Innovations at Workplace: An Evidence-Based Model for Safety Management

Abstract

Abstract. Safety culture is a sub-unit of organisational culture, which affects members' attitudes and behaviour in relation to organisation's ongoing health and safety performance. Many companies want to enhance their safety culture or some aspect of safety behaviour trying to find the effective way forward. Safety culture in small and medium-scale (SMEs) enterprises has received very little attention in Estonia. Estimates suggest that these enterprises have serious problems aggravated by limited access to human, economic, technological resources as well as lack of relevant occupational health and safety (oH&S) knowledge. The current paper commences with a discussion on the Reciprocal Model of Safety Culture and different perspectives on a framework espoused by Cooper (1999). The concept of safety culture and knowledge management is also discussed. Authors present supplemented Cooper's Reciprocal Model of Safety Culture with Knowledge Management System Dimensions. The exploratory study based on workplace visits and interviews with owner-managers of SMEs manufacturing enterprises gives an overview of the most characteristic oH&S representations and practices. An overview of the current Estonian oH&S system is also presented based on occupational health (oH) physicians' questionnaire surveys conducted in 2002 and 2009. The study suggests that there is need for discussion and improvement of collaboration between employers and oH professionals in order to strengthen knowledge management and infrastructure as well as safety culture at the Estonian enterprises. Competence and expertise in work and health topics is the foundation for the added value of oH professionals to the health of working population.Keywords: knowledge management, safety management, safety culture, work environment. INOVACIJOS DARBO VIETOJE: KONSTRUKTYVUS DARBO SAUGOS VADYBOS MODELIS Marina Järvis¹, Piia Tint²Talino technologijos universitetas, Kopli 101, 11712 Talinas, Estija El. paštas: ¹marina.jarvis@tseba.ttu.ee; ²piia.tint@tseba.ttu.ee Įteikta 2009-09-10; priimta 2009-03-05 Santrauka. Darbo saugos kultūra yra organizacinės kultūros subvienetas, darantis įtaką organizacijos narių požiūriui ir elgesiui, atsižvelgiant į organizacijoje vykdomą profesinės sveikatos ir darbo saugos politikos lygį. Daugelis kompanijų nori pagerinti saugos kultūrą ar tam tikrą aspektą ir bando rasti efektyvių būdų tam pasiekti. Saugos kultūrai mažose ir vidutinėse įmonėse Estijoje skiriama labai mažai dėmesio. Šios įmonės susiduria su rimtomis problemomis, kurias pagilina ribotas galimybės prieiti Verslas: teorija ir praktika, 2009, 10(2): 150-158 151

Knowledge Management – a Neglected Dimension in Discourse on Safety Management and Safety Culture – Evidence from Estonia

“…Existing models of Safety Culture are described and analyzed in depth in previous research [31]. Reviews of safety culture surveys identified some common aspects, for instance: management concern and commitment, personal responsibility, peer support for safety, employees' involvement in health and safety activities, and the SMS [4]; [21]; [24].…”

“…In order to fill this gap in the literature, based on previous empirical research and literature review, Järvis & Tint [31] proposed a new reciprocal safety culture model with a new construct -'communities of practice' -shared knowledge in order to reflect not only specific organizational (situational/ environmental), behavioral and psychological aspects of safety culture, but also include knowledge management aspects that incorporate both tacit and explicit safety knowledge and understanding. Thus, the concept of CoP is important in addressing not merely employees' behavior, practices and norms, but simultaneously the role of management within the organization in providing a facilitating and enabling climate of safety through which safety cultures can be embedded in organizational practice.…”

Managers’ Perceptions of Organizational Safety: Implication for the Development of Safety Culture

“…The authors emphasize that the potency of the reciprocal model [24]; [25] for analyzing safety culture may be different in any given situation and might be influenced by potentially important internal and external organizational factors like environment, context, governance, relevant regulations, design etc. The reciprocal interactions among psychological, behavioral and organizational variables, which have been recognized and reflected in the major safety culture models, as well as the added knowledge variable indicate that the four dimensions to measure the overall safety culture of an organization are psychological, behavioral, organizational and knowledge aspects of safety culture.…”

“…The case studies were intended to promote a better understanding of the rationale of current safety culture in Estonian manufacturing SMEs. Results from qualitative studies [7]; [16]; [25]; [27] were used in order to complement and verify the results gained from the safety survey. The exploratory study was based on workplace visits, observations, audits and semistructured interviews with senior managers, as well as focus group interviews with workers.…”

“…The results from the case studies, workplace observation, document analysis and interviews with senior managers as well as focus group interviews with employees, collectively contributed to a comprehensive description and assessment of the safety culture in manufacturing SMEs. Detailed results from qualitative survey studies, working environment and conditions in the investigated SMEs were analyzed and presented in previous research [7]; [16]; [25]; [27]; [25]; [34].…”