The impact of human performance focused safety and health management practices on injury and illness rates: Do size and industry matter?

•The effect of human performance S&H management practices on injury/illness rates was explored.•Establishment size and industry were examined as exploratory moderators.•Each practice and the unitary system significantly predicted injury/illness rates.•The effects were stable across industrial sectors but varied with establishment size.

To date, research on the nature of human performance focused safety and health (S&H) management practices and their impact on occupational injuries and illnesses has been sparse within the safety literature. We addressed this research gap through a large-scale empirical study that explored the impact of S&H management practices on establishment level injuries and illnesses. Based on a sample of 364 establishments, we found that each of the individual practices identified, as well as the unitary system of S&H management practices, significantly predicted objective establishment-level safety performance. We also found that the effect of these practices on accident rates was stable across major industrial sector types but varied with establishment size.