Thesis (M.A.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title from title screen (viewed on 27 Mar. 2006) "Master of arts in arbitration and dispute resolution." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Human Kinetics)) - Rhodes University, 2007.

Orientador: Gladys Dorotea Cacsire Barriga / Banca: Renato de Campos / Banca: Jorge Luis Bazan / Resumo: Ocorrem milhares de acidentes de trabalho nas empresas brasileiras todos os anos, sendo a maioria dentro de pequenas empresas, o que demonstra a necessidade urgente de mudança na forma como a gestão da saúde e segurança do trabalho (SST) é realizada nestes negócios. O objetivo deste trabalho é avaliar as principais barreiras para a implantação de sistemas de gestão de saúde e segurança do trabalho (SGSST) em pequenas empresas brasileiras. Para alcançar este objetivo a pesquisa utilizou o método empírico, com abordagem quantitativa por meio de survey e técnicas estatísticas para análise dos dados levantados no Centro-Oeste do Estado de São Paulo, na região de Bauru, com três diferentes atores: proprietários administradores, auditores fiscais do trabalho e consultores de SST. Constatou-se que as barreiras mais relacionadas à implementação dos SGSST são a ausência e a ineficácia de informações sobre SST, a inexistência de orientações, a dedicação inadequada de recursos financeiros e a falta de apoio dos sindicatos. Os proprietários tendem a culpabilizar os empregados e o Estado pela dificuldade na implementação dos SGSST; os fiscais do trabalho e consultores tendem a culpabilizar a gerência e a falta de alocação de recursos por esta dificuldade. Porém ambos convergem quanto à gerência possuir comportamento sistematicamente inadequado relacionado à SST, as informações e a comunicação serem ausentes ou ineficazes e a priorização da produção sobre a segurança serem importantes barr... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Thousands of work-related accidents occur in Brazilian companies every year, most of them at small companies, demonstrating an urgent need to change the way health and safety management (OHS) is performed in these businesses. The objective of this study is to evaluate the main barriers to the implementation of health and safety management systems (OHSMS) in small Brazilian companies. This research used the empirical method, with a quantitative approach through survey, with statistical techniques to analyze the data collected in the Center-West of São Paulo State, in the Bauru region, with three different stakeholders: owner managers, labor auditors and OHS consultants. As result, barriers more related to the implementation of OHSMS are an absence or ineffectiveness of OHS information, lack of guidance, inadequate financial resources and lack of support from trade unions. Owners tend to blame employees and government for the difficulty in implementing OHSMS; labor auditors and OHS consultants tend to blame management and resource allocation for this difficulty. However, both converge as to whether management has a systematically inappropriate OHS behavior, such as absent or ineffective of information and communication and production prioritization over safety are important barriers for implementation. Management behavior and prioritization of production, even without security assurance, reflect owners' lack of OHS information, therefore, awareness raising policies, increased government inspection and higher qualification of OHS consultants are necessary attitudes to confront these barriers. As conclusion, it is essential to face the barriers to effective implementation of OHSMS in small Brazilian companies and, consequently, to change the working conditions of their workers. / Mestre

