The Mediating Role of Workers’ Climate and Behavioral Perceptions on Safety Management System Performance

Based on survey results from over fifty groups of workers and their employees, it has been determined that worker perceptions related to safety climate, interactional justice, and task and team safety proficiency behaviors act as mediators between a system of safety management practices and reductions in recordable injuries and, to a lesser extent, lost time injuries. It appears that in those instances where workers view or believe that their management has placed a strong priority on safety, that they are being treated with dignity and respect through the system of safety management practices, that they are carrying out their own work safely, and that they are cooperating with others to work safely as a group, the system of safety management practices is more effective in producing measurable performance results. Certain human performance constructs (informational and procedural justice climates) do not appear to act as strong mediators. Thus, there appears to be some discrimination as to which human performance constructs actually act as mediators versus a situation where all worker climate and behavioral perceptions have the same or non-distinguishing effects. These results support previous conclusions that safety management practices should be designed and implemented to promote and enhance positive worker perceptions, thereby putting workers at the center of safety management systems which is a fundamental concept behind the human performance approach to safety management.