Use of Occupational 

Ethnography and Social 

Marketing Strategies to 

Develop a Safety Awareness 

Campaign for Coal Miners 

BY ELAINE T. CULLEN, LORI N. H. MATTHEWS, AND THEODORE D. TESKE 

Underground mining, like many high-risk industries, is facing a crisis in the near 

future. This industry has traditionally relied on a master-apprentice relationship 

to train new workers, but experienced miners are retiring in large numbers, leaving few "masters" to properly train their replacements. With a recent resurgence 

in mining, many new miners are entering the workforce each day. The rise in the 

number ofinexperienced workers has implications for worker safety in an industry 

in which one mistake can blow up the entire workplace. The explosion in the 

Darby Mine in May 2006 that killed five miners illustrates what can happen in 

hazardous environments such as underground mines. 

The Health Communications Team at the National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health Spokane Research Laboratory was asked to address this 

problem by developing new training and safety awareness materials to promote 

safe flame cutting and welding practices. This article describes how occupational 

ethnographic techniques provided insights needed for "new product development." The result of this work was a national initiative to raise awareness 

and to protect underground coal miners from the dangers of flame cutting 

and welding in an environment filled with solid fuel and methane (natural 

gas). Although this project was initially designed for the mining industry, the 

approach and lessons learned are applicable to any high-risk industry and should 

be of interest to other social marketing or occupational safety and health 

professionals. 
Introduction 

Mining is considered a "high -risk" industry. In the past two years, there have 

been several high-profile disasters that claimed the lives of miners and convinced 

Congress to strengthen regulations concerning mining health and safety. The 

mining industry has dramatically improved its safety record since the early 

1900s, when records, although incomplete at best, showed that over 4,000 miners 

died every year. In 2007, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), 64 miners died. While a remarkable improvement, this is still an 

unacceptable loss of life (MSHA 2006). 

Mining is one of the few U.S. industries that requires safety and health training, with Codes of Federal Regulation (30 CFR Parts 46 and 48) mandating both 

"New Miner" training and "Annual Refresher Training" for every miner. (In this 

article, the authors use "training" to mean "safety and health practices" rather 

than skills or job training.) With large numbers of experienced miners leaving 

the industry (Baby Boomers that started mining in the 1960s and 1970s), it is 

crucial that effective training be developed to train a new generation of miners 

before the experts leave. Developing effective training for this industry, however, 

is a challenge. This article describes the mixed-methods techniques used in the 

formative research and pretesting used to design training materials and strategies 

for this unique occupational group. 

The year 2006 was particularly deadly for the U.S. coal mining industry. Three 

separate disasters claimed multiple lives, beginning with the Sago Disaster on 

January 2 and followed closely by the Alma Mine Fire on January 19. On May 

20, the Darby Mine in Holmes Mill, Kentucky, exploded when an explosive 

mixture of methane came in contact with either the flame from a cutting torch 

or hot metal from the cutting operation. Five miners died that night. 

In response to these disasters, the National Institute for Occupational Safety 

and Health (NIOSH) was directed by Congress to develop a training intervention 

for the coal mining i~dustry that would promote safe flame cutting and/or welding 

techniques to repair or maintain equipment underground. Flame cutting and welding are especially dangerous in coal mines because methane often leaks from the 

coal seam, causing a potential for explosions if levels exceed certain limits. 

