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Empirical Research

EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRODUCT SAFETY AND DECISION-MAKING IN MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENTS: A FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT STUDY

Authors
  • Kirshanthi Ganesa-Moorthy (Iowa State Univeristy)
  • Saxon James Ryan (Iowa State University)
  • Nir Keren (Iowa State University)
  • Cameron MacKenzie (Iowa State Univeristy)

Abstract

Incident events can be reviewed with respect to the combination of their probability and the severity of their consequences. A review of our recent history reveals that Low Probability, High Consequence events (LPHCs), tend to be discounted. The uncertainty of LPHC product failure events, in the context of manufacturing, can also be likened to “black swan’ events. Leaders in the manufacturing industry may dictate policies and make decisions while being susceptible to biases such as the discount bias. Though decision makers have tools and capabilities to assess LPHC risks, LPHCs may still be discounted. Due to the potential negative outcomes and the biases surrounding LPHCs, a thorough understanding of these events is needed. This research was launched to better understand the relationship between product safety, decision-making processes, and the relationships between them in the manufacturing environment. Product safety can be examined through a set of components that represent “factors” contributing to the creation of safe products. This work sought out to develop a framework to measure product safety dimensions as a foundation for predicting decision choices in varying probability-consequence scenarios. This was achieved through developing and distribution of a survey in which participants were asked their level of agreement about various product safety dimension and what decision they would make in product failure scenarios. The results from the survey provided a unique view of the perceptions of manufacturing employees on product safety that should be further investigated in the future. However, the results show that none of the Product Safety Dimensions were significant predictors of decisions made in each of the scenarios. 

Keywords: Product Safety, Decision Making, LPHC, Low Probability High Consequence Events, Decision Scenario, Product Safety Dimension

How to Cite:

Ganesa-Moorthy, K., Ryan, S. J., Keren, N. & MacKenzie, C., (2025) “EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRODUCT SAFETY AND DECISION-MAKING IN MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENTS: A FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT STUDY”, The Journal of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering 1(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/jtmae.17018

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Published on
2025-07-10

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