Safety surveys factor analysis

The first four factors appear to be relatively universal, being similar to the results of other attempts to identify the critical components of the management system. Table 8.5 depicts our factors along with the factors derived from three other sources (1) our own factor analysis of a database from the application of a safety perception survey entitled the Safety Barometer developed by the National Safety Council (2) a factor analysis conducted by Coyle et al. (1995) on data from a safety survey that he developed and (3) the factors identified by a group of managers at Dow Chemical in the 1980s that formed the basis for the company s self assessment process. 

Factor analysis and extensive focus-group work indicates that the survey measures fundamental components of the management system, including management s demonstration of commitment to safety education and knowledge of the workforce quality of the safety supervisory process and employee involvement and commitmenL... 

Many studies have shown that there are many factors that can be chosen as risk factors that increase the probability of accidents to occur and their severity. The correlation between any factor and road accidents means that they both increase and decrease simultaneously. For example, if an increase in speed causes an increase in road accidents it means both are correlated. The degree of such a correlation differs from factor to factor and is usually measured by using different statistical techniques and it ranges from zero to one. If one, it means the factor is highly correlated to road accidents and if zero there is no correlation at all. In this section I will not discuss these techniques in detail, but instead I focus on the results from several sources have been reviewed. I have tried to select recent studies demonstrating long international experience in this field. For example, the Handbook of Road Safety Measures (Elvik Vaa, 2004) provides a wide literature survey and meta-analysis of different road safety measures made in relation to accidents in different countries. I will provide a summary of the most important factors in relation to risk, exposure and consequences at the end of this section. However, I know that it is hard to identify all those macro-factors that have the potential to contribute to accident occurrence and consequences. In all approaches, the chosen factors should be relevant to the concept of road safety that one is seeking to measure. 

See G. Hian6r and M. Hane Seat Belts Factors Influencing Their Use A Literature Siuvey Accident Analysis and Prevention 5 (1973) 27-43 and U.S. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Safety Belt Usage Survey of the Traffic Population. DOT HS 803 354. January 1978. 

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