The Health Communications (HC) team at the NIOSH Spokane Research 

Laboratory (SRL) was charged with the task of designing a safety awareness 

program to teach and remind miners of safe cutting and welding practices. The 

project was to be national in scope, and relevant to new or experienced miners 

working in mines of varying size and production methods. The team was given 

less than seven months to complete this task. 
Whereas the team had a great deal of experience developing training materials for non-coal miners, with nine training videos and numerous publications to 

their credit (Cullen and Fein 2005), only the team leader had any experience in 

the underground coal industry. This posed a special challenge to the team, as 

mining fits the definition of an "occupational culture." These cultures can be 

identified as, "a group of people who consider themselves to be engaged in the 

same sort of work; whose identity is drawn from the work; who share with one 

another a set of values, norms and perspectives" (Van Maanen and Barley 1984, 

287). Strong occupational cultures can be very resistant to outsiders, especially 

outsiders who try to tell workers what to do and how to do it. Training is often 

perceived in this manner by workers, especially when the material is presented by 

someone who is obviously not a member of the occupational culture. Thus, to 

develop training that would be effective for every type of mine in this segment 

of the mining industry, it was necessary for the research team to understand the 

history of the probl~m and the culture of coal miners throughout the nation. 

Theoretical Frameworks 

Two overarching conceptual or theoretical frameworks - occupational culture 

and the SRL Occupational Safety Intervention Cycle - guided research. Adult 

learning practices were also employed in developing the training materials. 

OccupationaL culture 

The dominant framework used by the research team was the concept of occupational 

culture. Culture is described by Arnould and Wallendorf as "the cumulative total of 

learned beliefs, values, and customs that serve to order, guide and direct the behavior 

of members in a particular society or group. Culture can be thought of as that which 

one needs to know to behave in a manner acceptable to its members" (1994, 485). 

In hazardous occupations, such as coal mining, culture is especially important 

in creating a sense" of camaraderie and clear boundaries with outsiders. Van 

Maanen and Barley (1984, 301), explained: 

Danger . .. invites work involvement and a sense offraternity . ... Recognition that one's 

work entails danger heightens the contrast between one's own work and the work ofothers, 

and encourages comparison ofself with those who share one's work situation. Attitudes, 

behaviors, and self-images for coping physically and psychologically with threat become 

part 0/an occupational role appreciated best, it is thought, only by one'sfellow workers. 

An occupation's culture has important implications for behavior change 

interventions. Hansen (1995) suggested that new information (such as training) 
CDC/NIOSH Surveillance Cycle 

provided to people will always be filtered through the experiences and norms of 

their occupational culture, and if seen as incongruent, will most likely be disregarded. In order for training to be effective, the program must find ways to make 

the safety practices it promotes compatible with the existing culture and attractive 

to its members. It also is important to identifY people to serve as credible spokespersons. The hazardous nature of the work increases the distrust miners have of 

outsiders who lack the personal experience needed to understand their situation 

and the special demands miners face. As a result, credible insiders make the most 

effective role models, opinion makers, and change agents. Hassan and his associates (2007, 18) noted: "Sources exhibiting expertise and trustworthiness are more 

effective in changing opinions.... If messages are attributed to low-credence 

sources, they are less likely to affect behavioral change." Cannon and Sheth 

(1994) also acknowledged the importance of building trusting relationships, and 

although their work focuses on more traditional marketing, social marketing has 

much to gain by recognizing the power credible peers have to influence behavior. 

SRL occupational safety intervention cycle 

The SRL Occupational Safety Intervention Cycle is a theoretical intervention model 

that combines both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
NCI Health Communication Program Cycle 

Surveillance Cycle (Figure 1) and the National Cancer Institutes' (NCI) Health 

Communication Program Cycle (National Cancer Institute 2003) (Figure 2). This 

hybrid model incorporates the rigor ofthe CDC Surveillance Cycle and the success 

of the NCI's health communication process. The resulting eight-step process is 

cumulative, with each step building on the previous one (Figure 3). 

