Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Antecedents of self-reported safety behaviors among commissioning workers in nuclear power plants: The roles of demographics, personality traits and safety attitudes

  • Tao, Da (State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power Safety Monitoring Technology and Equipment, China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd) ;
  • Liu, Zhaopeng (State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power Safety Monitoring Technology and Equipment, China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd) ;
  • Diao, Xiaofeng (Institute of Human Factors and Ergonomics, College of Mechatronics and Control Engineering, Shenzhen University) ;
  • Tan, Haibo (State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power Safety Monitoring Technology and Equipment, China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd) ;
  • Qu, Xingda (Institute of Human Factors and Ergonomics, College of Mechatronics and Control Engineering, Shenzhen University) ;
  • Zhang, Tingru (Institute of Human Factors and Ergonomics, College of Mechatronics and Control Engineering, Shenzhen University)
  • Received : 2020.05.28
  • Accepted : 2020.11.05
  • Published : 2021.05.25
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Abstract

Demographics, personality traits and attitudes are related to safety behaviors in varied workplaces, but their roles in nuclear power plants (NPPs) have not been fully understood. This study was conducted to explore the roles of a set of demographic, personality and attitudinal factors on self-reported safety behaviors (including safety participation and human errors) among NPP commissioning workers. Survey data were collected from 157 Chinese commissioning workers. Results showed that age and work experience were significantly associated with human errors, but not with safety participation. Neuroticism and conscientiousness were significantly related to human errors, while neuroticism, conscientiousness and agreeableness were significantly related to safety participation. Attitude towards questioning was observed as an antecedent of safety participation, and functioned as a mediating variable in the relation between conscientiousness and safety behaviors. The findings provide evidence-based implications on the design of diverse interventions and strategies for the promotion of safety behaviors in NPPs.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was jointly funded by the Foundation of Shenzhen Science and Technology Committee (grant no. 20200813225029002), Humanity and Social Science Youth Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (grant no. 20YJCZH146), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (grant no. 2019A1515010863), grants from State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power Safety Monitoring Technology and Equipment of China (Grant No. 007-EC-B-2019-C83-P.S.20-01122) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71801156).

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