A systematic overview on the risk effects of psychosocial work characteristics on musculoskeletal disorders, absenteeism, and workplace accidents This evaluated the evidence on relationships between psychosocial work characteristics on musculoskeletal disorders, absenteeism and workplace accidents. 30 meta-analyses and systematic reviews met inclusion for evaluation (It’s from 2021 – so while recent, still misses a lot… Continue reading A systematic overview on the risk effects of psychosocial work characteristics on musculoskeletal disorders, absenteeism, and workplace accidents

This systematic review evaluated the research on leadership styles and safety performance in high-risk industries. 53 studies met inclusion criteria. ·         “Safety leadership refers to ‘the process of interaction between leaders and followers, through which leaders can exert their influence on followers to achieve organisational safety goals under the circumstances of organisational and individual factors”… Continue reading Leadership styles and safety performance in high-risk industries: a systematic review

A REALLY interesting older paper talking about Shell’s approach to injury indices – noting the need to push beyond the era of LTIs in 1991 (!). I’m relying on quotes, as the authors have done a far better job than I could. Note while the points they raise are pretty well-known now – I find… Continue reading Assessing Safety Performance After the Era of the LTI

I found this an interesting study which interviewed regulators, shipping company management and crew about their practices and opinions regarding safety management regulation in the Norwegian maritime industry. Although some of the findings may be specific to maritime, there’s other more generalisable findings I believe. They note that while personal injuries have been decreasing in… Continue reading One size fits all? Safety management regulation of ship accidents and personal injuries

This coronial inquiry likely won’t reveal anything earth shattering or novel to anybody – but it reinforced some useful perspectives on searching for systemic factors over individual blame. It describes a fatal marine accident between two vessels. The coroner notes: “It would be a slick solution to the problems this case raises to point to… Continue reading Coronial inquiry: Not hard to find human ‘culprits’ and “we must beware of falling prey to the fundamental attribution error (i.e. blaming people and ignoring situational factors)”

This studied the use of leader safety storytelling as a specific leader communication and its outcomes. Data included interviews with 41 leaders and team members. For background: ·         “Higher-quality leader safety messaging is also associated with improved worker safety performance and decreased lost time due to injuries” ·         “the existing literature points to leaders having… Continue reading Leader safety storytelling: A qualitative analysis of the attributes of effective safety storytelling and its outcomes

This article from the Lancet may interest people – it explored male suicide in Australian construction by country of birth. For background: “In Australia, the suicide rate among male construction workers is approximately double that of non-construction workers,” “migration has come to play an important role in meeting labour demands. In 2016, it was estimated… Continue reading Variations in suicide rates among Australian male construction workers by country of birth

This study evaluated the cognitive load imposed on construction workers by multiple safety signs with design configurations – including text only, pictograms and text, and pictogram only. 513 Korean construction workers were included. Background: “To mitigate the potential risks, it is a standard practice to post multiple safety signs at work sites” “However, given that… Continue reading The Cognitive Load Limits of Multiple Safety Signs

An interesting Masters thesis from Hayden Greenshields at Lund Uni, exploring the nature of Stop Work Authorities and how they play out, or are constrained, in reality. Just a few findings here – but I suggest you check out the whole thesis: Three main themes emerged via interviews which conflict with traditional formal stop work… Continue reading Why formal stop work schemes do not work: a qualitative study in safety-critical industries in Canada