Learning theories 

The research team used various learning theories to provide both a base and direction for developing products to promote safety awareness among miners. The 

most obvious characteristic of miners is that they are adults. In fact, U.S. law prohibits anyone under the age of 18 from working in a mine. Therefore, it was 

important to base the new training products for miners on assumptions of adult 

learning theory as defined by Knowles, Holton, and Swanson (1998). Effective 

training for coal miners, according to Knowles et al., is based on real-life experiences and is relevant and applicable to their work experiences. Wlodowski (1985) 

suggested that training is more effective when the trainees believe they will be 

successful in learning and that the training is valuable to them. Clearly, it was 

necessary for the training development team to discover what life experiences 

were important to coal miners and what types of things they valued. 
SRL OccupationaL Safety Intervention Cycle 

SRL 

Occupational Safety Intervention 

Cycle 

Research Methods 

A purposive sample was selected to ensure that the research team understood differences among underground coal mines across the nation. Nine active mines 

were selected to provide variation on the following attributes: 

II Small mines and large mines (small defined as fewer than 20 employees); 

II Eastern mines and western mines; 

II Union operations and non-union mines; 

II Experienced workforces and inexperienced workforces (less than one year); 

II Contractors and mine employees; 

II Low-seam and high-seam mines; 

II Traditional "room-and-pillar" compared to "longwall" production method; and 

II Regional and/or state variations. 

Seven mines were selected from the eastern coalfield states of Virginia, 

Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, and two western mines were selected from Wyoming 
and Colorado. The two western mines were large, with 300-600 employees, and 

both were 10ngwall operations, although both used room-and-pillar mining to 

develop new sections for mining. None of the eastern mines used a 10ngwall 

mining method. Both of the western mines were mining high seams of coal, 

between 8 and 12 feet thick. Two of the mines visited were in eastern Kentucky, 

and one in western Kentucky. Each of these mined coal seams less than 60 inches 

and one mine averaged approximately 39 inches. This mine was also the smallest 

in the study, with only six employees. 

The goal of this project was to develop new safety awareness products for 

underground coal ~ining. Hi11 and Hill (2007, 1099) discussed new product or 

service development (NPD) and suggested that it is the accumulation of knowledge from different sources, using a snowball method, that strengthens the development of new products. They also stated that the traditional, linear approach to 

NPD may impede the successful interaction and collaboration with the targeted 

audience, and that "concurrent engineering" where "activities such as strategic 

planning, concept generation, and technical development ... occur concurrently" 

may be a better model. 

Data coLLection 

The HC team at SRL began the research by reviewing existing data to gain 

insight into the problem, and continued by visiting the mines to observe operations and to conduct interviews. The team included seven people, with five available to do field research. An eighth researcher from the NIOSH office in 

Pittsburgh who had extensive experience with coal mining joined the team as a 

technical advisor. 

A mixed-methods research approach was selected because the research team 

had relatively little experience with the coal mining industry and realized that the 

project's success required a thorough understanding of the cultural context in 

which flame cutting and welding occurs. In addition to relevant quantitative data 

on injuries and types of incidents related to cutting and welding, it was necessary 

to co11ect qualitative' data to understand the motivational drivers and cultural barriers affecting safety issues related to these tasks. Informal and semi-structured 

interviews were conducted in natural settings. The research team collected data 

from the safety trainer or safety manager at each mine. In addition, data were collected in the natural setting of a miner - underground during normal work shifts. 

Miners and safety trainers were asked questions about preferred training tools 

and methods of training. The research team quickly learned of the common need 

for updated safety videos to meet federal safety mandates regarding training. In 
addition, the miners and safety trainers indicated the utility of training materials 

that could be taken underground. Examples included posters to hang in their 

underground "lunchrooms" and stickers which are regularly used as currency among 

miners. The team also noted differences between small and large mines in access to 

training rooms or technology that would allow multimedia formats for training 

materials. Smaller mines had no way to use higher-tech products, relying instead 

on such formats as "tool-box talks" that could be provided before or during shifts 

while miners simply gathered around. As the research team's charge was to develop 

a national initiative, it became clear that the resulting product would need to 

include a variety of products to accommodate differing environments. Field notes 

based on data and researchers' observations were collected during this process. 