The thesis explores the challenges faced by health and safety law in the UK as a consequence of the continuous changes in the employment relationship. This primarily covers the growth of the different forms of non-standard work. Health and safety law developed through a number of socio-economic changes in the UK. It has moved from only covering particular areas and particular classes of workers in the nineteenth century to wider areas of occupational health and safety and to include more of those at work. The thesis sets out the issues surrounding non-standard work arrangements and how they might affect the application of health and safety law. Key case-law is examined and the legal changes in the area of health and safety carefully analysed. Research has been carried out by others concerning the reasons for and extent of the changing nature of work as an indicator of the changes that took place in the labour market in general; but the research in this thesis concentrates on how the application of health and safety law is challenged by such changes. The central hypothesis of the thesis is that non-standard work by its very nature might put those who are employed under its various types at more risk than their counterpart standard workers. This hypothesis is developed and explored through the field-work. The field-work took the form of a postal questionnaire to workers in the UK in geographical areas selected for their differing characteristics together with some semi structured interviews which sought to introduce a qualitative data element to the quantitative data in order to enrich and elaborate upon the findings of the questionnaire. Analysis of the completed and returned questionnaires revealed that in today's workplace the nature of risk has changed, with an increase in the psychological risk related to work. Both groups of standard and nonstandard workers suffered from stress-related illness. This illustrates the complexity of the concept of vulnerability and how that might challenge the application of health and safety law and affect its efficacy. A number of unexpected issues surfaced through the field-work, such as that working in the different types of non-standard work were effectively involuntary for some of those who chose to work this way. The main reason for their decisions was to be able to provide for the family income as well as to have more control over work and the ability to combine work with other responsibilities including domestic duties. Despite the relatively low number of non-standard workers who participated in the postal questionnaire, it seems that they are in a better position than was hypothesized at the outset, before the field-work took place. Analysis of the semi-structured interviews revealed that interviewees had considerable knowledge and awareness about their employer's general duties in terms of risk assessment and safety training in addition to other significant aspects. This applies to both standard and non-standard workers, which indicates the important improvement in the management of occupational health and safety. However, a serious issue was common to most of those who suffered accident and/or ill-health from both groups of standard of non-standard workers: not reporting their experiences to their employers. In addition, many of those workers did not seek legal advice following their accident and/or ill-health because of fear and uncertainty about their employers' reaction. The thesis concludes with some reflections on the effectiveness or otherwise of health and safety legislation.

This thesis sets out to identify the organisational antecedents of individual safety behaviour in the workplace, particularly rule violations. The research was set in the UK offshore oil and gas industry as an example of safety management in hazardous work environments. Study la is a review of incident reports collected over one year in a large UK offshore operating company (n=296). The database was examined using Tripod methodology (Groeneweg, 1996) to understand the relative importance of human factors causes within accident causal pathways. This revealed that unsafe acts, in particular procedural violations, were the most frequent immediate cause of accidents. This was followed by Study lb, a review of the company's safety-related internal audit findings and their remedial actions, which again showed the prevalence of human factors issues; whilst the remedial measures were largely addressing non-human factors issues. A problem with historical reports is their reliability; therefore Study 2 took a proactive approach to determine the frequency and type of rule breaking prevalent in the UK oil and gas industry. This was carried out through a questionnaire study on three locations, offshore and onshore (n=279). The instruments were drawn from existing rule breaking scales (HSE, 1995a; Mearns, Flin, Fleming, & Gordon, 1997), but further developed to test Lawton's (1998) violations taxonomy. This revealed a high prevalence of rule breaking, particularly Situational and Routine violations, which provided support for the violations taxonomy. Also, more frequent rule breaking was associated with a higher injury frequency among co-workers and more self-reported injuries. For a better understanding of these results, Study 3 developed and tested a model of the organisational antecedents of individual rule breaking behaviour. A questionnaire study was used, across 12 offshore locations (n=1414) using a combination of established instruments and scales developed specifically for this research. This revealed that the two independent variables, Organisational Features (Work pressure, Job Satisfaction, Safety Discussion and Satisfaction with Safety Management System Activities) and Social Safety Norms (Others Approval of Shortcuts and Relationship with Supervisor), were associated with self-reported rule breaking. However Organisational Features was more strongly associated with individual accident involvement and Social Safety Norms was a stronger predictor of violations. This study also revealed other aspects of rule-breaking behaviour, which has not been studied extensively in previous research. In particular, it highlighted the importance of job satisfaction and perception of one's colleagues attitudes to safety in predicting violations. This study also revealed that the relationship between rule breaking and some of its antecedents (Involvement, Work Pressure and Approval of Shortcuts) are better explained by non-linear relationships. For the Social Safety Norms variable, the direct influences on individual rule breaking were compared for senior management, site management, immediate supervisor and colleagues. This showed that colleagues' approval of shortcut taking was the strongest predictor of individual rule breaking. This was discussed in relation to Social Exchange theory (Blau, 1964) for Organisation Features, and to Social Influence theory (Latane, 1981) for Social Safety Norms. This however does not address the indirect organisational influences on individual behaviour. There is much speculation about the importance of senior managers in safety management (HSE, 1999; Flin et al, 2000) but little previous research specifically on their role. Study 4 was therefore based on appraisals of safety leadership and leadership style by subordinates (n=256) and self-reports (n=59), from the most senior managers in the company. This was done using instruments developed for this study and the Multifactorial Leadership Questionnaire of Transformational, Transactional and Passive Leadership styles (Bass & Avolio, 1995). This revealed that a charismatic leadership style, (Idealised Influence Behaviour) is associated with a stronger perceived commitment to safety; whilst managers with a more passive style (Laissez-Faire and Management by exception passive) were perceived more negatively. For a sub-sample, subordinate perceptions were correlated with safety performance data. This showed that the priority placed on safety was the strongest determinant of organisational safety performance, with those placing a higher priority on safety having a better safety performance. Overall, the evidence presented in this thesis highlights the organisational influences on committing violations and the importance of managing rule breaking to accident prevention. However, to achieve this requires a focus at the workgroup and leadership level, as well as the traditional management system and individual worker-focused approaches.

