A safety self-management intervention for mining operations.
OBJECTIVE
This quasi-experimental field study examined the efficacy of a safety self-management process to increase safety-related work practices in mining operations.


METHODS
After a 7-week baseline, 15 miners participated in a safety self-management training and education presentation. The participants in a prebehavior condition (n=8) recorded their intentions to engage in specific percentages of safety-related work behaviors before starting their shift for the day. In contrast, participants in a postbehavior condition (n=7) recorded their percentages of safety-related work behaviors after their shift for the day.


RESULTS
During withdrawal (4 weeks), the miners did not complete any self-monitoring forms. Based on 10,905 behavioral observations, safety self-management was effective at increasing the frequency of safety-related behavior (p<.05). For the prebehavior condition, the mean percent safe score across three target behaviors increased 34.8% during intervention. Similarly, in the postbehavior condition, the mean percent safe score across three target behaviors increased 40.1% during intervention.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that employees who work in relative isolation or have little oversight, compared to traditional industrial workers, may benefit from a process by which they can systematically observe themselves.
Hickman
Jeffrey S
JS
Center for Applied Behavior Systems, 202 Williams Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0436, USA. jehickman@vt.edu
Geller
E Scott
ES
D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D033182:Intention; D008906:Mining; D016272:Occupational Health; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014768:Virginia