Ensuring Safe Behavior of Production Employees by Establishing Their Personal Occupational Safety Management System

The main cause of occupational accidents in 70–90 % of the cases is erroneous actions by personnel. The human factor as a driving force of the labor process and the main cause of its probable negative consequences requires control and management through, for instance, human abilities, including intellectual, sensorial, protective and physical abilities. Based on the human factor presented by the authors as a difference between actual human abilities and the required abilities of an employee, it can be concluded that it can be a positive, neutral, or negative value. Positive, neutral, and negative values of a human factor correlate with a probable number of erroneous actions of an employee at the following levels: below the required level, complying with the required level, and exceeding the required level. According to such levels, the employee’s behavior is estimated as safe, satisfactory, and hazardous. Human factor management is the operation of an employee’s personal occupational safety management system that is a part of a human self-management system and can be manifested though his/her behavior. The personal occupational safety management system is formed by training for safe working methods and techniques based on the impact on control and communication units (intellectual abilities), working environment control (sensorial abilities), protection (protecting abilities), and performance (physical abilities). As shown by practice, each ability of an employee can be developed and improved using necessary and targeted training. Based on the personal occupational safety management system, a methodology to train members of auxiliary mine rescue teams has been developed. It includes the transfer of new knowledge to a trainee using educational films, reinforcement and control of new knowledge using electronic courses, and establishing personal practices of collective and individual use of obtained knowledge using specially developed virtual reality simulators. The provided methodology in its different variations has already been used by large industrial companies to train employees of basic professions and members of auxiliary mine rescue teams.