Safety management practices and safety compliance in small medium enterprises

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of safety participation as a mediator in the relationship between the six facets of safety management practices (i.e. management commitment, safety training, worker’s involvement, safety communication and feedback, safety rules and procedures, and safety promotion policies) and safety compliance. Design/methodology/approach A survey of 74 employees of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia was carried out. Self-reported measures were used to obtain data on workplace safety dimensions and safety behavior. The partial least square structural model analysis was used to ascertain the proposed relationships. Findings The present study found that only three dimensions of safety management practices (management commitment, safety training, and safety rules and procedures) were significantly related to safety compliance. Of these, safety participation mediated the link between management commitment and safety training and safety compliance. Research limitations/implications The small sample size may limit the generalizability of the findings. Second, the correlational nature of the study did not permit causation to be implied. However, despite these limitations, while safety performance can be theorized to trigger the establishment of safety management practices, such theoretical perspective tends to connote reactivity rather than proactivity of the decision-making process. Practical implications The study highlights the role of the voluntary behavior of employees in promoting a safe work environment. Business owners are recommended to provide safety training in which the employees are stressed on their crucial role in safety and use this knowledge to educate and convince their co-workers to work safely. Originality/value Literature indicates the lack of studies on safety research in SMEs. Furthermore, such studies are justified because SMEs are likely to have more risks of occupational accidents and injuries. More importantly, this research highlights the importance of the voluntary behaviors of employees (i.e. safety participation) in promoting a safe work environment. As SMEs tend to have limited resources to implement a comprehensive OSH management system, using the employees as the safety agents at work can be an effective way toward accomplishing safety performance.

Evaluation of resilience engineering using super decisions software

“…38 Studies show that the learning culture has the greatest impact on management and organizational factors, and this is representative of the effective role of training in the safety culture of an organization. 30,39,40 As for resilience, organizations must be able to adapt to new and complex problems, and this calls for the capability to make critical decisions without having to wait for management guidelines at workplace. 41 In this domain, Zarrin and Azadeh investigated the effects of RE on health, safety, environment, and ergonomic management system by using Z-number cognitive map.…”

Barriers and Strategies for Better Safety Practices: The Case of Construction SMEs in Malaysia

“…Several scholars (e.g. Subramaniam, et al, 2016) have suggested for more attention and studies to be done on OHS in SMEs within the specific context and sector. Consequently, this study has attempted to fill the gap by providing more practical views on the extent of OHS management practices among construction SMEs in Malaysia.…”

“…Despite the previous studies conducted in Malaysia (e.g. Ismail, et al, 2012;Subramaniam, et al, 2016), OHS has almost exclusively focused on safety practices in other industries, while little has been undertaken on examining the extent of construction SMEs' OSH practices. In Malaysia, supporting the SMEs in managing health and safety risk should be the priority, due to the significantly greater proportion of SMEs in the construction sector (Manu, et al, 2018).…”

Enhancing Safety Performance by Recognizing the Role of Perceived Management Commitment to Safety in the Jordanian Healthcare Industry: Conceptual Framework

“…In addition, the findings of McGonagle et al (2016) exhibited that PMCS has a positive relationship with safety performance behaviors (p < .001). While Subramaniam et al (2016) showed that PMCS was the most significant predictor of safety participation behaviors (β = 0.473, p < 0.01). Zohar (2014) also proposed that safety outcomes depend on employees' perception of honest management commitment to safety.…”