Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Teachers’ Perceptions of the Safety Competence of Process Operator Students

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health II

Part of the book series: Studies in Systems, Decision and Control ((SSDC,volume 277))

Abstract

In the safety-critical process industry, the safety competence of process operators is essential. Process operators are educated at vocational education and training (VET) organizations. The reform of vocational upper secondary education in Finland emphasizes the role of on-the-job learning; thus, the process operator education program has changed. Early adoption of correct safety skills enables them to be followed in the workplace. Thus, it is important to study the safety competence of process operator students and related educational requirements in the current circumstances. Seven teachers from five VET organizations were asked to estimate their students’ safety competence using a previously published framework. Overall, the interviewees considered that more safety competences were easy rather than difficult for their students. Knowledge and skills related to production processes, special and high-risk work tasks, exceptional and fault situations, general view, identification of own skills, and proactive mindset were most often viewed as difficult for students.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 219.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 279.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Nazir, S., Sorensen, L.J., Øvergård, K.I., Manca, D.: How distributed situation awareness influences process safety. Chem. Eng. Trans. 36, 409–414 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Suikki, R., Tromstedt, R., Haapasalo, H.: Project management competence development framework in turbulent business environment. Technovation 26(5–6), 723–738 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Swuste, P., Theunissen, J., Schmitz, P., Reniers, G., Blokland, P.: Process safety indicators, a review of literature. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 40, 162–173 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Weick, K.E., Sutcliffe, K.M.: Managing the unexpected. resilient performance in an age of uncertainty, 2nd edn. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Laberge, M., Ledoux, E.: Occupational health and safety issues affecting young workers: a literature review. Work 39(3), 215–232 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Salminen, S.: Have young workers more injuries than older ones? An international literature review. J. Saf. Res. 35(5), 513–521 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Dreier, A.: Organizational learning and competence development. Learn. Organ. 7(4), 206–220 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Boyatzis, A.R.: The Competent Manager: A Model for Effective Performance. Wiley, New York (1982)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Königová, M., Urbancová, H., Fejfar, J.: Identification of managerial competencies in knowledge-based organizations. J. Competitiveness 4(1), 129–142 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Pickett, L.: Competencies and managerial effectiveness: putting competencies to work. Public Pers. Manage. 27(1), 103–115 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Rothwell, W.J., Lindholm, J.E.: Competency identification modelling and assessment in the USA. Int. J. Training Dev. 3(2), 90–105 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Tappura, S., Nenonen, S., Nenonen, N., Kivistö-Rahnasto, J.: Process safety competence of vocational students. In: Arezes, P. (eds.) Advances in Safety Management and Human Factors, AHFE 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol. 969, pp. 383–392. Springer, Cham (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  13. MKOPSC (Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center): Process Safety for the 21st Century and Beyond. Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station. Texas A&M University, TX, USA (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  14. European Commission: High-Performance Apprenticeships & Work-Based Learning: 20 Guiding Principles. http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1147&langId=fi&moreDocuments=yes. Last accessed 24 Oct 2019

  15. Ministry of Education and Culture: Reform of Vocational Upper Secondary Education. https://minedu.fi/en/reform-of-vocational-upper-secondary-education. Last accessed 24 Oct 2019

