Safety climate at nuclear power plants in Taiwan

Abstract

In this chapter we identify the characteristics of safety climate at nuclear power plants in Taiwan, explore the factors that are sufficient to discriminate between high and low safety-awareness and safety-compliance groups, and provide a theoretical framework to explain the interrelationships among factors underlying safety climate. Safety climate scales for managers and workers were developed on the basis of local safety climate issues identified through focus-group interviews. Survey results reveal that although both managers and workers had a positive attitude toward safety climate, they differed on several dimensions. Discriminant analysis found that a combination of organizational factors and a safety management system could account for differences between high and low safety-awareness groups. In addition, the existence of a safety management system and provision of safety equipment can serve as indicators of the measure of safe compliance.