Search results

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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: 25 January 2008

Mike Pitt

The paper aims to examine health and safety of employees on the road.

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Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to examine health and safety of employees on the road.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses the safety of employees on the road.

Findings

Employees have a duty to drive safely but employers also have clear duties – not only to ensure that they do not put their people under pressure, but also to take all reasonable steps to reduce the chances of an accident occurring.

Originality/value

The paper provides useful advice on the safety of employees on the road.

Details

Human Resource Management International Digest, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0967-0734

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 January 2012

Laura Seibokaite and Aukse Endriulaitiene

The purpose of this paper is to combine individual (personality traits and profiles) and organizational (perceived safety climate and work motivation) factors and look for a model…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to combine individual (personality traits and profiles) and organizational (perceived safety climate and work motivation) factors and look for a model that explains safety performance in a sample of professional drivers. The authors hypothesize that the effect of personality on risky driving is moderated by perceived organizational safety climate and work motivation.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample consisted of 166 professional drivers (males). The subjects completed the self‐reported questionnaire that consisted of the Big Five Inventory, Driver Behaviour Questionnaire, Work motivation and Safety Climate Questionnaires. Cross‐sectional methodology, analysis of variance, cluster analysis and structural equation modeling were used to predict the relationships between personality traits, organizational factors, and risky driving.

Findings

The results revealed that personality profile is very important in occupational setting, predicting work motivation, perceived safety climate in organization as well as risky or safe driving. Results encourage making a conclusion that “socially oriented” drivers drive less riskily if they have higher levels of work motivation and the perception of organizational climate being safe. “Emotionally unstable” professional drivers are probably driven by neuroticism and are non‐responsive to organizational factors.

Research limitations/implications

The design does not allow making causal statements. In addition, the sample is quite small and may not be representative. Self‐report data may bias the results due to social desirability or lack of experience in self‐reflection.

Practical implications

The results of the present investigation have expanded understanding of the role of personality and organizational interaction in predicting occupational safety of professional drivers. The main implication for practitioners is to develop such selection procedures that could identify drivers with safe driving personalities.

Originality/value

The research contributes to the field of occupational safety by integrating individual attributes with organizational factors by providing empirical findings and theoretical interpretations.

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 12 April 2019

Abstract

Details

Traffic Safety Culture
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-617-4

Article
Publication date: 4 December 2017

Marguerite C. Sendall, Phil Crane, Laura McCosker, Marylou Fleming, Herbert C. Biggs and Bevan Rowland

Workplaces are challenging environments which place workers at the risk of obesity. This is particularly true for Australian road transport industry workplaces. The Analysis Grid…

Abstract

Purpose

Workplaces are challenging environments which place workers at the risk of obesity. This is particularly true for Australian road transport industry workplaces. The Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO) framework is a public health tool which can be used to conceptualise obesogenic environments. It suggests that workplaces have a variety of roles (in the physical, economic, political and sociocultural domains) in responding to obesity in transport industry workplaces. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings which explore this idea.

Design/methodology/approach

The project used a mixed-methods approach located within a participatory action research framework, to engage workplace managers and truck drivers in the implementation and evaluation of workplace health promotion strategies. The project involved six transport industry workplaces in Queensland, Australia.

Findings

This study found that transport industry workplaces perceive themselves to have an important role in addressing the physical, economic, political and sociocultural aspects of obesity, as per the ANGELO framework. However, transport industry employees – specifically, truck drivers – do not perceive workplaces to have a major role in health; rather, they consider health to be an area of personal responsibility.

Practical implications

Balancing the competing perceptions of truck drivers and workplace managers about the workplace’s role in health promotion is an important consideration for future health promotion activities in this hard-to-reach, at-risk population.

Originality/value

The use of the ANGELO framework allows the conceptualisation of obesity in a novel workplace context.

Details

International Journal of Workplace Health Management, vol. 10 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8351

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2022

Lalit Narendra Patil, Hrishikesh P. Khairnar and S.G. Bhirud

Electric vehicles are well known for a silent and smooth drive; however, their presence on the road is difficult to identify for road users who may be subjected to certain…

Abstract

Purpose

Electric vehicles are well known for a silent and smooth drive; however, their presence on the road is difficult to identify for road users who may be subjected to certain incidences. Although electric vehicles are free from exhaust emission gases, the wear particles coming out from disc brakes are still unresolved issues. Therefore, the purpose of the present paper is to introduce a smart eco-friendly braking system that uses signal processing and integrated technologies to eventually build a comprehensive driver assistance system.

Design/methodology/approach

The parameters obstacle identification, driver drowsiness, driver alcohol situation and heart rate were all taken into account. A contactless brake blending system has been designed while upgrading a rapid response. The implemented state flow rule-based decision strategy validated with the outcomes of a novel experimental setup.

