Anand Moteelal

2013030872
Safety Management II
OSH 220

Table of Contents

Introduction Page 1
Issues Page 3

Commitment Page 3

Dangerous Work Tasks and Practices

Communication

Hazard Identification Page 4

Knowledge, Competence and Training

Solution

Page 3

Page 4

Page 4

Page 5

Work Health and Safety Performance

Low-Probability / High-Consequence Industries

Factors Contributing to Safety Culture

Leadership Support

Management Commitment

Safety Management System Page 9

Conclusion

Page 10

References

Page 12

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7
Page 8

Page 5

Anand Moteelal
2013030872
Safety Management II
OSH 220

INTRODUCTION
The responsibility of every organization is to provide good working conditions and
environment for employees devoid of risks, hazards, and diseases. Apart from the obvious ethical
responsibility which gives rise to this position, there is also the view that there is a connection
between the way a firm treats its employees and the way employees subsequently treat
customers. This view is consistent with the cardinal assumption of the enlightened value
maximization theory that improving employee wellbeing results in sustained long-term social
relations and long term value for practicing firms. Today, employee health and safety as a
corporate social responsibility (CSR) has received little attention. Perhaps, employers are usually
interested in investing in equipment, machines, cars and factories to the neglect of the key
asset of their organizations; the human resources. Although these investments are important,
employee health and safety is vital if other investments are to yield greater results.
Organizational growth, profitability and survival result in positive organisational citizenship
behaviours which are determined by unquestionable health and safety practices. Several studies
have shown that, there is little or no attention to employee health and safety. These research
findings suggest that millions of employees are victims of industrial accidents, hazards and
diseases (Adebiyi and Owaba, 2009). Statistical findings indicate that, in the United State of
America, there are about 6,500 fatalities and 9 million disabling injuries per a year (Roland and
Moriarty, 1990). In the United Kingdom, 1.6 million injury accidents and 27 million non-injury
accidents are recorded annually (Phelps, 1999). In Australia, the 2002 and 2004 figures suggest
that fatalities were 2.6 per 100,000 employees while the injury rate was 2.7 per 1,000 employees
(NIOSH, 2004). In India, overall injury rate was 1.25 per 1,000 workers per year (Goodchild,
Mohan, 2008), and 37 per cent of all reported accidents in Lebanon are industrial or work-related
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(Fayad et al., 2003). In the Latin America and Caribbean region, the number is as high as 13.5
per 100,000 workers. Also, it is 34 per 100,000 workers in the Republic of Korea and 140 per
1,000 of reported accidents in Iran (Roudsari and Ghodsi, 2005). In Finland, 20,016
hospitalizations for work-related injuries were recorded between 1990 and 1999 (Mattila et al.,
2006). In France, 862,500 occupational accidents including 1,597 fatalities were recorded in the
year 2000 (Fadier and Garza, 2006). The above statistics indicate that employees in both
developed and developing countries are exposed to diverse and considerable risk of industrial
accidents, hazards, diseases, and death. Indeed, it appears that many employers do not realize
that protecting employees health and safety is their corporate social responsibility (Montero et
al., 2009).
However, with the increasing globalization and trade liberalization in most developing
economies, there is the need to put in place systems and structures that protect employees in
every industry. Recently, employee health and safety issues in the country seem worrying, as
employees complain about lack of effective policies, programmes, and practices that protect their
well-being. Unfortunately, there is lack of adequate occupational health and safety infrastructures
and database accounting system for industrial accidents, injuries and diseases (Ministry of Health
Report, 2007). Besides these national challenges, most industries also fail in this regards. Most
industries cannot boost of effective health and safety systems and structures. Consequently,
employee health and safety may be compromised. Moreover, only few multinational mining
firms have employee health and safety management systems in place to the neglect of
manufacturing industries (Li and Wonham, 1999).These occupational health and safety issues
should raise questions of major concern.

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ISSUES
Commitment
Research in the manufacturing industry showed that managers were not always committed to
managing safety issues because of their minor involvement in decisions that affected safety
(Holmes, Lingard, Yesilyurt, De Munk, 1999). Insufficient commitment to improving safety
performance is more common with smaller industries, which usually place less priority on safety
than larger industries (Wilson, Koehn, 2000). In some industries, safety problems may arise
because employees work under the supervision of several managers responsible for different
sectors. In fact, it is also possible that no supervisors have been assigned or they are not present
(Lind, Nenonen, 2008).
Dangerous Work Tasks and Practices
In many manufacturing industries there are tasks that are considered dangerous. In fact, a
great proportion of work tasks, e.g., in the chemical industry, involve more risks and may even
be performed in poorer conditions than those performed by the employees of other industries
(Blank, Andersson, Lindn, Nilsson, 1995). Consequently, high-risk tasks increase accident
proneness. Also, unfamiliar work tasks and worksites, along with unawareness of the hazards
they involve, may increase the temptation to take shortcuts and use dangerous working practices
(Beale, 2003). In addition, the pressure of tight time frames can cause workers to work in a hurry
and even to violate safety instructions (Mayhew, Quinlan, 1999).

