Safety Climate and Safety Outcomes in Aircraft Maintenance: A Mediating Effect of Employee Turnover and Safety Motivation

Aircraft maintenance is viewed as a critical safety component in general and military aviation industries, and thus it is crucial to identify the factors that may affect aircraft maintenance. Because the safety climate is considered as a leading indicator of safety performance and safety outcomes, this study utilized this safety climate approach to develop a model which can explain the relationships between employee turnover, safety motivation, self-reported unsafe acts, reporting unsafe behaviors, incidents, and injuries in the aviation maintenance environment. This study included a sample of 283 technicians in military aircraft maintenance units who participated in a cross-sectional random survey. Data collected were analyzed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques. A structural model that fitted the data was developed which predicted 64% of the variance in employee turnover, 7% of the variance in safety motivation, 20% of the variance in unsafe acts, 41% of the variance in reporting unsafe behavior, and 21% of the variance in workplace injuries. The results indicate employees who report a perception of high turnover exhibit decreased safety motivation and increased unsafe acts which lead to higher levels of workplace injuries. The perception of safety climate was identified as an antecedent to safety performance and safety outcomes. Additionally, the effects of control variables such as age and education were tested. The implications for safety management in aircraft maintenance were also discussed. This study provides directions for future research on the turnover of aircraft maintenance technicians, safety performance, and safety outcomes.

Author dc:creator

• Alnoaimi, Muhanna

Contributors dc:contributor

• Karwowski, Waldemar

• Safety climate; aircraft maintenance; unsafe acts; employee turnover
• Engineering
• Dissertations, Academic -- Engineering and Computer Science; Engineering and Computer Science -- Dissertations, Academic

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

CFE0005753

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-1643