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Ergonomics
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To cite this article: P. S. Paul & J. Maiti (2008) The synergic role of sociotechnical and
personal characteristics on work injuries in mines, Ergonomics, 51:5, 737-767, DOI:
10.1080/00140130701747483
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Ergonomics
Vol. 51, No. 5, May 2008, 737–767
Occupational injuries in mines are attributed to many factors. In this study, an attempt
was made to identify the various factors related to work injuries in mines and to
estimate their effects on work injuries to mine workers. An accident path model was
developed to estimate the pattern and strength of relationships amongst the personal
and sociotechnical variables in accident/injury occurrences. The input data for the
model were the correlation matrix of 18 variables, which were collected from the case
study mines. The case study results showed that there are sequential interactions
amongst the sociotechnical and personal factors leading to accidents/injuries in mines.
Amongst the latent endogenous constructs, job dissatisfaction and safe work behaviour
show a significant positive and negative direct relationship with work injury,
respectively. However, the construct safety environment has a significant negative
indirect relationship with work injury. The safety environment is negatively affected by
work hazards and positively affected by social support. The safety environment also
shows a significant negative relationship with job stress and job dissatisfaction.
However, negative personality has no significant direct or indirect effect on work injury,
but it has a significant negative relationship with safe work behaviour. The endogenous
construct negative personality is positively influenced by job stress and negatively
influenced by social support.
Keywords: occupational injury; sociotechnical model; structural equation modelling
1. Introduction
Mining has been accepted the world over as a hazardous profession and involves a
continuous struggle by the work force with unpredictable forces of nature (Biswas 2001).
These hazards pose a serious problem of managing the safety and health risks of mine
workers. As a result, accidents/injuries are prevalent across all commodities in
underground mining. The hazardous nature of Indian coal mine operations can easily
be depicted from the national statistics of mine accident and injuries. For example, the
number of fatalities and serious bodily injuries in 2004 and 2005 in Indian coal mines were
96, 120 and 991, 1125, respectively. Similarly, the fatality and serious bodily injury rates
per 1000 persons employed for the years 2004 and 2005 are 0.24, 0.30 and 2.45, 2.78,
respectively (Directorate General of Mines Safety 2005). When one compares these
statistics with the world mining scenario, it is found that the number of fatalities and
serious injuries in Indian mines is quite high. For example, the number of fatalities in
United States coal mines for the year 2004 is 28 with a fatality rate per 1000 persons
employed of 0.30 (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 2007). Although
the fatality rate in Indian coal mines is on a par with that of US coal mines, the number of
deaths per year in Indian coal mines is more than three times as many. The socio-economic
impact of such a high number of deaths and serious injuries is very adverse for a labour
surplus economy such as India. More accidents and injuries lead to a decrease in output
per man-shift, due to loss of production and thereby an increase in cost of production.
Early research in the field tended to treat safety primarily as a technical problem that
could be ‘engineered out’ through improved design of workplace settings (Pidgeon 1991,
Donald and Canter 1993, Donald and Young 1996). More recently, it is becoming widely
accepted that technical approaches alone are inadequate to reduce accident rates to desired
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levels. That is, even when the purely technical problems associated with work settings are
addressed, unacceptably high accident rates often persist (Pidgeon 1991, Reason 1997,
Maiti and Dasgupta 2003). This has led many organisational researchers and theorists to
explore alternative perspectives that take into account the broader social context in which
accidents occur. Three viewpoints provide alternative perspectives to the employee- or
person-based hypothesis about unsafe acts and accidents (Brown et al. 2000). First, Kamp
and Krause (1997) uphold that there are very few situations in safety (and in life) in which
different people behave in the same way. Although on some occasions, people behave
differently and this variability is due to differences between people, such as abilities,
attitudes, values, beliefs, emotional states or the characteristics of personality itself. A
person with a high level of job satisfaction holds positive attitudes towards the job; a
person who is dissatisfied with his/her job holds negative attitudes about the job (Robbins
1997). Second, Deming (1986) stated that accidents stem almost entirely from the system.