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Communication
In shared worksites, breaks in the information flow commonly occur, e.g., because
performers sometimes overlook sharing information with their partners. If information does not
reach all employees, the general view and the importance of an individuals safety performance
may remain unclear (Lind, Nenonen, 2008).
Hazard Identification
According to Mynttinens (2006) study on food industry companies, most companies identify
hazards for tasks performed by their employees, but they rarely discuss theme. Trethewy,
Atkinson and Falls (2003) found that the construction business assessed their tasks more rarely
because most of them did not have adequate resources, competence or willingness to control
hazards systematically. Another factor hindering proper hazard identification, identified in the
chemical industry, is that companies do not have reliable and comprehensive data on the
accidents and injuries in worksites because customers rarely compile statistics on accidents
involving their providers (Kochan, Smith, Wells, Rebitzer, 1994).
Knowledge, Competence and Training
Studies of high-risk environments showed problems with competence and training.
Employees of some industries do not have knowledge and experience of work tasks or a worksite
equivalent to the companys own employees (Luttkus, 2002). Moreover, some employees are
often younger and have had less safety training than employees of customer company (Rousseau,
Libuser, 1997). They have inadequate understanding of a worksite, operational safety
requirements and industries practices and procedures (Clarke, 2003). In the construction

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industry, many managers do not provide prework safety training to providers employees but
leave it as an on-the-job learning exercise (Wilson, Koehn, 2000).
SOLUTION
Work Health and Safety Performance
Many studies that presented objective performance data related to work health and safety
(WHS) performance, primarily focusing on reducing occupational injuries to workers in
manufacturing, construction and chemical industries. Of these studies, the majority demonstrated
significant positive effects with respect to dimensions of Safety Management Systems (SMS). A
number of studies found general relationships between safety management systems
implementation and safety performance. In fact, one study found that individual attitudes
mediate the relationship between management and accident occurrence, and specifically that
individual responsibility and personal involvement were the most proximate factors which
influenced accident involvement (Toms, Cheyne, & Oliver, 2011). Of these, two studies, in
manufacturing and chemical industries found that those companies who had a certified safety
management systems, had significantly lower accident rates (Chang & Liang, 2009; Vinodkumar
& Bhasi, 2011).
Low-Probability / High-Consequence Industries
Several studies explored the relationships between components of safety management
systems and safety performance in the context of major hazard facilities. The first of these
studies from an oil refinery environment established a relationship between self-reported safety
performance and the two components of 1. management commitment; and 2. safety
communication. A second study, undertaken by the same authors found 1. supervision; 2. safety
reporting; and 3. team collaboration as the immediate drivers of safe work practices (S. H. Hsu,
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Lee, Wu, & Takano, 2010). Slightly different findings were obtained in another study, whereby 1.
management commitment; and 2. safety rules and procedures were found to be directly
associated with safe work practices in major hazard facilities in India (Vinodkumar & Bhasi,
2010). One study was clearly notable as an exception to the general findings in support of safety
management systems. This study found that safety behaviour was influenced by safety policy
and perceived supervisor behaviour rather than other components of safety management systems.
They eloquently conclude that companies should invest large amounts of money in developing
and implementing safety rules, procedures, and training (Lu & Tsai, 2010).
Factors Contributing to Safety Culture
Some researchers have identified key factors that contribute to safety culture such as
management (Cox & Cheyne, 2000), individual and behavioral (Cooper, 2000), workers
knowledge on safety (Williamson, Feyer, Cairns, Biancotti, 1997), and person, behavior and
environment (Geller, 1996). As such, it is proposed that the manufacturing industry needs to
focus on leadership support, management commitment and safety management system.
Leadership support and management commitment are essential in instilling a positive safety
culture by providing resources, motivation, direction and recognition which will eventually
reduce workplace accidents. On the other hand, a safety management system will offer a
complete structure to the organization to implement safety practices systematically. By looking at
these selected factors, a theoretical framework needs to be established to indicate the influence of
leadership support, management commitment and safety management system towards safety
culture.

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Leadership Support
Researchers have identified many factors that could contribute to the development of safety
culture. Lee and Harrison (2000) interpret safety culture as a result of multiple interactions
between people, functions and organizations. In the process of interaction, personal attitudes and
behaviors are able to determine the acceptability or violation of safety rules that could eventually
affect the function and physical environment of the organization. Workers with risk taking
behavior generally have the tendency to break safety rules in an occupational setting. It is evident
that those with risk behaviors are the ones with lesser leadership support (Vries & Lechner,
2000).
Leadership support is an important element to form the foundation of safety culture. Safety
managers must believe that workplace safety is a value to the organization. It is indeed a shared
organizational value that fostering workers ownership of safety without compromising quality
or productivity of the organization. In fact, workplace safety improves productivity as workers
perform their duties in a hazard free working environment. Therefore, managers at all levels need
to demonstrate their support especially in participating in safety activities. They should look into
the workers feedback seriously to elevate the safety standard in the organization. They have to
lead all safety initiatives by personally being involved in safety meetings. They should not stay
in the office and read safety report. Managers participation in safety programs is crucial to show
that they are always behind the workers in providing support and motivation.
It is also important that management learn how to appreciate and commend their workers in
relation to safety. Recognition can be done in the form of awarding certificate of appreciation to
the workers. Such recognition could make them more self-motivated and wanting to do their best

