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Article
Publication date: 14 May 2021

Ahmad Ghaith, Huimin Ma and Ashraf W. Labib

High-reliability performance and high-hazard are intertwined in High-Reliability Organizations (HROs) operations; these organizations are highly safe, highly hazardous and highly…

Abstract

Purpose

High-reliability performance and high-hazard are intertwined in High-Reliability Organizations (HROs) operations; these organizations are highly safe, highly hazardous and highly significant for the modern society, not only for the valuable resources they have, but also the indispensable services they provide. This research intend to understand how HROs could produce high quality performance despite their challenging and demanding contexts. The research followed an emic approach to develop an organizational framework that reflects the contribution of the seeming traits of the organizations to the operations safety based on the workers point of views about the safety of workstations.

Design/methodology/approach

This research adopted mixed methods of in-depth interviews and literature review to identify the structural characteristics of high-reliability organizations (HROs) embedded in the organizations studies and developed a theoretical based structural framework for HROs. Furthermore, a systemic literature review was adopted to find the evidence from the organizations literature for the identified characteristics from the interviews from the first stage. The setting for this study is six Chinese power stations, four stations in Hubei province central China and two stations in the southern China Guangdong province.

Findings

The organizational framework is a key determinant to achieve high-reliability performance; however, solely it cannot explain how HROs manage the risks of hazard events and operate safely in high-hazard environments. High-reliability performance is attributed to the interaction between two sets of determinants of safety and hazard. The findings of this research indicate that HROs systems would be described as reliable or hazardous depending on the tightly coupled setting, complexity, bureaucracy involvement and dynamicity within the systems from one hand, and safety orientation, failure intolerance, systemwide processing, the institutional setting and the employment of redundant systems on other hand.

Originality/value

The authors developed an organizational framework of organizing the safety work in HROs. The applied method of interviewing and literature review was not adopted in any other researches.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 39 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 July 2019

Abdul Qayoom and Bonaventura H.W. Hadikusumo

Previous research studies have testified that safety culture positively affects safety performance. However, the progression by which safety culture affects safety performance has…

1209

Abstract

Purpose

Previous research studies have testified that safety culture positively affects safety performance. However, the progression by which safety culture affects safety performance has not yet been examined. Also, how safety culture affects the overall safety performance at different levels of the organization is yet to be explored. In order to address this issue, the purpose of this paper is to study the effect of multilevel safety culture upon safety performance over time.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual causal-loop diagram is constructed using the group model building approach to establish the relationship between safety culture components (e.g. psychological, behavioral and situational) and the factors associated with safety performance (e.g. risk level, safety behavior, unsafe conditions, unsafe acts and incident rate). Considering the dynamic nature and intricacy of the safety management system, the system dynamics approach has been employed to develop the model.

Findings

The results indicate that the safety culture at the tactical level (middle management) and operational level is much more effective than strategic level (top management) in ameliorating the safety performance of the organization.

Research limitations/implications

The scope of this study is limited to the effect of multilevel safety culture on safety performance. The focus is on the dynamics of personal, behavioral and situational factors of top management, middle management and workers to reinforce the safety performance of the organization. Future research can be protracted to build other models of safety.

Practical implications

First and foremost, the findings summarized in this paper can be implemented by organizations to achieve the total safety culture to upgrade safety performance.

Originality/value

This paper presents the holistic view of multilevel safety culture in an organization’s hierarchy. It shows how multilevel level safety culture in an organization interacts with the safety management system to enhance the safety performance of the organization.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 26 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 January 2020

Basak Yanar, Lynda S. Robson, Sabrina K. Tonima and Benjamin C. Amick III

The purpose of this paper is to use a comparative qualitative case study design to better understand how the observed characteristics of an organization correspond to their score…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use a comparative qualitative case study design to better understand how the observed characteristics of an organization correspond to their score on the organizational performance metric (IWH-OPM), a leading indicator tool designed to measure an organization’s occupational health and safety (OHS) performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Five organizations were recruited based on their diverse IWH-OPM scores obtained in a previous study. Qualitative data were collected from these cases and analyzed with consideration of OHS leadership; OHS culture and climate; employee participation in OHS; OHS policies, procedures and practices; and OHS risk control. Similarities and differences among organizations were examined in relation to these themes.

Findings

Three distinct groups of firms emerged from the cross-case analysis in terms of their overall OHS performance: high, medium and low. Higher firm IWH-OPM scores generally corresponded to better OHS performance in the workplace as observed through qualitative methods.

Originality/value

The findings are a step toward OHS leaders or practitioners eventually being able, based on an organization’s IWH-OPM score, to have a quick understanding of a workplace’s OHS status and of how best to support further improvement.

Details

International Journal of Workplace Health Management, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8351

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 12 April 2019

Darren Wishart, Bevan Rowland and Klaire Somoray

Driving for work has been identified as potentially one of the riskiest activities performed by workers within the course of their working day. Jurisdictions around the world have…

Abstract

Driving for work has been identified as potentially one of the riskiest activities performed by workers within the course of their working day. Jurisdictions around the world have passed legislation and adopted policy and procedures to improve the safety of workers. However, particularly within the work driving setting, complying with legislation and the minimum safety standards and procedures is not sufficient to improve work driving safety. This chapter outlines the manner in which safety citizenship behavior can offer further improvement to work-related driving safety by acting as a complementary paradigm to improve risk management and current models and applications of safety culture.