The third viewpoint falls between the person- and system-based positions and is
represented by the arguments of authors such as Perrow (1984), DeJoy (1994, 1996) and
others. They pointed out that most industrial accidents are caused by an interacting system
of social and technical forces. They argue that employees just happen to find themselves at
the end of a series of interrelated events. The purpose of this paper is to compare and
contrast the three alternative hypotheses (system, person, system–person sequence)
incorporating the synergic role of sociotechnical and personal characteristics on work
injury in mines.
sociotechnical-based and work injury. The general categories with their specific variables
are depicted in Figure 1. Brief summaries of the variables and how they are related to work
injuries are described below.
received major attention in prior research on work injuries in mines, as experience makes
workers more aware of the physical hazards of the mining environment and thereby is
crucial for the full reorganisation of the extent and range of hazards. However, conflicting
results emerged in prior studies. Experience represents the amount of time employees have
been engaged in their work. This may be their total mining experience or the job
experience. Experience has been argued to have a positive relation with injury (Hansen
1989, Iverson and Erwin 1997). Although job experience had a strong negative
relationship with accident rate, the total mining experience was not significant regarding
accident occurrences (Theodore Barry and Associates 1971, 1972). However, Bennett and
Passmore (1986), Phiri (1989) and Maiti and Bhattacherjee (1999, 2001) found that injury
severity was not related to a miner’s total mining experience.
Negative affectivity refers to the chronic experience of negative emotional states and
lack of emotional stability (Frone 1998). Iverson and Erwin (1997) suggested that such
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physical hazards and work injuries (Hansen 1989, Harrell 1990, Savery and Wooden 1994,
McDonald 1995, Frone 1998). Hazards do not always result in accident or injuries, but
they lurk in work environments, waiting for the right combination of circumstances to
come together (Brown et al. 2000). Regarding production vs. safety, the National
Research Council/National Academy of Sciences (1982) stated that a management that
plans well to increase production could also plan well to improve safety. Sanders et al.
(1976) stated that production pressure appears to lead to an increase in disabling injuries,
which in turn results in a decrease in production pressure. Safety training is important;
workers, who are aware of safety issues and well trained for the tasks they are to perform,
may avoid injury on a dangerous job, whilst untrained and careless workers may be
injured under the safest possible conditions (Maiti et al. 2004). Given the frequent lack of
control risks, it is very difficult to evaluate the effect of training on accident/injury
reduction. Studies in this field are rather few. Notable studies were done by Pfeifer et al.
(1976), Demichiei et al. (1982), Bhattacherjee et al. (1997), Maiti et al. (2004) and Paul and
Maiti (2005). Demichiei et al. (1982) stated that new miners in high-accident rate mines
were less informed on how to do their jobs than new miners in low-accident rate mines.
Bhattacherjee et al. (1997) found that the training given to miners is mostly classroom
oriented and on-the-job training and specific tasks training needs to be implemented to
improve the safety of workers. Maiti et al. (2004) found that healthy social support and a
stable personality lead workers to perform safely, which has an indirect relationship with
work injury. Mine workers are often required to determine their own work practices with
due regard to legislative restrictions for managing their workplaces. Proper safety practices
lead to fewer accidents/injuries in mines. Safety practices here represent the overall safety
practice of the mine according to existing rules and regulations. Safety equipment
availability and maintenance have immediate effects on safety performance and they are
usually not good in high-accident rate mines (Pfeifer et al. 1976; Demichiei et al. 1982).
In any industrial setting, social factors are key elements in describing the overall safety
climate and are composed of three variables, namely: management worker interaction;
supervisory support; and co-workers’ support. Management–worker interaction includes
the variables such as the overall labour relations climate, management concern for labour
and labour support for safety disciplinary actions. A considerable amount of evidence is
accumulating to suggest that there is a significant positive relationship between poor
management–worker interaction and work injuries (Gaertner et al. 1987, Maiti et al.
2004). Pfeifer et al.’s (1976) analysis suggested that supervisors in low-accident rate mines
‘more often show real concern for workers’ welfare’. Their results are based on the
perception of underground hourly employees. Demichiei et al.’s (1982) questionnaire
742 P.S. Paul and J. Maiti
results suggested that the section supervisors in low-accident rate mines received more
support from safety personnel when reprimanding miners for unsafe acts. Supervisory
support is the degree of consideration expressed by the immediate supervisor for sub-
ordinates (Michaels and Spector 1982) and it has a negative relationship with work injury.
Co-worker support is defined as the degree of consideration expressed by co-workers.
Sanders et al.’s (1976) and Demichiei et al.’s (1982) questionnaire results suggested a
negative relationship between co-worker support and work injuries.
