EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF INDUSTRIAL SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAMS ON THE REDUCTION OF WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS IN MANUFACTURING SMES: A PLS-SEM APPROACH WITH A BARRIERS-BASED MODERATION FRAMEWORK
Ashish Kumar Pathak, Pankaj Sharma, Rakesh Kumar
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jagannath University, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Abstract: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute the backbone of the Indian manufacturing economy, yet they bear a disproportionate share of occupational injuries. This study evaluates the extent to which industrial safety training programs (ISTP) reduce workplace accidents in Indian manufacturing SMEs, and examines the behavioural and organizational mechanisms that condition this relationship. Drawing on safety-climate theory and the safety-behaviour literature, a structural model was specified in which safety behaviour and compliance (SBC) mediates the ISTP–accident relationship, management safety commitment (MSC) acts as an organizational enabler, and a formative higher-order construct capturing barriers to safety training (BST) moderates the training–behaviour link. Data were obtained from 100 respondents across manufacturing SMEs and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), complemented by descriptive and normality diagnostics. The measurement model demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity (composite reliability 0.86–0.90; AVE 0.57–0.73; HTMT < 0.65). The structural results support the hypothesized effects: ISTP significantly influenced SBC (β = 0.321) and accident reduction directly (β = 0.412); SBC significantly predicted accident reduction (β = 0.321); MSC enabled both training and behaviour; and BST significantly and negatively moderated the ISTP–SBC path (β = −0.189, p < 0.05), indicating that organizational barriers attenuate the behavioural returns to training. The model explained 39.7% of the variance in accident reduction. The findings advance a mechanism-based understanding of safety-training effectiveness in resource-constrained SMEs and offer actionable guidance for owner-managers and policymakers.
Keywords: industrial safety training; workplace accidents; manufacturing SMEs; safety behaviour; PLS-SEM; moderation;
VOLUME 10 ISSUE 07 2026: 336 – 350