Time constraints made it necessary to divide the research team into smaller 

groups so collection of data in different mines could overlap. Generally, field 

teams were made up of three people, only one of whom had experience in coal 

mining. Creating smaller research teams also made it easier to gain entry into 

mines that had few workers. Hill and Hill (2007) in their discussion of NPD 

affirmed the utility of using a more flexible approach to data gathering. They 

described their research experience using different sub-groups operating semiautonomously under the direction of the Project Manager. This mirrored the 

approach used by the SRL research team, which allowed the gathering of a large 

amount of data in a relatively short period of time. 

Quantitative data 

Researchers benefit from the fact that the U.S. mining industry has one of the 

most comprehensive accident and injury databases in the world. MSHA gathers 

data on accidents, injuries, and fatalities in all sectors of the mining industry. This 

database dates back to 1975 when the Mine Safety Act began requiring all mines 

to report every accident or injury. 

To understand the scope of the occupational safety issues surrounding flame 

cutting and welding in underground coalmines, the HC team conducted a 

detailed analysis of all injuries and fatalities attributed to flame cutting and welding, as well as explosions and fires between January 1983 and April 2006. The 

records showed that in that time period there were 786 injuries and fatalities 

attributed to flame cutting and welding and 2,448 injuries and fatalities from fires 

and explosions (MSHA 2002). While the severity of injuries in both categories 

are hard to classifY without medical records, the data do indicate which specific 

areas of the body were injured, giving researchers a measure of guidance while 

developing questions for their occupational ethnography. 
A preliminary list of accidents and injuries attributable to flame cutting and 

welding was compiled by team members, who then identified categories ofinjuries 

and activities at the time of the accidents. From this list, information was gleaned 

about which job categories were most likely to be involved in this type of accident 

as well as the set of pertinent regulations concerning cutting and welding. 

In addition to MSHA injury and fatality records, the HC team also reviewed 

relevant sections of the CFR to ensure that any new product developed by the 

team would be accurate, both culturally and legally. The federal safety regulations 

provide the minimum requirements for conducting safe operations at a mine site. 

Often, however, local conditions require special measures to ensure the safety of 

the workers either through additional ground control, increased monitoring of 

the mine atmosphere, or specialized remote operated equipment. Mines develop 

policies and procedures in response to their own unique environments that are 

often more stringent than federal standards. The CFR served as a guide for 

the researchers to develop safety awareness materials, while the specialized and 

site-specific techniques were used as examples of best practices or novel 

approaches to be shared with other mines. Information on the additional safety 

measures was gathered throughout the course of the research project. 

Occupational ethnography 

Consistent with social marketing's consumer orientation (Grier and Bryant 

2005), the research team recognized the importance of viewing behavior through 

the eyes of the workers they hoped to change. Ethnography is an immersive field 

research technique that places the researcher in direct contact with consumers and 

provides firsthand experience with the social or cultural milieu in which the consumers live and work (Hansen 1995). For the SRL research team, this approach 

was ideal for studying the underground coal mining workplace culture. Drawing 

on ethnographic techniques recommended by Arnould and Wallendorf (1994), 

the formative research was designed to (1) collect data in the natural setting of 

the culture; (2) give researchers intensive participation in workplace culture; (3) 

allow researchers to interpret behaviors in a way that the culture finds credible; 

and (4) use multiple methods to gather data in order to generate a range of perspectives on the behaviors under observation. 

Although each ofthese techniques was used by the HC research team during 

the ethnographic phase of the formative research, the project's short timeframe 

made it impossible to spend the amount oftime usually devoted to a conventional 

ethnographic study. In addition, the need to understand varied coal mining environments required the team to conduct research in as many mines as possible 
across the country. To meet these demands, a rapid ethnographic assessment or 

occupational culture scan was designed that could be completed in just a few 

months. Beebe's (2001) Rapid Assessment Process (RAP) was selected because 

it provided guidance for collecting data in six weeks or less and maximizing 

understanding by analyzing the data in an iterative fashion. 