The rates of fatalities, injuries and diseases from work, has been a longstanding challenge for centuries. The challenge is validated by the fact that there is not a paper, or publication, that appears to have been written worldwide, without discussion regarding the extent of the problem in the construction industry. Despite there being prescriptive statutory requirements applicable to the sector, all attempts to reduce the reduce the accident rates in South Africa appear to have been largely unsuccessful. The review of literature indicates that most research has focused on design, designers, roles of stakeholders, inter alia that relate to construction health and safety. Given the situation noted, the research investigated design, various aspects of the construction process and stakeholders, and the inclusion of procurement as a major component of the construction process. A triangulated, or mixed methods research methodology was utilised for the thesis. The qualitative methodology utilised in Action Research (AR) and a total of three FGs’ sought to develop a theoretical model that would identify multi-stakeholder policies, practice and education requirements. An extensive international, African and South African literature review was conducted as part of the secondary research and the grounding for the mixed methodology of research. The information sought to contextualise the South African paradigm and practices. Two quantitative, multi-stakeholders’ studies were conducted during the development of the research. The quantitative aspect considers the perceptions of those practicing or involved in H&S, the interface regarding the stakeholders and ‘issues’ experienced in the challenges relating to daily work. Themes were developed, inter alia: a general; workers; management (including supervision, responsibilities and pricing); a stakeholders’ theme (including project managers; design and designers, and client), and the construction H&S theme (including the CHSA, construction H&S Manager (CHSM), construction H&S Officer (CHSO)). A total of 22 hypotheses were tested. The hypotheses considered all the stakeholders, within the framework of the research. Only 1 hypothesis was not supported, and hypothesis was partially supported. Three AR FGs’ were held in the Sarah Baartman District (a building focus) and at the Bhisho offices (a civil engineering focus) of the ECDRPW. The research considered the procurement processes that underpins a project, with some elements relative to the interface of H&S, design, the stages of work, and the current legislative framework. A validated theoretical model, the ‘Deacon Procurement, Design and Health and Safety Model’ emerged from the qualitative aspect of the research. The salient findings indicate a tendency in the industry to operate in silos, adhere to minimum levels of compliance, and not determining other aspects that could possibly reduce project and financial risk. Therefore, stakeholders need to work together, across the stages of work. Level of confidence is low among clients and built environment groups regarding H&S across the project life cycle, resulting in the non-compliance, and increased project risk. Clients such as the National Treasury do not identify H&S risks during project planning, resulting in the lack of adequate resources for projects, with supply chain management and procurement not ensuring compliance and technical expertise. Due to lack of knowledge CHSAs’, CHSMs’, and CHSOs,’ are not appointed timeously, resulting in noncompliance, and increased project risk. The construction H&S practitioners level of confidence is affected by lack of experience, not knowledge, in contrast to the lack of H&S knowledge of built environment professionals. A range of recommendations are provided that include, inter alia: development of policy, guidelines and practice notes regarding H&S, supply chain management and procurement; education and training, continuing professional development, training and workshops, and further research.