Research on concepts associated with risk management and theoretical frameworks associated with safety culture and safety citizenship behavior are reviewed, along with their practical application within the work driving safety setting. A model incorporating safety citizenship behavior as a complementary paradigm to safety culture is proposed. It is suggested that this model provides a theoretical framework to inform future research directions aimed at improving safety within the work driving setting.

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1996

Peter Fairbrother

The question of health and safety at work is a central issue for trade unions. In Britain it is an area of concern where there were important legislative initiatives in the 1970s…

2714

Abstract

The question of health and safety at work is a central issue for trade unions. In Britain it is an area of concern where there were important legislative initiatives in the 1970s and 1980s, although surprisingly this has received relatively little attention in the debates about trade unionism. This neglect results in an aspect of union activity about which little is known. Explores through a detailed longitudinal study of a middle‐range engineering firm, from the late 1970s into the 1990s, the ways in which trade unions organize and act on health and safety questions. Argues that it is almost “routine” that workers face dangers and hazards at work, a central feature of the work and employment experience of most workers. However, this is often difficult to deal with as individual issues, or as matters which are subject to collective consideration. On the one hand, workers often appear to accept the dangers and hazards they face. On the other hand, managements are preoccupied with questions relating to production and finance, rather than the day‐to‐day problems faced by workers. This tension suggests that the future wellbeing of workers in unionized workplaces lies not so much with legislative provisions and rights at work, but in education and the organizing ability of workplace unions, raising and addressing what often seem like individualistic problems in collective ways.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 May 2021

Mu’awiya Abubakar, Bello Mahmud Zailani, Muhammad Abdullahi and Abubakar Muhammad Auwal

Despite the efforts of organizations to improve safety performance, shortfalls of the strategies have been reported in numerous studies around the globe. However, previous studies…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the efforts of organizations to improve safety performance, shortfalls of the strategies have been reported in numerous studies around the globe. However, previous studies in countries with more organized construction sectors show that adopting a resilient safety culture by organizations has a tendency of improving safety performance. As safety culture is dynamic which differs with geographical context, the purpose of this paper is to achieve two objectives: testing the causal relationship between safety performance and resilience safety culture in the Nigerian construction environment; and determining the key components for ensuring the resilience of construction organizations with regards to safety.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative research approach was used. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. The population of the study comprises small and medium construction organizations predominantly across the Northern region in the Nigerian built environment. A total of 180 questionnaires were distributed to construction managers and safety managers in respective organizations to serve as respondents to the study. Partial least square – structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the relationship between safety performance and resilience safety culture. While principal component analysis was used determining the key components for ensuring the resilience of construction organizations with regards to safety.

Findings

Findings of this study revealed that resilient safety culture has a significantly strong positive relationship with safety performance. Safety hazard recognition and effective safety response attitude were identified as the key components for guaranteeing a resilient safety culture.

Practical implications

With a view to achieve a consistently high safety performance, organizations have to acknowledge and anticipate unexpected hazardous events and provide the necessary safety resources to manage them. Furthermore, there is also the need to create awareness on recognized safety concerns on safety hazards, coupled with a dynamic risk response attitude to ensure consistent improvement in safety performance.

Originality/value

This study presents an alternative to the slow and reactive safety culture of the Nigerian built environment. This study builds on existing literature, and the findings explore the potential impact of adopting a resilient safety culture in construction organizations in Nigeria. This study provided further insights into key factors organizations need to focus on to ensure resilient nature. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no prior study in this regard was conducted in Nigeria despite its apparent need.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology , vol. 20 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 12 April 2019

Sharon Newnam and Carlyn Muir

Road trauma remains a significant concern internationally. Traffic crashes rank within the top three leading causes of death for individuals aged between 15–44 years old, with…

Abstract

Road trauma remains a significant concern internationally. Traffic crashes rank within the top three leading causes of death for individuals aged between 15–44 years old, with nonfatal casualties occurring at around 30 times the rate of fatal incidents. Historically, road safety research has not captured factors relating to driving purpose. However, more recently, researchers have focused on the importance of driving for work. Over a third of traffic volume represents commuting or driving in the line of employment; improving workplace road safety practices represents a tangible way of reducing road trauma. This chapter considers the link between safety culture and best practice in workplace road safety. It is argued that best practice is not a term to define individual safety practices, but a system of practices that create a culture of safety. This research uses data collected on organizations workplace road safety practices within the Australian context. This data has been collected by the National Road Safety Partnership Program (NRSPP); an initiative that constitutes a network of organizations and academics working together to develop a positive road safety culture. Twenty-four case studies are presented of organizations that have implemented workplace road safety programs to improve their safe driving culture. Qualitative analysis was conducted to systematically categorize the safety initiatives and their indicators of success. Almost all case studies expressed the importance of developing a safety-first culture in the workplace. Third-party regulation, internal policy and corporate social responsibility form the foundation of workplace safety. However, it was the culture and attitude towards the safety initiatives that achieved effectiveness in the long-term. The findings of this research support the argument that best practice is best achieved when integrated within a culture that values and prioritizes safety, rather than implemented in isolation to other elements in the workplace system.

