Safety Management in Small Motor Carriers (2012)

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78 Assessment—Any test or procedure used to measure an indi- vidual’s employment or career-related qualifications or characteristics (DOL 2000). Associated factors [e.g., in the Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS)]—Human, vehicle, or environmental con- ditions present at the time of the crash. Associated fac- tors are not direct crash causes, but are often viewed as contributing factors. Behavior-Based Safety (BBS)—The application of behav- ioral principles to industrial safety. Combines applied behav- ior analysis, behavior modification, quality management, organization development, and risk management. Benchmarking—To compare company practices and out- comes with those of other carriers (external benchmark- ing), or to track them in relation to past performance or to goals (internal benchmarking). Correlation—The degree of association or predictability between two variables (e.g., height and weight) among the same group of subjects (e.g., drivers). Correlation coefficient—A statistic summarizing direc- tion and degree of association. Correlation coefficients range from −1.0 (a perfect inverse relation) through zero (no statistical association) to +1.0 (a perfect linear relation). Criterion—Any measure of work behavior or any outcome that can be used as the standard for successful job perfor- mance. Relevant examples include driver crash rate, viola- tion rate, tenure with company, or supervisory ratings of performance as a driver. Critical Reason (CR)—In the LTCCS, the human, vehicle, or environmental failure leading to the Critical Event and thus to the crash. Simplistically, it is the immediate or proximal cause of a crash. Detention—Loading and unloading delays beyond contract terms. Differential driver risk—Enduring individual differences among drivers in crash risk. Related to various personal traits such as age, personality, character, medical conditions, other physical variations, and performance capabilities. Diversion—Truck drivers or other motorists choosing smaller roads rather than toll roads to avoid paying the tolls. E-learning—Web-based and computer-based instruction, usu- ally involving multi-media interactive individual instruction. Exposure—Vehicle-miles traveled (VMT), hours driving, or other denominator to determine crash rates. Exposure data are essential for determining relative risk for different drivers, vehicle types, and driving situations. Feedback Principle—Knowledge of results consistently facilitates learning and performance improvement. Applies to almost any kind of performance. Haddon Matrix—Framework for understanding crash and injury reduction strategies, consisting of three time periods (pre-crash, crash, post-crash) and three “actors” (human, vehicle, environment). Job analysis—Defining and describing a job in terms of the behaviors necessary to perform it. This includes job tasks and knowledge, skills, and attitudes [knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs)] necessary for successful performance. Leading indicators—Measures of employee attitudes, behav- iors, or incidents that might be predictive of future safety outcomes (lagging indicators). Law of Reinforcement and Punishment (Law of Effect)— Behaviors that are rewarded will continue and likely increase in frequency, whereas those that are punished will generally decrease in frequency. Likert scale—Common survey technique in that answer choices are presented as numeric rating scales, often with five choices numbered from 1 to 5. Regression to the mean—In statistics, the phenomenon that, if a variable is extreme on its first measurement, it will tend to be closer to the average on its second measurement (Everitt 2002). Experimental studies of extreme groups (e.g., very poor performing carriers receiving Compliance Reviews) should control for regression to the mean. Response bias—The tendency, likely strong in the current surveys, for respondents to be more committed and inter- ested in the topic than those not responding. Because of response bias and other factors, the surveys in this project should not be considered representative of larger groups (e.g., all motor carrier safety managers). Risk avoidance—As used in this report, planning and con- ducting operations in ways that minimize exposure to crash risk. For example, planning trips to avoid urban traffic and undivided highways. Risk factor—Any prior factor—driver, vehicle, environmen- tal, carrier—that affects the probability of a crash. Safety culture—Shared values and beliefs within an organiza- tion that establish safety as a priority and drive organization policies and practices. Safety climate—Employee perception of a company’s orga- nizational atmosphere with regard to safety. Safety management system (SMS)—Plan setting out a company’s safety policies, defining how it identifies safety hazards and controls risks, and providing for goal setting, planning, and measuring performance. GLOSSARY