2. Methods
2.1. Sample
The study was conducted in two neighbouring underground coal mines within a large
public sector organisation in the eastern part of India. The mines were selected because
the work injury rates of these mines are high. Data were collected through accident/
injury reports available at the mines and through a questionnaire survey. Accident/
injury data for the period of 1998–2002 (5 years) were collected. The reports contain the
age, experience and occupation of injured workers, their date of injury, date of joining,
cause of injury and body parts injured. It can be seen from the accident/injury statistics
of the two mines that 183 and 103 workers faced a minimum of one accident/injury
during the last five years in Mines 1 and 2, respectively. Interviews were conducted with
individual miners through a random sampling from different categories of workers from
both of the mines. The workers were approached individually at the mines. Two groups,
namely, a non-accident group (NAG) and an accident group (AG) of workers were
identified to study the influence of different factors contributing to mine accident/injury
amongst the workers. AG workers were defined as workers in the mine who had
sustained a prior mine-related injury during the last five years, while NAG workers were
defined as those with no history of a prior mine-related injury during the last five years.
In this study, AG workers are treated as cases and NAG workers as controls. Initially,
a random selection amongst the cases was done for interview. A few interested,
experienced mine workers, who were fluent in reading and writing, were asked to help in
conducting the questionnaire survey for others. Questionnaires for most of the mine
workers who were not fluent in reading and writing were read out. It took 45–60 min to
fill in the questionnaire forms for an individual participant. Out of 175 participants
from the case group, 150 miners’ answers matched the inclusion criteria of the study.
Inclusion criteria consist of proper identifying information and a proper response to
each of the questions. Through frequency matching, 150 participants were chosen
randomly from the participants in the control group, whose answers matched the
inclusion criteria of the survey. Overall, of the 375 participants, 175 miners participated
from the case group and 200 miners participated from the control group with an overall
response rate of 80%. Of the 150 cases, 85 workers were from Mine 1 and 65 were from
Ergonomics 743
Mine 2. The control group was composed of 90 workers from Mine 1 and 60 workers
from Mine 2.
2.2. Instruments
Measures used in this research were miners’ age, experience, impulsivity, negative affecti-
vity, depression, risk taking, safety training, safety practice, safety equipment availability
and maintenance, job stress, co-worker support, supervisory support, management–
worker interaction, job dissatisfaction, physical hazards, production pressure, safe work
behaviour and work injury. The age and experience of each participant were computed
from date of birth and date of joining the mine, obtained from the mines’ personnel
logbook. The variables impulsivity, negative affectivity, depression, risk taking, safety
training, safety practice, safety equipment availability and maintenance, job stress, co-
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exploratory study (Nunnally 1978). For example, risk taking was measured through 11
items. A factor analysis revealed that two items showed a factor loading of 50.3 and were
discarded. Then, the item correlations of the remaining nine items were tested and all the
correlations satisfied the inclusion criterion (item correlation 0.30). So, nine items were
considered as the significant indicators of risk taking. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.82. Similarly,
negative affectivity, job dissatisfaction, impulsivity and depression were treated through
factor loadings and item correlations. Four items for negative affectivity, one item for job
dissatisfaction and four items for impulsivity were discarded. Finally, negative affectivity,
job dissatisfaction, impulsivity and depression were measured by 11, 12, eight and five
questions, respectively. The Cronbach’s alphas were 0.83, 0.83, 0.71 and 0.65, respectively.
Similarly, safety training, safety practice, safe work behaviour and safety equipment
availability and maintenance were treated through factor loadings and item correlations.
Two items for safety training, eight items for safety practice and one item for safety
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equipment availability and maintenance were discarded. Finally, safety training, safety
practice, safe work behaviour and safety equipment availability and maintenance were
measured by six, 19, eight and eight questions, respectively. The Cronbach’s alphas were
0.66, 0.80 and 0.72, respectively.
Supervisory support is the degree of consideration expressed by the immediate
supervisor for his/her subordinates (Michaels and Spector 1982). Supervisory support was
measured through seven items. A factor analysis revealed that all the items showed a factor
loading of 0.3 and the item correlations were 0.3. Finally, all the items were considered
as significant indicators of supervisory support. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.71. Similarly, the
management–worker interaction and co-worker support were treated through factor
loadings and item correlations. Four items for management–worker interaction and
two items for co-worker support were discarded. Finally, the management–worker
interaction and co-worker support were measured by 10 and five questions, respectively.
The Cronbach’s alphas were 0.84, and 0.64, respectively.
Job stress, physical hazards and production pressure were measured through 12, 15 and
four items. Four items each for job stress and physical hazards were discarded. Finally, job
stress, physical hazards and production pressure were measured by eight, 11 and four
questions, respectively. The Cronbach’s alphas were 0.67, 0.65 and 0.79, respectively. The
final scale items, means, standard deviations of each of the 15 variables after validity and
reliability test and their respective Cronbach’s alphas are shown in Appendix 1.
