy and helpful springboard to the current book, Pava offers the ominously titled, ‘‘The Need to Overcome Self.’’ Pava’s musings offer a helpful precursor to much of what follows in this book— how we can overcome our instinctively self-protective selves to act in ways that will be evaluated later as sensitive, caring, fair, and right—even courageous. This fifteen-chapter book has five sections—beginning with three chapters that make clear ‘‘The Organizational Pressures That Make Moral Courage Necessary.’’ Al Gini starts off this section with several compelling assertions, R. W. Kolodinsky (&) Management Department, Gilliam Center for Ethical Business Leadership, College of Business, James Madison University, MSC 0206, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA e-mail: kolodirw@jmu.edu

Pesticide application and health hazards: implications for farmers and the environment

This study investigated unsafe work practices, health hazards, and the association between pesticide residues with environmental problems in six communities in the largest vegetable producing province in the Philippines. Tools used were a structured questionnaire encompassing the work exposure assessment of 542 farmers engaged in vegetable production. The majority of the farmers were pyrethroid users, followed by users of organophosphate and then carbamate. The risk factors noted in the study were use of incomplete personal protective equipment, wiping sweat with a piece of residue‐contaminated fabric, re‐entering recently sprayed area, dermal contact with spills from leakage of backpack sprayers, and other spills while mixing pesticides. Organophosphate use was significantly associated with the symptom of skin itchiness (r = 0.74). The study showed that farmers used unsafe work practices and were exposed to health hazards related to pesticide use. Pesticide use should be governed by standards for occupational exposure and environmental health.

Occupational Safety of Farmers in the Vegetable Industry

This study aimed to determine unsafe farming practices, nonergonomically designed equipment, and possible adverse health effects of pesticide exposure. Data were gathered with a structured survey, physical examination and blood extraction. Environmental monitoring was done for vegetables to determine multipesticide residue. Forty-eight percent of respondents reported feeling sick because of work. Vegetable residue was found in 16.67% of the samples. Vegetable profenofos of ~1 mg exceeded the necessary average daily intake of a maximum of 0.006 mg. Data also showed nonergonomically designed tools and unsafe work practices that increased pesticide exposure such as re-entering recently sprayed areas, a damaged backpack sprayer, spills during spraying, and no ventilation in greenhouses.

Malaysian wooden furniture industry: study of safety standards, compliance and consequential implications

The improvement of health and safety standards within the organisational context is an important issue of global concern. The traditional approach to managing workplace safety in Malaysia has focused on the technical aspects of engineering systems and processes, and it has attributed the majority of workplace accidents and injuries to unsafe working conditions instead of the unsafe work practices of employees. However, there has been a fundamental shift in the safety management research carried out in many countries and across diverse industries, which aims to measure the impact of attitudinal, organisational, cultural and social dimensions on occupational safety. The factors affecting the safety level in the Malaysian wooden furniture industry was studied in 30 wooden furniture manufacturing factories, using a structured questionnaire. The study found that although there were four determinants of the prevailing safety climate in the work environment, it was the management responsibility and safety precautions that had the strongest influence on safety climate. Further, the primary health and safety concerns among workers in the wooden furniture manufacturing industry were the air-borne dust, noise, chemical exposure, materials handling and occupational accidents. In this context, it is essential for the management to show commitment towards health and safety and incorporate safety precautions into the operational system, to ensure a safe working environment in the wooden furniture manufacturing industry. Further, in order to improve the safety level within the wooden furniture industry, the economics and policies that govern the implementation of safety and health precautions must be emphasised, as the wooden furniture industry is a cost sensitive industry.

Occupational safety in China: Safety climate and its influence on safety-related behavior

The improvement of health and safety standards within the organizational context is an important issue of global concern. China’s occupational health and safety (OHS) has increasingly drawn national and international attention as it has not kept pace with its globalization of production and trade. The traditional approach to managing workplace safety in China has focused on the technical aspects of engineering systems and processes, and it has attributed the majority of workplace accidents and injuries to unsafe working conditions instead of the unsafe work practices of employees. However, there has been a fundamental shift in the safety management research carried out in many countries and across diverse industries, which aims to measure the impact of attitudinal, organizational, cultural, and social dimensions on occupational safety. This article examines the relationship between safety climate and safety-related behavior in the Chinese context and draws implications for the management of occupational safety in China.

Hospital Safety Climate, Psychosocial Risk Factors and Needlestick Injuries in Japan

To investigate the interactions between safety climate, psychosocial issues and Needlestick and Sharps Injuries (NSI), a cross-sectional study was undertaken among nurses at a university teaching hospital in Japan (89% response rate). NSI were correlated with various aspects of hospital safety climate including supporting one another at work, the protection of staff against blood-borne diseases being a high management priority, managers doing their part to protect staff from blood-borne disease, having unsafe work practices corrected by supervisors, having the opportunity to use safety equipment to protect against blood-borne disease exposures, having an uncluttered work area, and having minimal conflict within their department. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated the importance of hospital safety climate in Japanese health care practice, particularly its relationship with NSI. Although the provision of safer devices remains critical in preventing injuries, ensuring a positive safety climate will also be essential in meeting these important challenges for nurses' occupational health.