Using mobile technology to increase safety awareness among dairy workers in the United States

ABSTRACT

Background: Modern U.S. dairy farm operations present multiple safety hazards which may result in worker injuries, illnesses and fatalities. The U.S. industry trend towards large-herd milking operations, especially in the Western U.S., necessitates an increased number of workers on each farm. The U.S. dairy workforce is comprised of an increasing percentage of immigrant workers with limited English proficiency which presents a safety training challenge. Our objective was to develop, deliver and evaluate safety awareness training to U.S. dairy farm workers using mobile tablets as a personal learning environment. Methods: A non-random sample of 1,436 dairy workers received safety awareness training on a mobile device platform. Kirkpatrick Levels 1, 2 and 3 training effectiveness evaluations were performed. Results: Approximately 58.7% of training participants received a middle school education, and 22.7% were from Guatemala who reported K’iche’ as their native language. A statistically significant large effect size suggests safety knowledge was gained among training participants when comparing post-test scores to pre-test scores (Level-2). Training participants rated their training experience favorably (Level-1), and applied knowledge gained in their daily work activities three months after training (Level-3). Conclusion: Our findings suggest the utilization of mobile learning techniques is an effective means to deliver safety awareness training content to dairy workers. Dairy worker safety training should be culturally, linguistically, and literacy appropriate and comprehensive in nature to include all applicable dairy safety hazards. Our observations support the use of mobile devices as just one component of a more comprehensive health and safety management program on farms.

KEYWORDS:

• dairy
• safety
• training
• mobile learning
• m-learning

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their appreciation to the dairy owners and workers who were willing to participate in this safety training project.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Susan Harwood Training Program [Grant number SH-26326-14-60-F-48] and SH-27689-15-60-F-48. The contents of this report are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Department of Labor or OSHA.

Notes on contributors

David I. Douphrate

All authors attest that they have made substantial contributions to this manuscript including (1) the conception of the design of the study, (2) data acquisition, analysis and interpretation of work, (3) drafting the manuscript including revision for intellectual content, and (4), approving the submitted version of the manuscript. Authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.