The relationship between safety communication and human factor accident at the workplace – a conceptual framework

Abstract

Rapid development in industrialization and global economy has contributed to the increased number of workplace injuries and accidents. These days, with the advancement and the reliability of technology, accidents caused by equipment and machinery failures seem to be decreasing. However, human element tends to become a significant contributor in accident at the workplace. Statistical reports and evidences indicate that around 80 to 90 percent of work-related accidents can be attributed to human factors. Notably, the concept of human factor accident has evolved over time. Decades ago, human factor accident has been defined as the contact between man and machine, poor workplace and equipment design at the workplace or within an operation system. In recent years, researches on human factor accident have shown a changing trend. Attention has been focused more on individual factors and organizational factors which contribute to human factor accident at the workplace. Besides, safety communication at the workplace has playing a vital role in reducing human factor accident. Effective communication among the workers and leader is believed to help in reduce the risk of human factor accident to be happened. Thus, this study reviews the literature on human factor accident and safety communication. In order to examine the relationship of safety communication and human factor accident, 300 sets of questionnaire will be distributed to the production workers from manufacturing companies in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. In the final part of this paper, the researcher has come out with a conceptual framework of the relationship between safety communication and human factor accident based on the literature reviewed.