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Identify the Influence of Risk Attitude, Work Experience, and Safety Training on Hazard Recognition in Mining

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Abstract

Mineworkers face a challenging and dynamic work environment every workday. To maintain a safe workplace, mineworkers must be able to recognize worksite hazards while they perform their jobs. Though hazard recognition is a critical skill, recent research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) indicates that mineworkers fail to identify a significant number of hazards. To further the understanding of mineworkers’ hazard recognition ability and to begin to address hazard recognition performance, NIOSH researchers analyzed data collected during a laboratory research study to determine the effect of individual mineworker factors including risk attitude, work experience, and safety training on hazard recognition accuracy. The results of this study show that mineworker risk attitude and safety-specific work experience affect hazard recognition performance while hazard-specific safety training does not. These results suggest that some of these individual factors can be overcome through experience and training. Potential strategies that can be used to address these factors are also discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Spokane Mining Research Division Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA, 15236, USA

    Brianna M. Eiter

  2. Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh, USA

    Jennica L. Bellanca

Authors
  1. Brianna M. Eiter
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  2. Jennica L. Bellanca
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Correspondence to Brianna M. Eiter.

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The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mention of company names or products does not constitute endorsement by NIOSH.

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On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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This work was reviewed and approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Institutional Review Board.

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Prior to the start of the study, all participants consented and agreed to voluntarily participate. Participants could withdraw from the study at any time, for any reason, without penalty.

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Eiter, B.M., Bellanca, J.L. Identify the Influence of Risk Attitude, Work Experience, and Safety Training on Hazard Recognition in Mining. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 37, 1931–1939 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-020-00293-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-020-00293-8

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