Safety knowledge and safe practices at work: A study of Polish industrial enterprises.

Background: Knowledge management is a central resource in achieving the goals of occupational safety efforts.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between the implicit (tacit) and explicit (formal) safety knowledge of employees and their effects on employee propensity to follow safe practices at work.

Methods: A survey with seven safety constructs: 1) tacit safety knowledge, 2) explicit safety knowledge, 3) attitudes toward safety: psychological aspects, 4) attitudes toward safety: emotional aspects, 5) safety culture: behavioral aspects, 6) safety culture: psychological aspects, and 7) propensity to follow safety regulations and safe work practices (safety at work), was designed and used for data collection.

The relationships between the use of smart mobile technology, safety knowledge and propensity to follow safe practices at work.

The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between the use of smart technology (mobile phones) and the implicit (tacit) and explicit safety knowledge of employees and their propensity to follow safe practices at work. A survey was performed with seven constructs: (a) use of mobile technology; (b) tacit safety knowledge; (c) explicit safety knowledge of unsafe behaviors; (d) attitudes toward safety: emotional aspects; (e) safety culture: behavioral and psychological aspects of work; (f) safety culture: aspects of work; (g) safety culture: regulations at work. Workers from three manufacturing companies located in southeastern Poland completed a paper-based survey.