2.4. Hypotheses
Epidemiological studies revealed that there are significant differences between socio-
technical and personal characteristics of accident-involved and non-involved employees at
work. These differences may lead to accident/injury occurrences in mines. The present
study explored the differences between AG and NAG of workers based on their
sociotechnical and personal characteristics through structural equation modelling. The
following hypotheses were tested through structural equation modelling:
H1: It is hypothesised that work hazards, social support and demographic characteristics are
three exogenous or independent constructs, which have direct and indirect effects on six
endogenous or dependent constructs, namely, safety environment, job stress, negative
personality, job dissatisfaction, safe work behaviour and work injury.
H2: The construct safety environment is affected negatively by work hazards and positively by
social support.
Ergonomics 745
H3: The construct job stress is predicted by all three exogenous constructs and the safety
environment. The construct work hazard is hypothesised to have a positive relationship with
job stress, whereas social support has a negative relationship with job stress. The demographic
construct, estimated by variables such as age and experience, bears no definite relationship as
conflicting results have been reported in different studies. Job stress is also negatively predicted
by safety environment.
H4: The construct negative personality is predicted by the constructs, social support,
demographic factors and job stress. The constructs social support and job stress have a
negative and positive relationship respectively with negative personality. The literature
suggests that the construct demographic factors has no definite relationship with negative
personality.
H5: The construct job dissatisfaction is affected by two exogenous constructs, work hazards
and demographic factors, and two endogenous constructs, namely, safety environment and
job stress. Job dissatisfaction is predicted positively by work hazards and job stress, and
negatively by safety environment. The construct demographic factor bears no definite
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relationship.
H6: The construct safe work behaviour is predicted positively by the construct safety
environment and negatively by negative personality.
H7: Job dissatisfaction and job stress trigger work injury, whereas good safe work behaviour is
assumed to decrease work injuries in mines.
2.5. Analysis
The model depicted in Figure 2 was tested using LISREL 8.3 (Joreskog and Sorbom 1998)
by employing the two-stage approach suggested by Anderson and Gerbing (1988). In this
approach, the first step involves testing a measurement model via confirmatory factor
analysis and the second involves testing a series of structural models including the
hypothesised model. The purpose of a measurement model is to describe how well
the observed or measured variables (indicators) serve as measurement instruments for the
underlying latent variables (Sumer 2003). The measurement model also estimates the non-
directional relationships (correlations) among the latent variables. The purpose of a
structural model is to test a general model that prescribes the relationships among the
latent variables. The relationships between the exogenous and endogenous variables are
denoted by gamma (g) parameters and between endogenous variables are denoted by beta
(b) parameters. Zeta (z) parameter represents the residual variance (Hansen 1989).
3. Results
3.1. Evaluation of model fit
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There is no consensus among researchers concerning how best to evaluate the extent to
which a proposed model fits the data (Sumer 2003). Based on some publications in this
area (e.g. Hansen 1989, Joreskog and Sorbom 1998), a set of fit indices was used in this
study. Of the absolute indices, the chi-square (w2), the goodness of fit index (GFI) and the
root mean square residual (RMR) were used. Fit measures that are based on w2 statistics
typically estimate the ‘badness of fit’, and optimal fit is indicated by a value of zero with
increasing values indicating greater departure of the implied (estimated) covariance matrix
from the observed covariance matrix (Hoyle 1995). Therefore, non-significant or smaller
w2 value is desired. In addition, model fit is judged to be good if the w2 is not too large
relative to the degrees of freedom (d.f.). It has been suggested that w2 :d.f. ratios of 2:1 to
5:1 indicate an acceptable fit (Marsh and Hocevar 1988). But, the w2 value will be more
sensitive when the sample value is either more than 200 or less than 100. So, a w2 test will
be suitable for the sample value 100 to 200 (Hair et al. 1995). Ideally, the GFI should be
between 0.90 and 1.00 and the RMR small relative to the size of the diagonal elements of
the correlation matrix (Hansen 1989). However, for the RMR, no threshold level can be
established. Researchers can assess the practical significance of the magnitude of the RMR
in light of the overall objectives and the observed/actual covariance or correlation
(Bagozzi and Yi 1988). Comparative fit index (CFI) and incremental fit index (IFI) values
of 0.90 and greater indicate adequate model fit (Bollen 1989). Hu and Bentler (1995),
however, reported emerging evidence that 0.90 might not always be a reasonable cut-off
for all adjunct fit indexes under all modelling circumstances, but a choice of a cut-off value
lower than 0.90 may be justified.