Article
Publication date: 3 July 2009

Jon Kevin Loebbaka and Alfred Lewis

Safety management systems are created by firms to insure workplace safety while managing acceptable levels of risk. Global competition and the need to assimilate new processes…

4471

Abstract

Purpose

Safety management systems are created by firms to insure workplace safety while managing acceptable levels of risk. Global competition and the need to assimilate new processes, materials, and technologies, have imparted a more immediate financial and societal imperative in identifying the firm's safety stakeholders. This research identifies a strategic framework to be used by organizations in managing their safety management systems and stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

Management's ability to organize stakeholders' demands is central to prioritizing safety knowledge and channeling that knowledge effectively through the organization. Management's safety strategy dilemma can be condensed through the optic of a knowledge‐based decision cycle. The three‐stage decision cycle developed in this research asserts that setting safety strategy is simultaneously a knowledge management challenge for the firm and a process of identifying stakeholder salience.

Findings

The safety management system model presented classifies the organization's stakeholders critical to each stage of the strategy setting process. Clarifying stakeholders' power, legitimacy, and urgency is essential in prioritizing and developing those stakeholders' safety knowledge. This decision model should improve the prospect of managers implementing successful safety management system strategies.

Originality/value

The societal and financial costs of workplace safety management system failures diminish organization's effectiveness. This model provides a new approach to implementing knowledge based safety strategies from the organization's stakeholders.

Details

Business Strategy Series, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-5637

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2017

Hadi Shirouyehzad, Farimah Mokhatab Rafiee and Negin Berjis

The purpose of this paper is to propose a method for performance assessment of organizations based on integrated approach of knowledge management and safety management using data…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a method for performance assessment of organizations based on integrated approach of knowledge management and safety management using data envelopment analysis, and the proposed model is then applied in the car industry in Isfahan province to be checked. Therefore, deficiencies can be highlighted and possible strategies can be evolved to improve the performance.

Design/methodology/approach

As data envelopment analysis is a robust mathematical tool, it has been used to evaluate organizational performance. For discovering the organizational performance of knowledge management and safety management by data envelopment analysis (DEA), the first step is to specify proper criteria. To this end, in this method, the indices in both approaches of knowledge management and safety management were identified. Then, inputs and outputs were specified. Knowledge management and safety management were determined as input indices, and customer satisfaction and accident indicators were the output indices. It is noteworthy that each output index was used one time. In the next stage, performance of organizations was assessed based on both determined approaches and via data envelopment analysis. Finally, the organizations were ranked.

Findings

The suggested method was implemented in the car industry in the Isfahan province. The obtained results disclosed that among 12 decision-making units, 4 units are efficient when customer satisfaction is the output and 5 units are efficient when accidents indices are the output. In ranking with customer satisfaction as the output, Sepahan Atlas Pump Company was ranked first via super efficiency method, data envelopment analysis and similarity to ideal solution. In ranking with accidents as the output, Sepahan Atlas Pump Company ranked first via strong efficiency method and Sanatgar Company ranked first via data envelopment analysis and similarity to ideal solution.

Originality/value

Knowledge has been recognized as one of the valuable resources, and knowledge management would greatly effect improvement of job quality. Knowledge level increase is led by better performance and less errors. Consequently, it can enhance the organizational health and safety. There are some studies which have been conducted on safety management or knowledge management performance analysis. The organizational performance evaluation based on integrated approach of knowledge management and safety management is an important issue which is less considered in theory and practice. Thus, the authors have proposed a method which is able to evaluate the organization based on this integrated approach with functional indices, which resulted in accurate results, and finally, ranking can show the organization status to determine proper strategies.

Details

Journal of Modelling in Management, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5664

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 October 2021

Shuzhen Liu, Fulei Chu, Ming Guo and Yuanyuan Liu

Workplace safety has been a persistent issue for safety-critical organizations. Based on self-verification theory, this study investigates how authentic leadership affects safety

Abstract

Purpose

Workplace safety has been a persistent issue for safety-critical organizations. Based on self-verification theory, this study investigates how authentic leadership affects safety behaviors in a collectivistic context.

Design/methodology/approach

This research collected 259 matching questionnaires for high-speed railway (HSR) drivers and their supervisors in China. Specifically, HSR drivers were invited to fill in their general perceived authentic leadership, person-organization fit and collectivistic orientation. In addition, their direct supervisors were invited to assess their safety behaviors.

Findings

Authentic leadership exhibits a significant positive impact on safety compliance and safety participation, implying that authentic leadership positively impacts safety behavior. The person-organization fit partially mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and safety behavior (safety compliance and participation). Furthermore, collectivistic orientation moderates the relationship between authentic leadership and person-organization fit.

Originality/value

The findings of this study provide important insights into authentic leadership and person-organization fit for developing effective strategies to improve workplace safety.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 42 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

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