Risk-taking behavior of drilling workers: A study based on the structural equation model

Background: According to incomplete statistics, there are generally dozens of drilling accidents during the entire drilling process, and the accident handling time generally accounts for more than 20% of the total drilling time. Drilling accidents can be divided into two categories: human error accidents and natural accidents, wherein human factors (mainly the drilling workers' risk-taking behavior, DrWoRTB) are the main cause of human error accidents. Objective: The main goal is to protect the workers' safety and reduce accidents by reducing DrWoRTB. Methods: A questionnaire survey of 63 drilling workers in Inner Mongolia, China on April 22, 2020 obtained a total of 56 valid data sets, including 50 males and 6 females. According to literature reviews, a structural equation model (SEM) of DrWoRTB based on individual factors (attitude towards drilling risk, cognitive bias, and risk perception) and organizational factors (safety climate and work conditions) was established. Based on the Normalized Mutual Information (NMI), a kind of clustering effect evaluation method was utilized to verify the applicability of the model. Results: Individual factors (attitude towards drilling risk and cognitive bias) positively correlate with risk-taking behavior, and organizational factors (safety climate and work conditions) negatively correlate with risk-taking behavior. As an internal variable, risk perception (cognitive level) positively correlates with individual factors and organizational factors, whereas it negatively correlates with risk-taking behavior. Conclusions: The findings of this study help explain the DrWoRTB, and some targeted suggestions are expected to reduce the DrWoRTB and facilitate the drilling workers' safety studies.