Alignment to workplace safety principles: An application to mining

Open-ended interviews were conducted with senior managers and front-line wo rkers in a Canadian hard rock mine following the introduction of a new set of safety principles to guide employee decision-making and behavior. The in terviews were transcribed and coded for statements that suggested alignment or misalignment with each principle. Results indicate that, relative to fr ont-line workers, senior managers were significantly more aligned with prin ciples dealing with injury prevention, management accountability, and rule following. Contrasts between front-line workers with above-average safety r ecords and below-average records revealed only one significant difference: above-average workers were more strongly aligned with the principle "workin g safely is good business" than their below-average counterparts. (C) 1999 National Safety Council and Elsevier Science Ltd.