A combination of interviews, observations, field notes, informal conversations, photography, videography, and questionnaires were used to gain understanding of the coal mining culture and safety issues related to flame cutting 

and welding underground. At each mine, a safety official or trainer served as a 

tour guide and escorted the He research team underground to gain a first-hand 

understanding of coal mining (Figure 4). 

Dr. Elaine Cullen Conducting an Interview with a 

Coal Miner in Kentucky as Part of the Occupational 

EthnograPi:lY 

The team gathered the following types 

of information at each mine visited: 

1. Mine name, company, and mining method; 

2. Location of mine and size of workforce; 

3. Union affiliation (if any); 

4. Contractors (if any); 

5. Rough percentage of new hires (miners with less than one year experience); 

6. Training practices; 
7. Training preferences regarding trainers, training formats, training materials and facilities; 

8. Common beliefs and perceptions about methane / fires / explosions; 

9. Workers' perceptions of the cutting and welding processes and which people do 

these tasks; 

10. Best practices or 'mine policies; 

11. Attributes of role models and trusted spokespersons; 

12. Experience with fire/explosion/flame cutting accidents; and 

13. Knowledge and perceptions of the Darby Mine disaster. 

Although these thirteen categories of information were used as a starting point, 

researchers encouraged participants to talk at length about the topics and probed 

for any additional information in an informal manner. Beebe (2001, 41) 

explained, "The goal of RAP is to have people tell their stories and not to have 

them answer your questions." 

Data analysis 

After the ethnographic field studies were completed, team members met to analyze 

the qualitative data. Thematic analysis was used to identifY themes and topics that 

could guide the next phase of the project. Because no member of the team visited 

every mine in the study, the field visits were thoroughly discussed by the group, 

allowing each person to share experiences and perceptions. Individual mines were 

compared and contrasted, looking for common themes, as well as those that were 

either unique or regionally based. The group data analysis process (directed by the 

rapid assessement method) assisted the team in identifYing topics that were most 

common to each mine. These areas informed the research team about what would 

be the most appropriate focus based on consumer needs. The following categories 

were determined to be most relevant to miners' needs for new training products: 

II1II Hazard identification and reduction; 

II1II Site preparation, execution, and clean up; 

II1II Personal safety; and 

II1II Best practices. 

Product development tasks were then assigned to SRL team members based 

on prior experience and areas of interest and expertise. With only seven team 

members to share the work, each person was assigned a number of tasks to 
complete with the help of other team members. (The eighth member acted as a 

technical advisor for material development.) The team continued to apply RAP 

data analysis techniques during the development of training materials, particularly 

as ideas were brainstormed, designs considered, information gathered, and new 

products began to take shape. 

Formative Research Findings 

The mining industry went through a depressed economic cycle that lasted most ofthe 

1980s and 1990s. As a result, few workers were hired during this time, and many 

workers lost their jobs. The industry saw a resurgence beginning in the early 2000s 

and high prices for commodities led to a dramatic increase in the number of mines 

opened and the need for more workers. The demographics of the mining workforce 

in 2007 showed that the age and experience levels were distributed bi-modally, with 

either very experienced or very inexperienced workers, but almost no workers' experience levels falling in between. Overall, the proportion of new and inexperienced 

employees working in the mines was larger than expected. In one large mine, for 

example, several work crews had no one with more than one year of experience. 

In training new workers, miners, like many skilled blue-collar industrial 

workers, rely on a "master-apprentice" relationship. Mining is not learned in a 

classroom; one learns to be a good miner by working with a good miner, and 

by doing what he does. Learning is part ofthe miners' social life, with new miners 

watching others and doing what they do or avoiding practices that are deemed 

"unacceptable" based on occupational norms. It is also important to note that 

while mining may be learned "on the job," federal and state law requires that 

miners learn safety in a classroom from a certified instructor. In an attempt to 

address the needs ofboth new and experienced miners, materials typically fall into 

two categories: introduction to hazards and safety awareness ("new miner training"), and reminders of best practices ("refresher training"). 