Job dissatisfaction 0.001 0.026 0.306 0.386 0.475 0.347 0.524 70.436 70.573 70.625 0.617 70.215 70.653 70.665 1.000
Physical 0.094 0.107 0.238 0.301 0.329 0.211 0.424 70.200 70.497 70.514 0.455 70.251 70.465 70.511 0.482 1.000
hazards
Production 0.113 0.124 0.169 0.119 0.240 0.413 0.424 70.293 70.362 70.385 0.398 70.099 70.542 70.466 0.507 0.459 1.000
pressure
Safe work 0.055 0.010 70.217 70.368 70.303 70.362 70.370 0.166 0.539 0.307 70.258 0.361 0.396 0.387 70.288 70.172 70.181 1.000
behaviour
Mean 37.34 14.58 0.50 16.02 20.88 8.707 18.58 13.22 39.67 15.73 16.82 12.86 14.91 20.36 23.54 24.10 8.78 20.27
SD 9.01 9.25 0.50 4.12 5.95 2.55 5.41 3.27 7.53 3.93 3.99 2.18 3.68 5.44 6.16 4.36 2.82 2.99
SEAM ¼ safety equipment availability and maintenance; M_W_INT ¼ management workers interaction.
Correlation coefficient 0.113 indicates 0.05 probability level of significance.
747
748 P.S. Paul and J. Maiti
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Figure 3. Path diagram of measurement model showing constructs and their indicators with
loadings. *Indicates 0.05 probability level of significance.
RMR ¼ 0.06, GFI ¼ 0.98, normed fit index (NFI) ¼ 0.97, CFI ¼ 0.99, IFI ¼ 0.99).
Although the w2 statistics indicated significant differences between the observed and the
estimated matrices, the w2:d.f. ratio is well below the suggested 5:1 ratio. This indicates that
all of the latent constructs are reliably measured by the indicator variables. Correlations
between the latent constructs are shown in Table 3. As can be seen in Figure 3, all the
indicator variables are loaded significantly on the appropriate latent constructs (ranging
from 0.40 for depression to 0.99 for age). Most of the variables seemed to be strong
indicators of their latent constructs. All loadings were statistically significant and
modification indices suggested minor modifications regarding the original specification of
the model.
As seen in Table 3, as expected, latent constructs in the exogenous context (except
demographic) are strongly correlated with those in the endogenous context. Especially,
social support is found to be strongly correlated with both safety environment (0.83) and
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negative personality (–0.91). Investigation of within context correlations reveals that the
highest correlation was between social support and work hazards (–0.78) in the exogenous
context and between safety environment and negative personality (–0.94) in the
endogenous context. Finally, confirming the relationship between work hazards/negative
affectivity and work injury, all the latent constructs in both contexts are found to be
significantly correlated with work injury. Of those links, however, the highest correlations
are with safety environment (–0.42) and negative personality (0.41).
Parameter Values
Chi-square with 99 degree of freedom 257.24
Root mean square residual 0.06
Root mean square error of approximation 0.07
Goodness of fit index 0.98
Normed fit index 0.97
Comparative fit index 0.99
Incremental fit index 0.99
Table 3. Structural correlations amongst the latent constructs measured through the measurement
model.
Demographic 1.00
Work injury 0.29* 1.00
Negative 70.10* 0.41* 1.00
personality
Safety 0.04 70.42* 70.94* 1.00
environment
Job stress 70.09 0.17* 0.86* 70.73* 1.00
Social support 0.06 70.30* 70.91* 0.83* 70.75* 1.00
Job 0.01 0.31* 0.65* 70.75* 0.62* 70.70* 1.00
dissatisfaction
Work hazards 0.17 0.30* 0.67* 70.77* 0.63* 70.78* 0.73* 1.00
Safe work 0.04 70.22* 70.51* 0.49* 70.26* 0.48* 70.29* 70.26* 1.00
behaviour
0.88, IFI ¼ 0.88) and significant path relationships between the latent constructs were
achieved. The accident path model as investigated through structural equation modelling
is shown in Figure 4. GFIs for the accident path model have been shown in Table 4.
