Abstract:
ORIENTATION : The mining industry plays a significant role in the South African economy. In
2020, the sector contributed R361.9 billion (7.9%) to the total gross domestic product. With
almost half a million employees reporting to work in the South African mining industry each
day, a relentless commitment to safety and health compliance is required to manage the
inherent risks and hazards associated with the sector.
RESEARCH PURPOSE : The objectives of this study sought to contribute to the body of research on
organisational culture, frontline supervisory engagement and accountability as levers for
enhancing organisational performance and creating sustainable competitive advantage
through resilient safety behaviour.
RESEARCH APPROACH : Quantitative, confirmatory research methods were used to gain insight
into the effect of organisational culture and safety climate on safety behaviour whilst examining
the influencing effects of frontline supervisory engagement and accountability on safety
behaviour in the process division of a single platinum mining organisation in South Africa.
MAIN FINDINGS : The key findings indicate that the tendency of a supervisor to hold herself and
her team accountable is positively correlated with good safety behaviour and is the strongest
predictor of safety behaviour when considering safety climate and supervisory engagement
and supervisory accountability. Furthermore, safety climate was found to be a significant
contributor to safety behaviour.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS : These results indicate that a significant influence exists between
organisational culture, safety climate, supervisory accountability and safety behaviour.
Supervisory engagement, although found to be positively correlated, was not a statistically
significant predictor of safety behaviour.
