Predict to Prevent

Predict to Prevent

Onlangs deed een studente van de Twente Universiteit met Salmay communicatie een afstudeeronderzoek naar het voorspellen van veilig gedrag. De vraag was: draagt kennis over veiligheid bij aan veiliger gedrag? We vonden een klant, een internationaal opererend voedingsproductiebedrijf, bereid om dat onderzoek te faciliteren.

ABSTRACT


Aim of the study
: Workplace accidents, injuries and illnesses continue to be a significant problem in organizations. To manage safety performance in a proactive way, there is a need to know which factors influence workplace safety – and to which extent. Therefore, this study has developed and evaluated a model of Safety Performance Behavior.

Method: A questionnaire was conducted among permanent and temporary employees of a major manufacturer of infant formula. A total of 160 employees participated in this study. To test the hypotheses, multiple linear regression analyses were performed. Moderator analyses were performed to examine the influence of the moderators. Independent-samples t-tests and ANOVA’s were conducted to compare scores between different groups.

Results: Safety Knowledge, Safety Motivation and Safety Leadership were found to have a significant impact on Safety Performance Behavior and Safety Compliance. Safety Knowledge and Safety Motivation were found to have a significant influence on Safety Participation. No significant moderating variables were found. No significant differences were found between the scores from temporary workers and permanent employees on safety performance behavior, safety compliance and safety participation. However, the quantity of safety training was significantly lower assessed by temporary workers than by permanent employees.

Conclusion and discussion: The findings of this study have important implications for practitioners. The study shows that the factors knowledge of safety, motivation for safety and job satisfaction are most relevant for creating optimal safety behavior. It is recommended that managers should think about participation as well as compliance. This study suggests it is important that employees realize that working safely really does help to reduce the number of accidents. Lastly, the limitations of this study are addressed and future study directions are discussed.