In this study, we investigate the creation of safety motivation through a safety motivation system applied in a hazardous business. This system forms upon six factors and two underlying, but equally important aspects that combined create safety motivation.
The research was conducted on SSAB, a steel manufacturing company with high safety concerns on all levels within the organization. Despite a great safety focus, SSAB shows a dissatisfying safety performance in relation to the competitors.
Safety motivation is created on both an organizational and an individual level. The problem lies in how the organization, through the managers, provides safety motivation for employees at all levels in order to attain the organization’s safety goals.
The employees must be encouraged by the organization to participate in the safety work and comply with the safety goals, standards and procedures due to the positive effects safety participation and safety compliance has on safety motivation. Employees are the organization’s last barrier against risks and accidents and their behavior is critical for avoiding personal harm and material damage.
In accordance to our safety motivation system of what creates safety motivation, all of the overlying individual and organizational factors that create safety motivation will affect the aspects of safety participation and safety compliance. If one or both of these aspects are low, the safety motivation will be poor. These two aspects combined create a synergy effect that increases safety motivation. Safety participation can to some extent be controlled by rules and regulation but never safety compliance; which was demonstrated at our case company SSAB.
Source: Linköping University
Authors: Andersson, Victoria | Paqarizi, Ilir