Improving safety in small enterprises through an integrated safety management intervention

This study tests the applicability of a participatory behavior-based injury prevention approach integrated with safety culture initiatives. Sixteen small metal industry enterprises (10–19 employees) are randomly assigned to receive the intervention or not. Safety coaching of owners/managers result in the identification of 48 safety tasks, 85% of which are solved at follow-up. Owner/manager led constructive dialogue meetings with workers result in the prioritization of 29 tasks, 79% of which are accomplished at follow-up. Intervention enterprises have significant increases on six of eight safety-perception-survey factors, while comparisons increase on only one factor. Both intervention and comparison enterprises demonstrate significant increases in their safety observation scores. Interview data validate and supplement these results, providing some evidence for behavior change and the initiation of safety culture change. Given that over 95% of enterprises in most countries have less than 20 employees, there is great potential for adapting this integrated approach to other industries.

► An integrated behavior/culture-based intervention implemented in small enterprises.
► Fourteen small metal enterprises are randomly assigned the intervention or not.
► Managers and workers identify 77 safety tasks and 83% are completed at follow-up.
► Interventions improve on 6 of 8 safety culture scales, comparisons on only 1 scale.
► The intervention effectuated problem solving and culture change as measured here.