Full Project – The impact of safety and health in organizations

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CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Safety and health is a human resources management function which the organization requires, because it is a benchmark for higher productivity. Research has proved that workers with good safety and health increases productivity, growth and development of the organization. The success of production in factories and industries, to a large extent depends upon the safety of employees and as well the employers. With persistence increase in industrialization, industrial accidents have increased at an alarming rate. That is why organizations today set-up a committee know as “safety committee” to monitor the safety and health of workers and also punish the earring staff or organizations if found wanting to the act.

The health of employees has been one of the major concerns of the employers since the commencement of factory system. It is so because is only when staff are in good physical condition they can work effectively and efficiently. Ever since “the factories act of 1948” was passed in Nigeria, the employers have recognized the need for safety and health of workers in organization.

According to D. and V. Philippines (2012), the International Labour Organization (ILO) entitles guidelines on occupational safety and health management systems, to assist organizations with introducing of safety management system. This guidelines encourages continual improvement in employees health and safety achieved via: constant process of policy organization, planning and implementation, evaluation, and action for improvement all supported by constant auditing to determine the successes. The ILO management system was created to assist employers to keep pace with rapidly shifting and competitive industrial environment.

Fencing of organizational factory layout is another important medium for preventing industrial hazards. Opined by Augustine U. Ohiri (2014). He further stated that the safety provision, among other things with fencing all prime movers, and transmission machinery and provision of a safe means of access to every place at which any person has at anytime to work. Chief A.U. Ohiri (2014) quoted that “to avoid unnecessary accident, most companies should set-up a safety committees”. The duty of safety committee is to instruct all employees on safe method of work. A large number of accident that happens in manufacturing industries are not always due to breach of statutory duty by employees but are mainly due to the carelessness of employees while operating the machines.

In the traditional sense, health means the mere absence of an ascertainable disease. But in its present connotation, health is the outcome of the interaction between the individual and his environment. Thus, industrial health refers to the maintenance of a healthy environment in the factory, conducive to healthy working conditions for the benefits of the employees. One of the basic objectives of factory act 1938 is to prevent industrial diseases and injuries rather than curing it. In accordance with this dynamic approach, the following measures have been taken into considerations;

Promoting the establishment and maintaining a high degree of physical and mental well-being of the employees.
Ensuring a better environmental atmosphere by way of cleaning, sanitizing the environment.

Protecting their workers or employees against any health hazards that may arise on the processing performing their duties.

Section 11 to 20 of the factory act of 1948 stipulated that the health of workers in organization should be taken into consideration. The act specified the provision of cleanliness, disposal of waste, ventilation and temperature, dust, fumes, artificial humidification, over-crowding, lighting and rest-room conveniences.

Industrial safety is seen as the state of being harmless in a work place. The workers safety and health often attracts the psychologist who takes into consideration the causes of accident in an organization and proper solution, through appropriate, training and education of workers from the engineer and safety personnel officers who gives important advice on safety in an organization. These advice is necessary due to the increase in large scale of industrialization in which individuals are subject to mechanical, electrical, chemical and radiation hazards.

According to Frank and Lilian G. (2000) Ergonomics or human factors is the scientific discipline with the understanding of interactions among humans and other element of a system, and a profession that applies theory principle, data and method to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance. Human factors and ergonomics is employed to fulfill the goals of occupational health and safety and productivity. Proper ergonomic system or design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders which can develop over time and can lead to long term disability.

Ergonomics which means the process of designing or arranging workplaces, products and systems so that they fit the people who use them. We also say is the relationship or interaction between human being and its work environment the harmony that exist between both makes work effective and efficient e.g. workspace, sports and leisure, health and safety kind of task, hours worked, risk involved, bodily exposure to either cold or heat, noise or calm area, all these affects the attitudes, behvaiour, health and safety of employees. Outlined below are some of the objectives of ergonomics;

The shape and design of machines or equipments such that they can be operated with efficiency, accuracy, and safely.
To reduce work stress.
To work out proportions and conditions of the workplace to ensure correct body posture and adopting lighting, air conditioner, noise, etc to suit people’s physical requirements.
To achieve best practice design, ergonomists use the data and techniques of several disciplines like;

Anthropometry: body sizes, shapes, populations and variations.
Environnemental Physics: noise, light, heat, radiation, sensations, etc.

Applied Psychology: skill, learning, errors, differences.

Social Psychology: groups, communication, learning, behaviours.
Biomechanics: muscles, levers, forces, strength.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

The impact of safety and health on organization productivity have remain the substratum for productivity, most employers of labour have not seen it as supremacy which has led to the discovery of the following problems as stated below.

Inappropriate supply of information to employees no how certain machines and equipment should be operated.
Inadequate provision of organizational safety and health equipments by the management.

Lack of trained personnel on safety and health of the employee in an organization.

