Safety climate measurement at workplace in China: A validity and reliability assessment

Background: Few safety climate measures have been developed and assessed in Chinese industry. Aims: The aim of this presented paper is to develop a safety climate questionnaire for use in China, and examine its validity and reliability. Methods: A 27-item safety climate questionnaire was developed after a scientific literature review and consultation with Chinese safety experts. 1026 workers in several industrial sectors responded to the questionnaire. A 21-item questionnaire measuring safety climate was extracted from the original 27 items. Exploratory factor analyses and inter-item consistency were applied to examine construct validity and reliability. Comparisons of safety climate scores among various groups by age, years of work experience, accident involvements, and organizations were used to test discriminant validity. Results: The safety climate questionnaire loading on components revealed seven different factors: safety awareness and competence, safety communication, organizational environment, management support, risk judgment, safety precautions, and safety training. These factors explained the 70.5% variance. Coefficients of inter-item consistency met psychometric requirements. Significant differences on some safety climate scales among accidental involvement and organizations were detected. Conclusion: Safety awareness, competence, and safety communication are important factors in safety climate measurement in Chinese industry. Safety climate measurement among Chinese workers with this 21-item questionnaire is valid and reliable. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.