  16. Mikkonen, S., Pylväs, L., Rintala, H., Nokelainen, P., Postareff, L.: Guiding workplace learning in vocational education and training: a literature review. Empirical Res. Vocat. Educ. Training 9, 9 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Tappura, S., Kivistö-Rahnasto, J.: Annual school safety activity calendar to promote safety in VET. In: Arezes, P.M., et al. (eds.) Occupational Safety and Hygiene VI: Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Occupation Safety and Hygiene (SHO 2018), pp. 131–135. CRC Press, London (2018)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  18. Tappura, S., Nenonen, S., Nenonen, N.: Developing safety competence process for vocational students. In: Ahram, T., Karwowski, W., Taiar, R. (eds.) Human Systems Engineering and Design, IHSED 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol. 876, pp. 668–674. Springer, Cham (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Denzin, N.K., Lincoln, Y.S.: Introduction: the discipline and practice of qualitative research. In: Denzin, N.K., Lincoln, Y.S. (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, pp. 1–19. SAGE Publications Inc., Thousand Oaks (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Andersson, I.-M., Gunnarson, K., Rosèn, G., Moström Åberg, M.: Knowledge and experiences of risks among pupils in vocational education. Saf. Health Work 5(3), 140–146 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Walters, A.U.C., Lawrence, W., Jalsa, N.K.: Chemical laboratory safety awareness, attitudes and practices of tertiary students. Saf. Sci. 96, 161–171 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. De Rademaeker, E., Suter, G., Pasman, H.J., Fabiano, B.: A review of the past, present and future of the European loss prevention and safety promotion in the process industries. Process Saf. Environ. Prot. 92(4), 280–291 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Teperi, A.M., Puro, V., Lappalainen, J.: Promoting a positive safety culture in the maritime industry by applying the Safety-II perspective. In: Bernatik, A., Kocurkova, L., Jørgensen, K. (eds.) Prevention of Accidents at Work: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on the Prevention of Accidents at Work (WOS 2017), pp. 197–203. CRC Press/Balkema, Leiden (2017)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  24. Reason, J.: The Human Contribution: Unsafe Acts, Accidents and Heroic Recoveries. Ashgate Publishing Ltd., Cornwall (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Hollnagel, E., Woods, D.D., Leveson, N. (eds.): Resilience Engineering: Concepts and Precepts. Ashgate Publishing Ltd., Hampshire (2006)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Finnish Work Environment Fund for providing the funding for this study as well as the teachers of the cooperating VET organizations for their contributions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tampere University, P.O. Box 541, 33014, Tampere, Finland

    Noora Nenonen, Sari Tappura, Sanna Nenonen & Susanna Mattila

Authors
  1. Noora Nenonen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sari Tappura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sanna Nenonen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Susanna Mattila
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Noora Nenonen or Sari Tappura .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Production and Systems, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Pedro M. Arezes

  2. Department of Mining Engineering, Engineering Faculty, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    J. Santos Baptista

  3. Department of Production and Systems, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Mónica P. Barroso

  4. Department of Production and Systems, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Paula Carneiro

  5. Department of Production and Systems, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Patrício Cordeiro

  6. Department of Production and Systems, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Nélson Costa

  7. Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, Cruz Quebrada–Dafundo, Portugal

    Rui B. Melo

  8. Department of Production and Systems, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    A. Sérgio Miguel

  9. Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Gonçalo Perestrelo

Appendix

Appendix

Teachers’ views of the safety competence of process operator students

Safety competence requirements

No. of interviewees

E*

D*

V*

-*

Knowledge and skills related to

Production processes

2

5

0

0

Chemicals and chemistry

4

3

0

0

Special and high-risk work tasks

2

5

0

0

Exceptional and fault situations

2

5

0

0

Reading and following instructions

4

3

0

0

General practices in the workplace

7

0

0

0

Operational environment

6

1

0

0

General view

1

5

1

0

Consequences of own actions

3

3

1

0

Learning from experience

5

1

1

0

Identification of own skills

2

5

0

0

Proactive mindset

1

5

1

0

Companies’ safety procedures

6

1

0

0

Hazard identification

4

3

0

0

Values and attitudes

Serious attitude toward safety

4

2

1

0

Prioritizing safety

4

3

0

0

Zero-vision mindset

4

3

0

0

Lifelong learning

4

2

1

0

Professional attitude toward work

4

2

1

0

Admitting own mistakes

3

4

0

0

Abilities and traits

Perceptual ability

3

1

2

1

Concentration

3

4

0

0

Stress tolerance

2

4

1

0

Rationality

2

2

2

1

Carefulness

2

2

2

1

Humility

3

2

2

0

Prudence

3

1

2

1

Vigilance

3

1

2

1

Calmness

3

1

2

1

Courage

2

3

1

1

  1. *E: Easy for students; they already have good or basic competence or gain it during their education. D: This can be or is often difficult for students. V: Varies among students. |-: Do not know/No assessment

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Nenonen, N., Tappura, S., Nenonen, S., Mattila, S. (2020). Teachers’ Perceptions of the Safety Competence of Process Operator Students. In: Arezes, P., et al. Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health II. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, vol 277. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41486-3_16

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41486-3_16

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-41485-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-41486-3

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation