Abstract The recent Lac-Mégantic disaster highlighted the safety-critical nature of the railway industry. The public inquiry identified both individual and organizational failures as causal factors for the incident; yet, very few studies examine both constructs simultaneously. The authors examined the impact of safety climate and individual differences on self-reported safety performance and safety records. The study examined 306 railway workers employed by a North American Class I Railway (M = 5.8 years of service). Personality traits accounted for significant incremental variance over safety climate in self-report measures of safety compliance (ΔR 2 = 0.18), safety participation (ΔR 2 = 0.13), safety knowledge (ΔR 2 = 0.24), and safety motivation (ΔR 2 = 0.15). Based on the findings, employers may want to consider personality factors when selecting training, or identifying interventions for employees within safety critical occupations. Limitations include a relatively small industry specific sample; therefore, the results may not generalize to all transportation employees.
Is It Me or Is It You? Assessing the Influence of Individual and Organizational Factors on Safety Performance in the North American Railway Industry
2016-07-07
11 pages
Article/Chapter (Book)
Electronic Resource
English
Human Performance, Organizational Factors and Safety Culture
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1997
|Safety in American railway transport
Engineering Index Backfile | 1908
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