Findings

The drowsiness state of drivers was successfully identified for the proposed control map and set up vindicated with the improvement in stopping time, atmospheric environment and increase in vehicle active safety regime.

Originality/value

The present study adopted a unique approach and obtained a brake blending system for improved braking performance as well as overall safety enhancement with rapid control of the vehicle.

Details

World Journal of Engineering, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1708-5284

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: 23 March 2012

Stavros Drakopoulos, Athina Economou and Katerina Grimani

The subject of occupational safety and health (OSH) is increasingly gaining the interest of policy makers and researchers in European countries given that the economic and social…

1987

Abstract

Purpose

The subject of occupational safety and health (OSH) is increasingly gaining the interest of policy makers and researchers in European countries given that the economic and social losses from work‐related injuries and diseases are quite substantial. Under this light, this paper aims to present an overview of the Greek legislation framework regarding OSH issues, and the current status of empirical research on the subject in Greece. In addition, the paper seeks to identify the knowledge gaps and methodological shortcomings of the existing literature in order to contribute towards future research in the OSH field in Greece.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted an extensive literature review of numerous publications, reports and institutions' databases.

Findings

The results suggest that empirical up to date research in Greece is rather inadequate, mainly because of the absence of econometric methods to validate the findings. The available Greek databases indicate that while the number of working accidents has decreased over time, the severity seems to be increasing. Males are more prone to accidents, diseases and negative working conditions. Work‐related stress is an aspect of occupational problems that has been the subject of many Greek studies.

Research limitations/implications

Although the legal framework is quite adequate, there is a need for both prevention strategies and enforcement of the existing safety regulations. Furthermore, a substantial research gap is observed in Greece. Therefore, more systematic research is needed on the determinants of injuries and on their effects on job participation and productivity.

Originality/value

The paper presents a detailed review of the current state of research regarding OSH issues in Greece.

Details

International Journal of Workplace Health Management, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8351

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2003

Dave Backwith and Carol Munn‐Giddings

This article relates one aspect of an action research project on work related stress and mental health problems to its wider context. It is argued that self‐help/mutual aid…

Abstract

This article relates one aspect of an action research project on work related stress and mental health problems to its wider context. It is argued that self‐help/mutual aid, including self‐management, could make an important contribution to tackling the current epidemic of work‐related stress in the UK and elsewhere. Initiatives such as the government's Work‐Life Balance campaign indicate that the policy context is appropriate. An overview of the causes, costs of, and policy responses to work‐related stress is followed by a discussion on the nature of self‐help/mutual aid and the benefits that the sharing of experiential knowledge can bring to participants. This includes a specific, structured form of self‐help: self‐management programmes as led and used by mental health user groups. We conclude that self‐help initiatives can make a valuable contribution to addressing work‐related stress if employers support them. Beyond simply ameliorating staff retention problems, the experiential learning communities that could be created could be an asset, particularly in seeking to change workplace cultures to minimise work‐related mental stresses.

Details

Journal of Public Mental Health, vol. 2 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5729

Article
Publication date: 4 April 2023

V. Jayakumar and M.N. Vinodkumar

Transport industry is one of the leading accident causing industries all around the world. Personal attributes like educational qualification, work experience, marital status…

Abstract

Purpose

Transport industry is one of the leading accident causing industries all around the world. Personal attributes like educational qualification, work experience, marital status, consumption of alcohol, hours of work of bus drivers are known to influence such accidents. In the present study, the mediating effects of Workplace spirituality (WS) among bus drivers between the personal attributes and job performance variables like self-reported accidents, punishments and appraisals are carried out.

Design/methodology/approach

A mediation analysis of WS between personal attributes and job performances of bus drivers is conducted in the present study. Since there is scarcity of studies measuring the effects of WS of bus drivers, new scale to measure WS was developed. The study was carried out in the government-owned road transport corporation in the state of Kerala, India. Responses were obtained from 617 male drivers.

Findings

Using exploratory factor analysis, four factors were identified, namely Meaningful work, Sense of Community, Mindfulness and Compassion. Confirmatory factory analysis provided good fit. The intercorrelations of personal attributes of drivers (independent variables) between WS factors (mediating variables) and job performance variables (dependent variables) were found out. Mediation analysis showed complete mediation of WS factors between marital status, alcohol consumption, hours of work and job performances like number of self-reported accidents, punishments and appraisals. The WS levels of drivers decrease significantly as working hours per goes beyond the legally allowed working hours.

Originality/value

Psychological attributes like Mindfulness, Sense of community, compassion etc. which are collectively known as WS influence the job performances of employees in other industries. Yet it is not studied in the transport industry. Hence, in the present study, the levels of WS are studied among bus drivers of government-owned road transport corporation in the State of Kerala, India.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

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