Miners take tremendous pride in their mining skills and their capacity for 

exceptionally hard work. Based on the extensive work in this field by the lead 

researchers (Cullen and Fein 2005), the following values are important to 

acknowledge in examining the mining industry and culture and also to remember 

as products are developed: 

II1II The ability to do hard work and be productive is respected. 

II1II Miners are special; not everyone has what it takes to be a miner. 

II1II Miners are macho; although there are a few women in the industry, this is a maledominated culture. 
These values are reflected in the term used to describe miners they respect: "Coal 

Hog." This example of "tribal language" (Hansen 1995) refers to the view that 

good miners are "hungry for coal" and can never mine enough. 

Miners also hold a value for safety and the knowledge and skills needed to do 

their work effectively. The ability to keep themselves and fellow workers safe is 

important but is also balanced with a desire to work quickly and efficiently. 

Miners place a high value on hard-hat stickers. These stickers may be miniadvertisements for vendors or products, show that a person is a member of a particular work group, celebrate a particular level of accomplishment, or remind workers to work safely. They also provide necessary reflective material for underground 

workers to increase the likelihood they will be seen by operators of moving equipment. Stickers serve as "trade goods" among miners. They are collected and 

traded by underground miners and they carry a high value. 

Finally, prior research conducted by the team leader confirmed the importance 

ofusing credible insiders, e.g., coal hogs and those viewed as masters or experts, as 

spokespersons. Therefore, activities included in the newly developed training 

products focused on miners sharing personal experiences or stories regarding the 

specific content covered. In addition, actual miners were used as actors in the video 

that was developed, respecting the fact that they are the experts and hold the 

knowledge necessary to work safely. Using actual miners to communicate safety 

messages also helps to make the messages seem more credible to trainees. Because 

the video was not scripted, the miner-actors were allowed to tell their stories and 

provide their lessons in the "tribal language" commonly used and understood by 

coal miners. While most sites visited (eight of nine) had full multimedia capabilities, the safety trainers who collaborated with the team indicated that a combination of lecture, print, and video-based training materials would be most useful 

to them. Consequently a variety of products were created to meet different needs. 

Social marketing implications 

Research findings were used to develop a marketing plan or set of recommendations to guide new product development. This plan follows the common social 

marking model of the 4Ps (Niblett 2007): 

Product 

l1li Acknowledge and celebrate miners' pride in their skills and commitment to hard work. 

l1li Design new products from the miners' point of view (use the miners themselves as 

credible messengers, use "tribal language," and tailor materials to the needs miners 

have expressed). 
l1li Build on miners' recognition of the hazards associated with their work and their 

desire to: 

-Go home safely; 

-Know how to do tasks correctly and quickly; and 

-Keep themselves and others safe. 

Pricing 

l1li Ensure that training activities do not disrupt the flow of mining activities or slow 

production, and that they fit into the time generally allotted to safety training. 

l1li Ensure that new products are technically accurate to address cultural and political 

costs (materials must be approved by technical experts and government agency sponsoring the research). 

l1li Avoid social costs related to sensitivity of recent disaster (Darby Mine). 

Placement 

l1li Design training products to be used in necessary locations (training rooms, underground "lunchrooms"). 

l1li Assure that there are multimedia materials to fit a variety of training environments, 

from high-tech to no-tech. 

l1li Distribute training materials using the following channels: 

-Regional and national coal and safety conferences; 

-A national web network of safety professionals; 

-The nine coal districts as defined by MSHA; 

-State and regional coal councils; 

-Journals, newspapers, and publications that target the coal industry; 

-The NIOSH website; and 

-Personal contacts made by research team members with industry. 

