Safety Leadership Training: Implementation and Effectiveness Evaluation in the Dairy Farm Industry.

Abstract

Background: Evidence-based interventions for the prevention of safety incidents at work are most effective when they include a focus on the hierarchy of controls. However, prior studies addressing the effects of safety leadership and safety climate are limited. The determination and adoption of evidence-based interventions specifically in the U.S. Agricultural, Forestry, and Fishing (AgFF) sector can be a challenge, and prior studies have shown a paucity of evidence-based occupational safety and health practices in the AgFF sector.

Methods: We enrolled 73 dairy farm supervisors from 27 U.S. farms to participate in a 12-module dairy leadership training program. We employed the Kirkpatrick Model (KM) to evaluate different levels of training effectiveness.

Findings: Participant reactions to the program were positive (KM level 1), and evaluation of knowledge gained among participants revealed 90% had learned new safety leadership information (KM level 2) that could be applied in their role as a dairy farm supervisor (KM level 3). Nearly 88% reported favorable experiences during their training participation. Post-training group interviews with supervisors (n = 21) provided information regarding training experiences and constructive feedback regarding opportunities for training improvement. Behavior change evaluation revealed nearly 50% of observed safety hazards on farms were related to livestock handling (21.6%), trips/falls (17.1%), and moving machinery (10.4%). The largest percentage of observed workplace conflicts were verbal (27.8%).

Conclusions/application to practice: The application of the Kirkpatrick Model of training evaluation suggests participating dairy farm supervisors had positive experiences with the training program, and acquired safety hazard and workplace conflict identification skills.