The Role of Management Commitment in Determining the Success of a Behavioural Safety Intervention

The Role of Management Commitment in Determining the Success of a Behavioural Safety Intervention

Published in: (1998) Journal of the Institution of Occupational Safety & Health. 2(2) 45-56.

Marsh, T.W., Davies, R., Phillips, R.A., Duff, A.R., Robertson, I.T., Weyman, A & Cooper, M.D. Abstract Behavioural safety interventions were implemented in 26 building sites across the United kingdom and quantitative safety data collected for some 24 items grouped into four categories: access to heights; scaffolding; personal protective equipment PPE and housekeeping. In addition behavioural measures of site management commitment, facilitator/observer performance and goal-setting quality were taken over the full duration of the research. All three of these measures were found to correlate positively with improved safety performance. Management commitment was the most significant. Further regression analysis suggested that management commitment was the underlying causal factor in all of these relationships and that both quality of goal-setting and facilitator performance were greatly influenced and significantly determined by management commitment levels. Keywords: Behavioural, commitment, construction, feedback, goal-setting, safety. Introduction Too often safety interventions in organisations occur in response to a specific, often major, accident or injury. Unfortunately the effectiveness of interventions prompted by a specific event can often reduce as the immediate after-effects of the incident abate. This can have the effect of creating cycles of safety performance within an upper and lower limit, whereby safety is 'allowed' to drop to a point at which an accident occurs; resources are then diverted allowing a safety 'blitz' to be introduced. Subsequently, concern for safety gradually reduces until the next injury (colloquially known as the 'safety' wave'). This form of reactive management in response to unpredictable events is not one that would commonly be considered...