Promotion 

l1li Draw on the master-apprentice relationship and distrust of outsiders by usmg 

respected miners .as spokespersons for delivering safety messages, and incorporate 

stories in training videos and print materials. 
II1II Use miner's jargon, e.g., coal hog, in training materials instead of technical and legal 

terms. 

II1II Create stickers that can be used as incentives for pretesting materials and participation in training activities. 

II1II Use safety trainers as Technical Reviewers to assess accuracy, completeness, and useability of the materials in the kit. This also creates buy-in from trainers, who are the 

primary gatekeepers in whether new training products are used to train new miners or 

in Annual Refresher Training. 

II1II Develop plan to market this new training product to relevant audiences (industry 

meetings, coal shows, etc.). 

Training materials development and pretesting 

Following these guidelines, the He team developed a training toolkit and collateral audience-centered training materials to comprise the total intervention. 

This toolkit was based directly on safety trainers' and miners' preferences by combining a written curriculum with a safety training video in both DVD and VHS 

formats. For smaller mines or those lacking the capability for using video or 

computer-based training, the team also created a collection of "toolbox training 

modules" to be used in training small groups in 15 minutes or less. The specific 

need for this training medium was expressed by participants at small mines. For 

mines with multimedia capability, a video was produced as the primary training 

medium. Miners in three locations were asked to assist in its development. 

The video was loosely modeled after a popular TV show that chronicles bluecollar jobs. One of the NIOSH team members acted as the host of the video 

and interviewed miners, mechanics, and safety trainers at each mine. The individual miners led the "host" through the different steps required to perform flame 

cutting or welding activities safely underground. In all cases, the mechanics 

and miners in the video were encouraged to tell their story in their own words, 

and to explain how to execute cutting and welding tasks safely underground. They 

were also encouraged to share what would happen if things went wrong. 

Additional components of the toolkit included: 

II1II A curriculum booklet for trainers to use in New Miner Training, with details regarding the relevant regulations and hazards and suggested training activities; 

II1II An electronic version of the curriculum in PowerPoint format; 

II1II A short training presentation for Annual Refreshment Training including tips for 

trainers; 
Data ColleCtion Sheet Used to Gauge Preferences 

among Miners and Safety Personnel Regarding 

logo and Sticker Design 

CUTIING & WELDING SAFETY 

Logo Samples Form 

Title: --------__ Comments: - _______ 

Mine: _________ 

Age: ___ 

Years of Experience: 

5. 6. 

8. 9. 

'---___version 1,1 05-02-2007 

III A "tool-box training" booklet with short safety modules on various hazards associated 

with cutting and welding, modeled after prior NIOSH training research (Boldt, 2004); 

III A safety awareness poster; 

III A calendar including safety-tips revisited from the video; and 

III Two separate reflective hardhat stickers. 
A variety of logos were designed for the project and pretested with the miners 

(Figure 5). When soliciting miners' feedback and preferences, it became clear that 

age was an important segmentation variable. One of the designs, for example, 

showed a dead canary in a cage, with the safety warning "Don't End Up Belly 

Up!" Although canaries have not been used to detect dangerous levels of gas in 

coal mines for decades, older miners easily understood the symbo1's meaning. 

Younger workers, however, were unable to identify the significance of a dead bird 

or explain why it was under consideration as the logo for a safety project. 

In keeping with their cultural practice of collecting stickers, one hard-hat 

sticker was developed featuring a muscular coal hog and the tag line "Coal Hogs 

Work Safe" (Figure 6). These stickers became a "golden ticket" for gaining access 

to miners for pretesting and other information. They loved them and were more 

than willing to trade their time and photograph for a sticker. Many miners negotiated for two or more stickers, bragging to their buddies that they were coal hogs 

and had the sticker to prove it. 