Although the w2 statistics were significant and the w2:d.f. ratio was more than the suggested
5:1 ratio, recent research, however, argues that the w2 statistic is not the preferred measure
to evaluate model fit when the sample size is more than 200 (Hair et al. 1995). GFI, NFI,
CFI and IFI are the preferred statistics to evaluate a model. For the proposed accident
path model, the GFI, NFI, CFI and IFI are marginally less than the suggested values
between 0.90 and 1.00. As stated earlier, Hair et al. (1995) and Hu and Bentler (1995)
reported emerging evidence that 0.90 might not always be a reasonable cut-off for all fit
indexes under all modelling circumstances, but a choice of a cut-off value lower than 0.90
Figure 4. Final accident model path diagram. *Indicates 0.05 probability level of significance.
Ergonomics 751
may be used. Therefore, the structural model (accident path model) of this study provided
a reasonably good fit to the data.
Parameter estimation with their standard errors and t-values for the structural model
has been shown in Table 5. As can be seen in Table 5, seven out of the nine path
coefficients between the endogenous constructs as depicted in Figure 4 are significant and
conceptually correct. Investigation of the structural path parameters indicated that five
out of nine paths (Figure 4) from the exogenous constructs to the endogenous constructs
are significant. Demographic variables did not significantly predict all the latent
constructs; job stress, negative personality and job dissatisfaction. Exogenous constructs,
namely, social support and work hazards, have significant path relationships with
Parameter Values
Chi-square with 15 degree of freedom 212.23
Root mean square residual 0.06
Goodness of fit index 0.87
Normed fit index 0.88
Comparative fit index 0.88
Incremental fit index 0.88
Square multiple correlations for structural equation
Safety environment 0.78
Job stress 0.60
Negative personality 0.92
Job dissatisfaction 0.63
Safe work behaviour 0.24
Work injury 0.13
Table 5. Parameters with their standard errors and t-values for the structural model.
the endogenous constructs except the path between work hazards and job stress (path
relationship ¼ 0.05). Direct effects of social support on the safety environment
(path coefficient ¼ 0.69), job stress (path coefficient ¼ –0.39) and negative personality
(path coefficient ¼ –0.65) were highly significant. Work hazards displayed a positively
significant effect on job dissatisfaction (path coefficient ¼ 0.38) and a negatively significant
effect on safety environment (path coefficient ¼ –0.24). Safety environment also directly
increases safe work behaviour (path coefficient ¼ 0.26) and decreases both the job
dissatisfaction (path coefficient ¼ –0.40) and job stress (path coefficient ¼ –0.37). Job
stress has significant positive relationships with negative personality (path coefficient
0.37) and negative personality displayed a significant negative effect on safe work
behaviour (path coefficient ¼ –0.25). Job stress positively predicted job dissatisfaction
(path coefficient ¼ 0.08), but the relationship was not significant. Job dissatisfaction (path
coefficient ¼ 0.29) and safe work behaviour (path coefficient ¼ –0.14) both displayed a
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Table 6. Linkages through which the indirect effect of social support, work hazards and safety
environment on work injury were achieved.
influences of social support were achieved through the linkages of social support!nega-
tive personality!safe work behaviour!work injury, social support!job stress!negative
personality!safe work behaviour!work injury, social support!job stress!job dis-
satisfaction!work injury, social support!job stress!work injury, social support!safety
environment!job stress!negative personality!safe work behaviour!work injury,
social support!safety environment!job stress!job dissatisfaction!work injury, social
support!safety environment!job dissatisfaction!work injury, social support!safety
environment!job stress!work injury. The direct, indirect and total effects of the
significant variables on work injury are shown in Table 7. Table 7 also shows that the
indirect effect of social support on work injury is –0.14 and the total (direct þ indirect)
effect is also –0.14, as there is no direct effect of social support on work injury. Similarly,
work hazards and safety environment have a significant indirect effect of 0.15 and –0.16,
respectively, and a total effect of 0.15 and –0.16, respectively on work injury.
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The direct, indirect and total effects of the significant variables on safe work behaviour
and job dissatisfaction are shown in Table 8 and Table 9, respectively. It can be seen from
Table 8 that three latent constructs work hazards (indirect path coefficient ¼ –0.07), social
support (indirect path coefficient ¼ 0.40) and job stress (indirect path coefficient ¼ –0.09)
have significant relationships with safe work behaviour. Although job stress and negative
personality have no significant direct or indirect relationships with work injury, they have
significant indirect and direct relationships with safe work behaviour, respectively. Table 9
shows that social support (indirect path coefficient ¼ –0.33) displayed significant indirect
relationship with job dissatisfaction.
pressure (significant path coefficient ¼ 0.65) and physical hazards (significant path
coefficient ¼ 0.71), measured the latent construct work hazards, which has a strong
indirect effect on work injury, as discussed earlier. It can be concluded from the results that
the working environment of this mine is not up to standard and needs to be upgraded
carefully. It can also be concluded from the result that the constructs, namely social
support, work hazards and safety environment, are strong predictors of work injury in the
mines studied.
