Keywords

Safety climate; aircraft maintenance; unsafe acts; employee turnover

Abstract

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.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2015

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Karwowski, Waldemar

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Industrial Engineering and Management Systems

Degree Program

Engineering and Computer Science

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0005753

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0005753

Language

English

Release Date

August 2015

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Engineering and Computer Science; Engineering and Computer Science -- Dissertations, Academic

Included in

Engineering Commons

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