The Safety Culture of Artisans at the Sokoban Wood Village Enclave, Ghana (original) (raw)
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International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 2015
The study was carried out in a furniture industry in Ghana, to identify some of the hazards, lost in revenue due to hazards and hazard control. Questionnaires were administered to workers of which 60% had adequate knowledge about hazards management; 50% had experienced minor injuries; 80% had knowledge on the use of Personal Protective Equipment, and 100% had access to good medical care provided by the Management. The results further indicated that unavailability and low usage of personal protective equipment (PPE) increase the risk of getting involved in accidents.It was recommended that Management should be committed to the training of their workers on the use of safety tools. Factory Inspectorates should increase the number of times they visit these industries to ensure safety. Procedures for providing safety against accidents are therefore very relevant, hence encouraged through safety committees.
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Keeping the workplace safe must not be the concern of only workers and companies but also national and global economies whose productivity and competitiveness play a major role on safe working environment. This paper investigated the impact of training on occupational health and safety of woodworkers at a wood processing village in Ghana. The study was conducted using cross-sectional design with 410 wood processing operators. Questionnaires adapted from safety management operation was used for this quantitative study. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. All the eight (8) items under the use of personal protective equipment had their mean ratings lower than the theoretical mean of 3.0. This suggest that the woodworkers do not put on personal protective equipment during wood processing. Additionally, the study revealed that the woodworkers were not provided with personal protective equipment at work. Furthermore, the study revealed that training could signi...
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Research reports indicate that wood workers in Ghana are exposed to various types and degrees of occupational hazards ranging from bacterial, viral and chemical infections to physical injury and accidents. It is also a known fact that there is no comprehensive national policy on occupational health and safety (OHS) except Act 651of the Labour Act 2003 which enjoins employers not to expose their employees to conditions that would lead them to work related injuries or illnesses. Notwithstanding the requirements of the Act and efforts made by companies in the Ghanaian wood industry at ensuring that employees work in safe and healthy conditions, wood workers face a lot of hazards at work. Thus, the questions which remained unanswered were: what health and safety mechanisms or specific policies were in place to regulate the activities of workers such that they did not fall victim to disasters? What characteristics of workers may lead them to violate company codes on occupational health and safety? These questions and several others formed the bases for which a survey questionnaire administered to 150 respondents in the Naja David Wood Industry to find out the role of sex, age, education and experience on compliance or non-compliance to occupational health and safety. The results revealed that age, education and experience play significant role in ensuring compliance whereas sex does not play significant role in ensuring compliance to occupational health and safety. The results further indicated that unavailability and low usage of personal protective equipment (PPE) increased the risk of getting involved in accidents. The study thus, recommended constant provision and replacement of PPE for workers to use at work. Immediate supervisors should also be officially empowered to enforce usage of PPE and punish violators as way of preventing accidents at work.
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