The negative personality of the mine workers requires careful and focused attention, as
revealed in this study. Negatively personified individuals are unable to extend safe work
behaviours in their work. The results of this study reveal that behavioural factors such as
impulsivity, negative affectivity, depression and risk-taking behaviours significantly
differentiate between the safe and unsafe work behaviour of employees, which can
eventually lead to accident/injury occurrences in mines. Moreover, employees with high
negative personality venture into risk-taking behaviours, which makes them more
susceptible to accidents. The results establish the fact that higher risk-taking behaviour
causes more accidents, as it strongly increases negative personality of the workers. The
workers who are inclined to take more risks to complete their work quickly, to produce
more, and with other deliberate intentions are found to be susceptible to more injuries.
These findings contribute to the design of safety training, which should be focused to take
care of the personal characteristics of workers, such as negative personality. The safety
management of the mines should discard their age-old belief that accidents/injuries are due
to the hazardous nature of mining and only engineering control and regulatory monitoring
are sufficient for improving the safety of the mines. Elimination of negative behaviours
must be focused on and appropriate remedial measures need to be taken by the mine safety
management.
4. Conclusions
The accident model developed in this study showed its importance in evaluating the
structural relationships in a safety system. The LISREL is a very innovative tool in
handling the complex multivariate relationships of the various variables in a structural
framework, which is a significant phenomenon in a mine’s system safety evaluation.
Structural equation modelling consists of measurement and structural models. A
measurement model is used to identify and estimate the relationships between latent
constructs and their indicators, whereas the structural model is used to determine the
pattern and strength of relationships between these constructs.
756 P.S. Paul and J. Maiti
The application of the accident path model in the mine safety system has been
demonstrated through a case study. The case study results showed that there are sequential
interactions amongst the sociotechnical and personal factors leading to accidents/injuries
in mines. The structural model results show that social support, work hazards and safety
environment have a significant, either direct or indirect, effect on work injuries, safe work
behaviour and job dissatisfaction. Safe work behaviour and job dissatisfaction also have
significant direct effects on work injury. So, it can be concluded from the results of the
accident path model that social support, work hazards and safety environment are the key
factors in occurrences of accidents/injuries in mines. Work hazards can be eliminated/
mitigated through: (i) proper identification of the hazards by regular inspection by
technical persons; (ii) adoption of necessary steps to overcome these physical hazards. The
results also suggest that better management–worker interaction and strong supervisory
support will improve the social support of the mines. This study further reveals that better
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social support usually improves safe work behaviours by lessening job stress and negative
personality. So, social support can indirectly motivate workers to behave safely during
work and reduce work injury. The construct safety environment can be improved through:
(i) new and innovative training for the workers to improve their safety performance in the
existing working environment; (ii) workers’ active involvement in Pit Safety Committee
meetings; (iii) proper supply and adequate maintenance of necessary safety equipment. A
better safety environment will decrease the workers’ job dissatisfaction and job stress and
also increase their safe behaviour during work.
Further, the negative personality of the mine workers requires careful and focused
attention, as revealed in this study. Although negative personality has no significant direct or
indirect relationships with work injury, it has a significant direct relationship with safe work
behaviour. Elimination of negative behaviours must be focused and effected by the mine
safety management. However, no short-term solution, as usually done in the mining industry
through mere incentives or punishments, will be effective. Long-term planning through: (i)
identification of negative individuals; (ii) proper counselling of adverse effects of negative
behaviours; (iii) special training with psychological treatment is urgently required.
Several methodological limitations of the present study should be acknowledged. First,
although the hypothesised relations were conceptualised as causal relations, the use of cross-
sectional correlation data does not allow for causal inferences. The second limitation was that
all of the reported accidents were treated as the same accident category, ignoring the type of
accidents. The accident types, such as minor, reportable and serious accidents, may be related
to certain safety behaviour and personality characteristics. Third, the data collected in this
study, which were based on the self-report of the participants, were in some respect indirect
and, hence, they are partially subject to bias and measurement errors.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their thanks to the management of the case study mines for their kind
cooperation during the course of the study. The financial help of University Grant Commission, New
Delhi through a major research project is highly appreciated. The authors are also thankful to the
learned reviewers for their valued comments and suggestions in enriching the quality of the paper.
