251. An Examination of Mining Companies' Online Health and Safety Policies: Implications for Improving Risk Management.
- Author
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Haas, Emily J., Ryan, Margaret, and Willmer, Dana R.
- Subjects
COMMUNICATION ,CONTENT analysis ,DECISION making ,INDUSTRIAL hygiene ,INDUSTRIAL safety ,LEADERSHIP ,MANAGEMENT ,HEALTH policy ,MINERAL industries ,RISK management in business ,THEMATIC analysis - Abstract
Health and safety management system (HSMS) document reviews show occupational health and safety policies as a primary system element. One way that companies operationalize tasks and communicate expectations to their employees is through their health and safety policies. As a result, policies should be visible and clearly promote desired practices. However, limited research exists on the quantity and scope of health and safety practices within company policies. In response, this study analyzed the publicly available health and safety policies of 26 mining companies to determine the quantity of health and safety practices that mining companies encourage in relation to the plan-do-check-act cycle. A thematic content analysis of the policies identified elements and practices within the text. On average, companies communicated information on about seven elements (range 1 to 14, SD = 3.49) and discussed 15 practices (range 2-34, SD = 9.13). The elements in which companies highlighted the most practices were risk management, emergency management, leadership development, and occupational health. A discussion of the policy trends shows areas that mine sites can improve upon within their plan-do-check-act cycle, in addition to encouraging the use of both leading and lagging indicators when checking and acting to manage health and safety performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018