M.Ed. / The building and construction industry is currently hampered by an unacceptably high number of incidents (accidents) which occur in the industry yearly. This results in huge financial and labour losses. Training of workers in occupational health and safety could address some of the causes of these incidents (accidents). In order to provide relevant and effective training for this industry their training needs regarding occupational health and safety training need to be determined. Based on these needs guidelines could be set to ensure the development of applicable training. In this study the needs of the building and construction industry is determined from which the researcher provides guidelines for curriculum development. The first chapter provides an introductory orientation to the study and provides an overview of incidents (accidents) in the building and construction industry. Chapter two is devoted to a literature study of occupational health and safety. Chapter three consists of a literature study with the aim to provide parameters for the empirical research component in the study. In chapter four the empirical data, collected by means of qualitative research, is analysed. Chapter five relates the findings of the study to the theory of curriculum development. In conclusion chapter six consists of conclusions and recommended guidelines for the development of an occupational health and safety curriculum for the building and construction industry, which forms the product of this study. The value of this study is that the guidelines provided are the result of empirical qualitative research conducted with various role-players in the building and construction industry. Therefore the results are the perceptions and opinions of the role-players in the industry and not the direct assumptions of the researcher.

This study examines safety perceptions of manufacturing employees involved in a safety behavioral modification process, and the perceptions of employees who are not involved in the same process, based on the idea that such a process helps to decrease injuries in the workplace. The Neal-Griffin Safety Climate/Safety Performance Instrument was used in a specific workplace to determine if race, gender, age, years of service, union membership, and education affect employees' perceptions of safety in an industrial/manufacturing setting. The results of this quantitative study found that, overall, the vast majority of the workers, regardless of demographic and group membership, provided relatively high survey ratings, which indicate that they had positive perceptions regarding their company's safety procedures and miscellaneous safety issues.

Safety climate provides an indication of the perceptions of employees with regard to safety management in an organisation. Although there have been many studies on safety climate, a common platform to measure safety climate has not yet been agreed upon. This makes it difficult to compare climate performance across industries and organisations. This study endeavors to identify the common thread that flows through all safety climate studies through extensive literature review and develop safety climate measurement tool in the form a 65 question survey. The survey was validated using confirmatory factor analysis and expert review. The study further looks at the elements of safety climate that affect the behavioral safety management and determines how an organisation performs on those identified elements through descriptive statistic models.100 employees of a large petrochemical organisation based in South Africa participated in the survey. The results required that several of the questions in the survey be reevaluated and therefore the survey will need to be re tested. The results also demonstrated that the sample organisation had considered and implemented the elements of safety climate that are required for a behavioral safety program. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lmgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

Bibliography: pages 195-200. / This thesis will be concerned with trying to develop an understanding of what the difficulties have been in bringing about improvements to the working environment in manufacturing. The role of labour will be of central concern, but an attempt will also be made to analyse the role of the other participants in the regulatory process, namely, the state and employers. The period with which the thesis is concerned is the 1980s. The area is clearly a very broad one and no claims will be made to providing a comprehensive study. Rather, it is hoped that the present study will provide some new data and some original insights into the regulatory process which will provoke further discussion and research in the field of occupational health and safety in South Africa.