Enhancing mine workers learning from online safety induction programs: Principles for developers

Mining is one of the world’s most dangerous jobs accounting for an estimated 12,000 deaths each year. In Australia 7 deaths were recorded in 2009-10 by the Australian mining industry. This is eleven less than the 18 recorded by the industry in 2008-2009. The Australian mining industry recorded the fourth highest fatality rate of 3.9 fatalities per 100,000 employees in 2010-11. According to State/Territory Occupational Health and Safety Legislation, safety training for mine workers is compulsory and they cannot carry out any task at a mine site unless they have completed induction training. In Queensland, the regulation provides a general outline of the information to be covered in training, though does not specify duration or mode of delivery. Online training programs in the mining industry are becoming more popular with the most common uses being induction and regulatory training as the internet provides a highly cost-effective way to deliver information pertaining to regulatory requirements. Compliance to the regulatory requirements is a key driver for developers of online training however the quality of instruction for online training programs varies greatly among organisations. Many companies focus on the technological aspects of their online learning programs and not the adult learning theories which underpin effective design and are most suited to the mine employees who are adults. Without effective instructional design, courses delivered online may negatively impact learners’ understanding and performance. This thesis focuses on mine workers’ perspectives of an online site safety induction program. The research approach used an interpretivist theoretical framework with both quantitative and qualitative methods used to collect and analyse data. Quantitative data regarding participants’ perspectives of how satisfied and effective they found the online site safety induction program were collected using a survey. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect qualitative information to not only elaborate and clarify the survey data but also to provide the necessary depth and detail of participants’ perspectives, thoughts and beliefs regarding the online induction program.Submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2013