Are you sure you want me to follow this? A study of procedure management, user perceptions and compliance behaviour

- Procedure violations are frequently highlighted in accident investigations.
- This study links procedure management and attributes to compliance behaviours.
- A learning approach predicted both procedure compliance (+) and violation (−).
- Compliance was more likely if procedure users were involved in procedure development.

Adherence to procedures is critical to the safety and performance of maintenance tasks; however, few studies of procedure compliance among maintenance personnel have been reported. The present study evaluated a theoretical model in which management approaches to procedure compliance were linked to compliance outcomes through user perceptions of positive and negative procedure attributes. New scales were developed to assess these variables; hypotheses derived from the model were tested in survey data collected from maintainers in the mining industry (N = 176). A structural equation model showed acceptable fit statistics; findings were broadly consistent with the initial hypotheses.As predicted, positive and negative dimensions of procedure attributes and compliance/non-compliance were perceived as distinct constructs, and were implicated in different pathways of the model. Also supporting the initial hypotheses, user involvement and managers' learning-oriented responses to non-compliance were linked to favourable compliance outcomes through perceived procedure attributes. Learning-oriented responses were also directly associated with greater compliance. In addition, and contrary to prediction, punitive management responses positively predicted compliance. As discussed in the paper, these findings contribute new insights, relevant in both research and industry contexts, to understanding procedure compliance among maintainers.