Using an adapted LOSA to assess safety conditions of an undergraduate construction course

Abstract

Students working in the agricultural mechanics laboratory are exposed to valuable career-building skills. However, this is also a hazardous environment in which many are injured annually (Chumbley et al., 2018; Perry et al., 2012; Saucier et al., 2014; Utah Department of Health, 2007). As students leave SBAE and go out into the workforce, the safety story does not improve much with workplace fatality numbers rising in recent years (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021). Agricultural mechanics teachers are forced to deal with this problem on an individual basis, so without a standardized method of assessing and teaching safety a gap has been left between how students interact with safety in school and in the workplace. One proposed solution is to utilize industry safety models to teach and assess safety in the classroom. A specific example of this is the Line Operation Safety Audit used by commercial airlines (Klinect et al., 2003). This paper will explore the background of this instrument and its applicability to the agricultural mechanics environment.