Once a complete prototype of the training toolkit was developed, a series of 

external technical reviews was conducted. These reviews were completed on-site 

at mines or mine offices and in face-to-face meetings with content experts who 

were knowledgeable about flame cutting and welding, MSHA regulations, and 

policies related to training miners. Information was collected in a group setting 

Coal Hog Sticker 
through informal interviews with technical reviewers, as well as through questionnaires provided to each person. Efforts were made to gather input from all 

nine of the mines that participated in the initial ethnographic study, as well as 

from other safety specialists who could provide information on accuracy and 

completeness of the materials. Changes to the prototypes were made based on 

feedback received from these reviews. 

Tame the Flame 

Tame the Flame: Cutting and Welding Safety for Underground Coal Miners was 

selected as the name for the project. Eight different titles were brainstormed 

by the team, and each of the gatekeepers involved in the project (safety trainers 

at each mine) were asked to conduct a weighted vote to pick the winner. Tame 

the Flame refers to the behavior being promoted - to use proper protection and 

procedures when using flame cutting torches or welders underground. The Tame 

the Flame toolkit is currently undergoing final stages of technical review. Copies 

of the entire kit have been previewed by safety and management personnel from 

the mines that cooperated, as well as coal association members, engineers, and 

safety professionals from the coal regions. Modifications suggested by the 

reviewers have been incorporated into the kits and will be further modified based 

on feedback from the final review currently underway. Tame the Flame has been 

enthusiastically accepted by the coal mining industry professionals asked to review 

it. Their comments indicate that they perceive it as interesting, credible, comprehensive, and useful. 

Conclusions and Future Research Topics 

Safety awareness campaigns and social marketing have much in common. Neither 

will succeed if great -care is not taken to identify and create relationships with the 

intended audience so that all products or solutions meet their needs, rather than 

the needs of the trainers, training developers, or market researchers. Ethnographies have been used for decades to increase knowledge of cultures, but there 

is great benefit in using this research method to inform the new development 

of effective occupational safety and health materials. The most valuable insight 

gained from this research project seems simple: that knowing the norms and 

values, the expected- behaviors and the prohibited ones, the accepted tribal language, the heroes and credible spokesmen of an occupational culture are all key 

to developing effective training. Future evaluative research will help to determine 

whether or not this insight is valid. 
Health communications or social marketing researchers should begin every 

project focused on identifYing the needs of the audience to receive new training 

products. Future research could include expanded ethnographic study of miners' 

use and perception of existing training materials. Evaluation studies should also 

be conducted to assess the effectiveness of new training products. Finally, 

replication studies could be useful to determine if ethnographic and social 

marketing techniques are successful in the development of new training products 

for other occupational industries. 

This "new product development" project, theoretically guided by social 

marketing, rapid assessment, adult learning, and the integrated SRL Safety Intervention Model, represents the unique challenges and success of mixed-methods 

research in the field of occupational safety and health. Future evaluation studies 

will be based on the upcoming release of the toolkit that the mining industry is 

eagerly awaiting. Meanwhile, insights may be gleaned from this work regarding 

team-based research and the use of social marketing strategies to ensure that 

new products are consumer-driven and audience-centered. The research team 

gained first-hand experience about the importance of engaging those who matter 

most in the process of developing new training materials - the miners. 

About the Authors 

Elaine T. Cullen, M.B.A., Ph.D., C.M.S.P., is the president of Prima 

Consulting Services, Inc. and works as a Federal Occupational Health Consultant 

to NIOSH in the area of assessing occupational cultures in order to create 

effective safety awareness and training materials. 

Lori N. H. Matthews, Ph.D., teaches sociology for the University of Colorado 

at Colorado Springs, Colorado, and currently works as an independent contractor 

to the mining ind~stry where she develops participatery training materials for 

workers. 

Theodore D. Teske, M.A., is a health communications specialist with the 

NIOSH Alaska Pacific Regional Office. He has worked on health communication programs for the mining, commerical fishing, and oil and gas extraction 

industries. 

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