Title: Personnel's perceptions of occupational safety in rail transport work

Authors: Maria Lindholm; Arto Reiman; Henri Jounila; Seppo Väyrynen; Otso Ervasti; Anna Melleri

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4610, 90014, Finland ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4610, 90014, Finland ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4610, 90014, Finland ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4610, 90014, Finland ' VR-Group Ltd., Finnish Railways, P.O. Box 488, FI-00101, Helsinki, Finland ' VR-Group Ltd., Finnish Railways, P.O. Box 488, FI-00101, Helsinki, Finland

Abstract: In rail transport work, a wide variety of occupational accidents occur. This questionnaire study aims to investigate the occupational safety (OS) challenges and needs recognised by railway personnel (N = 9404). Altogether, 1087 people answered. Answers were categorised thematically, and differences in perceptions between personnel groups and between different business sectors inside the company were identified. Differences between the category distributions were analysed with chi-square tests. Participatory approaches to improve OS emerged from the answers, e.g., attitudes, discussing and training OS. Statistically significant differences e.g., in the above-mentioned themes were found between the groups. The results provide vital information for the company to direct OS actions to the right business sectors. This study shows how personnel can contribute important views and feedback to OS development processes in a new way. The results suggest that more focused OS actions are needed. Guidance for the allocation, prioritisation and scheduling are provided.

Keywords: rail transport work; railway personnel; perception; occupational safety; employees; management; business sector; participation; participatory approach; idea generation; safety meeting.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHFE.2017.088417

International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics, 2017 Vol.5 No.1, pp.44 - 60

Received: 12 Mar 2017
Accepted: 01 Jul 2017
Published online: 06 Dec 2017 *

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