Effects of human and organizational deficiencies on workers’ safety behavior at a mining site in Iran

Abstract

OBJECTIVESThroughout the world, mines are dangerous workplaces with high accident rates. According to the Statistical Center of Iran, the number of occupational accidents in Iranian mines has increased in recent years. This study investigated and analyzed the human and organizational deficiencies that influenced Iranian mining accidents.METHODSIn this study, the data associated with 305 mining accidents were analyzed using a systems analysis approach to identify critical deficiencies in organizational influences, unsafe supervision, preconditions for unsafe acts, and workers’ unsafe acts. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to model the interactions among these deficiencies.RESULTSOrganizational deficiencies had a direct positive effect on workers’ violations (path coefficient, 0.16) and workers’ errors (path coefficient, 0.23). The effect of unsafe supervision on workers’ violations and workers’ errors was also significant, with path coefficients of 0.14 and 0.20, respectively. Likewise, preconditions for unsafe acts had a significant effect on both workers’ violations (path coefficient, 0.16) and workers’ errors (path coefficient, 0.21). Moreover, organizational deficiencies had an indirect positive effect on workers’ unsafe acts, mediated by unsafe supervision and preconditions for unsafe acts. Among the variables examined in the current study, organizational influences had the strongest impact on workers’ unsafe acts.CONCLUSIONSOrganizational deficiencies were found to be the main cause of accidents in the mining sector, as they affected all other aspects of system safety. In order to prevent occupational accidents, organizational deficiencies should be modified first.

Organizational Factors and Risk Management in the Mining Industry

“…The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) reports that its members are committed to safe and sustainable mining by ensuring that health and safety is at the center of all operations and processes (International Council on Mining & Metals, 2019). Despite these commitments and undertakings from industry bodies such as the ICMM, serious accidents continue to occur in the mining industry (Aliabadi, Aghaei, Kalatpour, Soltanian, & SeyedTabib, 2018;Department of Mines and Petroleum, 2016;Dragan, Georges, & Mustafa, 2017). Effective risk management strategies have been identified as the keystone for accident prevention in the mining industry (Department of Natural Resources and Mines, 2017; International Council on Mining & Metals, 2019).…”

“…Taking each shape to represent studies that featured some form of relationship between organizational factors and the variable, it is evident that about two-thirds of the reviewed studies acknowledged a linkage between organizational factors and accident causation. In particular, six studies (Aliabadi et al, 2018;Lenné et al, 2012;Patterson & Shappell, 2010;Verma & Chaudhari, 2017;Yulianto, Haramaini, & Siregar, 2015;Yunxiao & Yangke, 2014) investigated accident causation using HF tools such as the human factors analysis and classification system (HFACS) developed by Wiegmann and Shappell (2007), including a modified (HFACS-MI) tailored for the mining industry. The major outcomes of the accident analyses using the HFACS tool included the identification of organizational factors as causes or contributory factors of accidents in the mining industry.…”

“…Following the identification of organizational factors that are influential in the mining industry, it was also evident that researchers and scholars have not gone a step further to investigate the extent of this influence. In the only study that attempted to examine this influence, Aliabadi et al (2018) used quantitative analyses as a way of determining the effects of human and organizational deficiencies on workers' safety behavior at an iron ore mine site in Iran. The study also found that supervision significantly influenced workers' violations and workers' errors (Aliabadi et al, 2018).…”

“…In the only study that attempted to examine this influence, Aliabadi et al (2018) used quantitative analyses as a way of determining the effects of human and organizational deficiencies on workers' safety behavior at an iron ore mine site in Iran. The study also found that supervision significantly influenced workers' violations and workers' errors (Aliabadi et al, 2018). Although human error was not a variable of interest in this SLR, findings such as the effect of supervision on workers' behavior provide crucial insights into how latent failures may interact with active errors (workers' violations and errors) resulting in workplace accidents.…”

Game Modelling and Strategy Research on Trilateral Evolution for Coal-Mine Operational Safety Production System: A Simulation Approach

“…Before the miners make decisions, the supervision effect of supervisors will affect the miners' expectations of the task's interests; in the decision making, it influences the decision weight function and the psychological value function and then influences the behavior decision, which ultimately affects the safety production level of coal-mine enterprises. And some studies [22,23] comprehensively analyzed human factors and organizational factors involved in mining accidents and determined the relationships among these factors. e results showed that the human factors including skill-based errors, routine violations, and planned inappropriate operation and environmental factors had a higher relative importance in the accidents.…”