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in every aspect of safety. As explained by self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), a
psychological process is involved in the acceptance of new values. Therefore, leadership support
is essential in promoting safety culture because it makes everyone feels that safety is everyones
responsibilities from top to bottom in the organization.
Management Commitment
To develop a safety culture in the manufacturing industry, high visibility of management
commitment to safety is required. Management must be sensitive towards safety issues and
committed to challenge unsafe behaviors without fail. Safety managers must personally join the
safety meeting to resolve safety issues. Proactive discussion about safety should take place
during meeting to better understand the risks and hazards in the workplace. Feedback
mechanisms must be established to ensure actions have been taken to eliminate the hazards.
Top Management presence at the production floor through periodical safety tours sends a
strong message that they are committed to place safety as top priority. In addition, it shows that
management is leading by example and walks the talk with regard to workplace safety. In order
to show that management is fully committed to safety, workplace safety should be addressed as
one of the corporate values. When safety becomes a corporate value, it will be considered in the
organization business strategy and tactical decisions. Thus, safety will be embedded in the
organization with the support of corporate decisions. To date, management commitment has been
recognized as a key factor of a successful organizational safety culture.
Visible management commitment to safety generally creates positive safety atmosphere at
the workplace. If management does not support safety, it would be difficult for the rest to enforce
safety in the organization. If we compare safety with other business elements such as production,
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quality and engineering, safety may not be the focus in our daily operation. Therefore,
management plays an important role in establishing objectives which they place safety as value
of the organization. If safety is not a value in the organization, it may only be noticeable when an
accident or incident is recorded. Hence, in the process of promoting safety culture, management
should use a combination of influence and tactics to drive the entire organization (Clarke &
Ward, 2006). It would be excellent if management is committed by viewing safety as important
as the organization business objectives.
Safety Management System
Manufacturing industry should have a safety management system in place for effective
handling and management of all safety-related issues. A safety management system shall consist
of safety elements which are essential in managing risks. It should provide planning,
implementing and control with regard to safety at different stages and functionalities in the
organization. All the employees at different levels have the responsibility to participate in safety
programs as stated in the safety management system. Generally, the programs shall cover the
entire organization and require the employees to involve in activities such as hazard
identification and risk assessment. These activities act as an initial step to initiate safety
reporting.
This systematic approach establishes safety awareness among employees through selfinvolvement. To reap extra benefits in creating safety culture, safety management system needs
to instill employees willingness to be involved in safety. It has to make all the employees aware
that whenever they perform safety practices, not because they have to do it but because they
want to do it. Only that, their safety involvement will become more meaningful. A matured

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safety management system will lay a foundation to ensure that safety values are fully internalized
as safety beliefs. Training and communication in the safety management system are important
elements to transform safety values to safety beliefs. Effective training engages employees in
safety activities and improves the organizations safety culture (Williams, 2003). Safety trainings
should not stop at any point of time and it shall be conducted continually when there is a safety
alert. Indeed, safety training provides knowledge and competency to deal with risks in the
workplace.
On the other hand, communication provides safety information and updates about safety
performance of the organization. Giving, receiving and sharing safety information assist in
preventing accidents by providing precautionary actions against unsafe behaviors. Regular
communication will establish common understandings about safety and contribute towards an
effective safety management system. It is believed that safety management system will
ultimately contribute towards the organizations safe work culture.
CONCLUSION
Today the manufacturing industry has become an important sector in promoting the
economic growth of many nations. However, the accident cases in the manufacturing sector are
always higher than other sectors most of the time. In order to reduce these accident cases, safety
culture is the long term solution that creates consistent patterns of safety behaviors, beliefs and
values in the organization and should not focus only on safety compliance but transforming
safety values into safety beliefs in the organization. Therefore, it is imperative to promote a safe
work culture that will increase its productivity and enable the industry to compete under various
market conditions. In other words, safety culture should be given equal attention like other

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important elements such as quality and productivity. Communication and training should be in
place to drive the change process towards a common understanding of safety culture and achieve
its objectives. If profit and loss is so crucial to a manufacturing company, safety should be
treated as crucial as profit and loss because it can determine the success or failure of an
organization. Therefore, in order to realize a safe work culture, the combination of leadership
support, management commitment and effective safety management system are vital in
achieving the real change.

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Anand Moteelal
2013030872
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OSH 220

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