THE LONG‐TERM EFFECTS OF A TOKEN ECONOMY ON SAFETY PERFORMANCE IN OPEN‐PIT MINING

TLDR

A token economy using trading stamps was introduced at two high‑risk open‑pit mines. Employees earned or lost stamps based on injury‑free work, group safety, equipment protection, safety suggestions, and injury‑preventing behavior, and could redeem stamps for many items. The program produced sustained, large reductions in lost‑time injuries, injury‑related costs, and days lost, with savings far exceeding program costs.

Abstract

A token economy that used trading stamps as tokens was instituted at two dangerous open‐pit mines. Employees earned stamps for working without lost‐time injuries, for being in work groups in which all other workers had no lost‐time injuries, for not being involved in equipment‐damaging accidents, for making adopted safety suggestions, and for unusual behavior which prevented an injury or accident. They lost stamp awards if they or other workers in their group were injured, caused equipment damage, or failed to report accidents or injuries. The stamps could be exchanged for a selection of thousands of items at redemption stores. Implementation of the token economy was followed by large reductions in the number of days lost from work because of injuries, the number of lost‐time injuries, and the costs of accidents and injuries. The reductions in costs far exceeded the costs of operating the token economy. All improvements were maintained over several years.