SAFETY CULTURE AND SAFETY PERFORMANCE OF OIL SERVICING FIRMS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper examines how safety culture relates to safety performance among employees of oil servicing firms in Rivers State, Nigeria. Safety culture was operationalized along two dimensions (safety communication and safety motivation), while safety performance was measured by safety compliance and safety participation. Using a cross-sectional survey, data were collected from the full population of employees (N = 99). Instruments for the study was adapted from established scales and tested for internal consistency. Data was analyzed with the aid of Pearson product moment correlation coefficient statistical tool. Results indicated that the two dimensions of safety culture has a significant positive relationship with the two measures of safety performance. The findings recommends that: Management of oil servicing firms should always update employees about available safety information and allow employees make contributions on safety policies. Furthermore, they should ensure there is good communication about safety issues among employees. Management of oil servicing firms should ensure employees adhere to all the safety procedures in the work place. As a means to trigger safety motivation, management should see the safety of employees as paramount and should always consider safety as important as production.