Staying safe in the forest: Evaluating forestry worker non-technical skills and associated influencing factors.

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Forestry operations can encompass working on steep ground, felling trees, operating a range of forestry machinery, aerial tree work and planting. Due to the range of hazards present within the forestry environment, and a persistent record of fatalities and injuries each year, forestry is considered a high-risk industry. The industrial partner for this project, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), emphasise the dangers of forestry work and are keen to explore methods of enhancing safety for forestry workers. Within other high-risk industries such as aviation and agriculture there has been a focus on non-technical skills, the cognitive and social skills required for safe and effective work performance. However, there has not been any research examining these skills within forestry. The proposed PhD project will aim to develop a non-technical skill behavioural marker system for forestry workers, in addition to exploring the factors that may enhance or adversely impact non-technical skill performance. The project will produce evidence-based guidance for future training interventions designed to support non-technical skills, enhance safety and reduce the current fatality and injury rate of forestry workers in the UK.PhD project aims:1. Develop a behavioural marker system for forestry worker non-technical skills.2. Evaluate factors that may influence forestry worker non-technical skill performance.3. Develop appropriate training guidance to support the development of non-technical skills within the forestry context. Phase one of the proposed research will focus on the development of a forestry worker non-technical skills taxonomy via interviews, facilitated discussion groups and a modified Delphi study. Phase two will comprise an online survey and observational study to identify influencing factors and the extent to which these vary across non-technical skills. Finally, there will be a practical development phase which will collate the research findings to produce a behavioural markers system, information leaflets and podcasts, plus a training toolkit.