Development of a work behavior taxonomy for the safety function in industry

A safety job activity questionnaire incorporating 24 job tasks was developed for describing the safety function within industry. This instrument was mailed to a stratified-proportionate sample of 1,190 working safety professionals representing 10 major industrial categories. Respondents rated the relative importance and amount of time spent on each of the 24 job activities. The overall response rate was 40%, producing 465 usable questionnaires. Factor analytic techniques were applied to each set of ratings to derive the principal dimensions of the safety position. Similar five-factor solutions emerged for both importance and time spent, accounting for 56% and 52% of the variance, respectively. The five job dimensions were: (i) serving as safety consultant and advisor, (ii) coordinating compliance and control activities, (iii) assessing the effectiveness of controls, (iv) analyzing hazards and losses, and (v) conducting specialized studies and reviews. Respondents, classified by industrial group and size of operation, were then compared using the job dimensions from the factor analyses. There were very few differences in the safety function across different industries or sizes of operations.