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Appendix 1. (Continued).
(continued)
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Appendix 1. (Continued).
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Appendix 1. (Continued).
SI Summed item Construct
No. Construct Scale items means (SD) reliability Sources*
Do you think your work is difficult and arduous? 2.50 (0.84)
Do you face problems completing your work quickly? 2.26 (0.88)
8 Co-worker support Does an extremely friendly atmosphere prevail 2.73 (0.58) 0.64 MOSHAB 1998;
among the workers in this mine? Demichiei et al. 1982;
Do you get involved in arguments with your co-workers 2.52 (0.77) DMSP
often?
Do your colleagues help to solve your problems at 2.64 (0.63)
work?
Is your colleagues’ behaviour friendly and 2.50 (0.65)
cooperative?
Do your colleagues try to portray you as an unsuccessful 2.47 (0.76)
man?
9 Supervisory support Do supervisors instruct and guide their subordinates? 2.35 (0.85) 0.71 MOSHAB 1998;
Do supervisors support your decisions concerning 1.87 (0.89) Demichiei et al. 1982;
safety? DMSP
Do supervisors actively discourage your unsafe 2.11 (0.89)
Ergonomics
behaviour?
Are you satisfied with your supervisor’s performance 2.16 (0.86)
and qualifications?
Do you get involved in arguments with your supervisors 2.28 (0.82)
often?
Does the supervisor keep close tabs on your work? 2.19 (0.87)
Does the supervisor remind you to work safely? 1.94 (0.90)
10 Management– Do you report hazards and hazardous 2.07 (0.87) 0.84 MOSHAB 1998;
worker interaction incidents to your management? Demichiei et al. 1982;
Are you discouraged from reporting or bringing safety 1.88 (0.89) DMSP
issues to the attention of the management?
Do the officers look after the needs of the workers? 1.94 (0.84)
Does the management consult miners prior to 2.43 (0.84)
making decisions concerning safety and
productivity?
763
(continued)
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764
Appendix 1. (Continued).
SI Summed item Construct
No. Construct Scale items means (SD) reliability Sources*
Does management support your decisions concerning 1.89 (0.84)
safety?
Are the workers treated like human beings? 2.10 (0.83
Do the officers look after their own well-being only? 1.79 (0.88)
Do the officers treat you with respect? 1.93 (0.89)
Do you think the workers behave properly with 2.10 (0.87)
management?
Do the officers admire your capabilities and qualities? 2.22 (0.72)
11 Safety training Do you think that the safety training facilities 2.03 (0.99) 0.66 Demichiei et al. 1982;
provided to you are adequate? DMSP
Do you feel that training is effective? 2.58 (0.72)
Do you believe that your training in the safety 2.23 (0.74)
regulations is adequate?
Are you adequately trained to perform your assigned 2.09 (0.92)
tasks underground?
Do you feel that you require more training? 2.14 (1.04)
Most of the mines now use written tasks and 2.15 (0.90)
procedures for training.
P.S. Paul and J. Maiti
(continued)
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Appendix 1. (Continued).
SI Summed item Construct
No. Construct Scale items means (SD) reliability Sources*
Does the shot firer give a warning before blasting? 2.83 (0.54)
Are the winding engine and winding ropes regularly 2.06 (0.83)
examined?
Does everybody attend the safety week held by the 1.94 (0.91)
safety department?
Have you seen anybody doing risky work in the 1.73 (0.86)
mine?
Do safety personnel inspect regularly to ensure that 2.14 (1.03)
safe practices are being followed?
Are most of the areas in your mine inspected 2.12 (0.92)
regularly?
Do the safety inspectors make use of a written 2.19 (0.89)
checklist?
Are safety meetings conducted by the mine sirdar/ 1.98 (0.88)
overman/section-in-charge with the workers?
Ergonomics
(continued)
765
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Appendix 1. (Continued).
766
(continued)
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Appendix 1. (Continued).
SI Summed item Construct
No. Construct Scale items means (SD) reliability Sources*
Is there any chance of slipping on the roadways or 1.71 (0.77)
galleries due to accumulation of water?
Do the workers have to work under a large 2.51 (0.74)
unsupported roof?
15 Production pressure Are workers in this mine under a lot of pressure to 2.37 (0.86) 0.79 MOSHAB 1998;
finish their work? DMSP
Ergonomics
*Guided in framing questionnaire; Bold-faced questions are reverse scored; DMSP ¼ discussions with mine safety personnel.
767