Therefore, the problem of this study posed as a question “what is the impact of safety and health on organizational productivity? With the help of research, this study is designed to verify the relationship between safety and health on organizational productivity.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The footing of this study is to scrutinize various roles and as well the impact of safety and health on organizational performance. They objectives are narrowed down under the following;

To determine what is employee health and safety at work.
To identify the various types of health and safety at work.
To determine the problems associated with health and safety at work.
To ascertain the major constraints facing the achievement of effective and efficient safety and health on workers.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Does health and safety have any effect on workers and organizations as well?
What are the necessary problems associated with health and safety at work?

How can employees health and safety be determined at work?

What are the various types of safety and health in an organizations?

1.5 STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESES/RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

For the purpose of this study, the following hypotheses where mapped out and would be tested with the null and alternate hypotheses.

Ho₁: Effective communication of safety and health on employees has no effect on workers productivity.

HA₁: Effective communication of safety and health on employee has effect on workers productivity.

Ho₂: Employees health and safety training has no significant impact on employee’s behavior/attitude to work.

HA₂: Employees health and safety training has significant impact on employee’s behavior or attitude to work.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The effectiveness of health and safety together with organizational hazard depends greatly on the type of hazard, causes, effects as well as the need or extent to which health and safety management is understood. When health and safety management is developed and maintained with proper training and effective communication, organizational hazards or accident will be reduced to its barest minimum.

Also the importance of safety and health provisions in our industries cannot be overemphasized especially for a developing country like Nigeria, which is operating in a globalized world economy. It is advised that this study after been completed will contribute immensely to the workers benefits and as such some establishments to the management and the organization at large.

Hence, the study will be greatly important to;

Policy makers (especially personnel managers on health and safety department).
Workers who engaged in machine operation and other organizational equipments which could be injurious to health.

Supervisors (lecturers and teachers) and students in the same field of study and other related field who may be opportune to carry out similar research will find this study helpful as a secondary source of data.

The researcher stands to gain greatly as a result of exposure during the course of the work.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study on the role and impact of health and safety on organization was delimited to the concept of safety in an environment, ways to apply safety in an organizational environment (work setting) in Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri in Imo State, as a case study. The study also looked at how employees could be trained in their work settings and problem associated with it. It also glanced at the need of safety and health in organization especially in the industries was equipments are not properly set.

1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This entails the difficulties the researcher undergoes while carrying out the research. The constraints and stress one passed through were time constraints, high rate of transportation, natural factors, human factors, lack of finance, poor and obsoletes equipments and illiteracy.

Time Constraints: This pose a great problem to the researcher since the project is expected to be completed within a short period of time. Respondents were slow in reply due to poor educational standard.

Natural Factors: Like rainfall which to a greater extent hinders the researcher’s movement in his bid to distribute and as well as collecting questionnaires from respondents. There was the constraint of inadequate and inaccurate statistical data on industrial safety cases in Nigeria.

Human Factors: In most cases, it was revealed that the employees are not educated on safety and health provision programmes, hence there was an awareness problem.

Financial Constraint: Due to inadequate finance and economic statutes of Nigeria, it was hard for the researcher to move about (cost of transportation and feeding) and make telephone calls, all this requires money. This is because some respondents will tell you come back tomorrow or in the evening without considering time wasted and distance involved.

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS

For vivid explanation of this study some terms used in this work will be defined. Some terms are however defined in relation to how they were used in the study, viz;

Ergonomics: Is the process of designing or arranging workplaces, products and systems so that they fit the people who will make use of them.

Occupational Hazard: Is a risk accepted as a consequence of a particular occupation. It is mostly experienced in the workplace.

Occupational Illness: Under the occupational health and safety act, defined it as a condition that results from exposure in a workplace to a physical, chemical or biological agent to the extent that the normal physiological mechanisms are affected and the health of the worker is impaired.

Anthropometry: This is the study of human body measurements especially on a comparative basis.

Environmental Physics: Is the application of laws of physics in order to provide a description of the natural environment. E.g. Ozone layers, waste, air, soil and water pollution.

Applied Psychology: It is the use of psychological methods and findings of scientific psychology to solve practical problems of human and animal behavior and experience e.g. mental health, organizational psychology, etc.

Social Psychology: Is a branch of psychology that deals with social interactions, including their origins and their effects on the individual.

Biomechanics: It refers to the study of mechanical laws relating to the movement or structure of living organisms.

Effective: Means adequate to accomplish a purpose.

Efficiency: The ability to avoid wastage.

Safety: This is the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injuries.

Health: Is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living organism.

Organization: An organization is an organized group of people with a particular purpose, such as a business or government parastatas or department.

Safety Management: Is a comprehensive business management system designed to manage safety element in the workplace.

Employee: Is a person employed for wages. It also refer to as that individual who works part-time/full-time under a contact of employment, whether oral or written, express or implied, and has recognized rights and duties, it is synonymous with workers.

Employer: This is a legal entity that controls and directs a servant or worker under an express or implied contract of employment and pays him or her salary or wages in compensation.

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Full Project – The impact of safety and health in organizations

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Full Project – The impact of safety and health in organizations

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