TI4022 - MANAJEMEN KESELAMATAN & KESEHATAN KERJA

TUGAS PAPER REVIEW

A System of Safety Management Practices and Worker Engagement for Reducing And
Preventing Accidents: An Empirical And Theoretical Investigation
𝐀𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐝 𝐑𝐢𝐟𝐚𝐢 𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐬𝐚𝐡1), 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐨2), 𝐔𝐥𝐮𝐦 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐧3)
Nomor Induk Mahasiswa: 134192131),134192112),134192373)
Program Studi Teknik Industri
Fakultas Teknologi Industri
Institut Teknologi Bandung

Question 1: What’s the motivation of the research?

The background of this study arises from the organizational need to enhance safety
performance, aiming to prevent accidents and ensure a safe working environment. In the industrial
world, there are two common approaches adopted by organizations to manage their safety functions,
namely Safety Management Systems and Behavior-Based Systems. Safety Management Systems, as
described in standards such as OHSAS 18001:2007, ANSI/AIHA Z10-2012, and OSHA’s Voluntary
Protection Program, focus more on processes and procedures to be followed to achieve safety
objectives. However, criticism of this system includes a lack of emphasis on the "human element" or
individual behavioral aspects in its implementation.
On the other hand, Behavior-Based Systems, such as observational methods, place a greater
emphasis on worker behavior. Workers use a list of defined critical behaviors, observe work for these
behaviors, and provide feedback. This method can be enhanced with consequence-based systems,
such as DO-IT systems, which not only identify behaviors but also address organizational barriers that
may hinder safe actions. Nevertheless, research indicates that both approaches may need to be
combined to effectively manage safety performance. There is a perspective that Safety Management
Systems and Behavior-Based Systems complement each other, and their respective strengths can be
merged to form a more balanced and comprehensive system.
Within the theoretical framework of human performance, human error is viewed as a
symptom of deeper issues in the system. Factors such as time pressure, mental pressure, fatigue, being
new to the task, distractions, and overconfidence can trigger human errors. Therefore, the human
performance approach in safety management aims to understand and eliminate the root causes of
human errors. The study also involves an exploration of worker engagement in safety activities.
Workers bring their beliefs, values, and vision into the design and implementation of safety
management systems. Worker motivation to participate is influenced by their beliefs and values,
impacting the degree, quality, and consistency of their participation.
Thus, this study attempts to integrate both approaches, Safety Management Systems and
Behavior-Based Systems, within the human performance approach to safety management. The goal is
to develop a characterization model for safety management practices, test its relationship with safety
performance statistics, and theoretically and empirically investigate how these practices work through
worker engagement to achieve positive safety outcomes. In summary, the background of this study is
driven by the need for a holistic and integrated approach to safety management, encompassing both
the aspects of management systems and individual worker behavior.
Question 2: What’s the objective of the study?

The objective of the study is to explore and develop a comprehensive system of safety
management practices within organizations. The study aims to bridge the gap between traditional
safety management systems and behavior-based approaches by considering both objective, structural
elements (safety management practices) and subjective, human factors (worker engagement). The
goal is to understand how these components interact and influence safety performance in the
workplace. The study recognizes that safety management systems alone may have limitations, as
accidents can still occur due to various factors, including human error. Therefore, it proposes a holistic
approach that combines safety management practices with worker engagement. Worker engagement
is seen as a crucial element that involves employees actively participating in and being aware of safety
processes, thus contributing to accident prevention. To achieve this objective, the study conducts two-
fold research:
1. Theoretical and empirical development of the concept of a safety management system and its
relationship with safety performance metrics, such as accident rates. This supports the idea of
a safety management system approach to managing safety performance.
2. Exploration of how these safety management practices work, focusing on worker engagement
as a mediating factor. The study investigates the impact of worker perceptions on safety
performance, emphasizing a high-performance work practice perspective.

Question 3: What would their suggestion on implementing the result?

The results show that the effectiveness of safety management systems and practices in
reducing accident rates depends on the level of safety-focused cognitive and emotional engagement
of workers. Therefore, when organisations invest in safety management system approaches to prevent
accidents and improve safety performance, they should also pay attention to winning the minds and
hearts of their workers through worker engagement systems.
In addition, the results also suggest otherwise and more specifically show that workers'
perceptions can influence an organisation's safety performance even in a highly structured safety
management system environment.
Based on statistical results, the results indicate the following: there is a significant negative
relationship between the presence of ten individual safety management practices, as well as the
composite of these practices, with accident rates; there is a significant negative relationship between
the level of safety-focused worker emotional and cognitive engagement with accident rates; safety
management systems and worker engagement levels can be used individually to predict accident rates;
safety management systems can be used to predict worker engagement levels; and worker
engagement levels act as mediators between the safety management system and safety performance
outcomes (such as accident rates).

Question 4: Considering the workplace in Indonesia, how would you use the finding of this research
(in strengthening the current SMS in the company)?

The study "Safety management practice systems and worker engagement to reduce and
prevent accidents: An empirical and theoretical investigation" by Wachter and Yorio (2014) identified
ten safety management practices that can be used to manage human safety performance within
organizations. These practices include employee involvement, pre- and post-task safety reviews, safe
work procedures, recruitment for safety, facilitation of cooperation, safety training, information
sharing, accident investigation, deviation detection and monitoring, and safe task assignment. The
research also emphasizes the importance of worker involvement in safety activities, which can improve
safety performance and reduce accident rates. The research shows that when a system of safety
management practices is combined with worker involvement, it can reduce the likelihood of human
error and improve safety outcomes.
To strengthen the current safety management system in Indonesian companies, this research
can be applied in the following ways:
1. Implement the identified safety management practices: Companies can adopt the ten formal
safety management practices identified in this study, such as employee engagement, safety
training and accident investigation, to formalize and improve safety management systems.
2. Encourage worker involvement in safety activities: Companies can focus on engaging workers
to have a higher situational awareness of their safety, the pitfalls, the tasks to be performed,
and the conditions/situations around them. This can be achieved through communication,
information sharing and facilitation of cooperation.
3. Measuring the effectiveness of safety management practices: Companies can develop
measures to assess the effectiveness of their safety management practices, such as accident
rates, near-miss reporting, and employee perceptions of safety.
4. Continuous improvement: Companies should continuously review and improve their safety
management systems based on the findings from this study and company-specific needs and
challenges.
By applying the findings from this study, companies can improve their safety management
systems and ultimately improve safety performance and reduce the likelihood of workplace accidents.