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THE ROLE OF INDUSTRIAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT ON ORGANISATIONAL PRODUCTIVITIES

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0   BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

A lamentable but hard fact of industrial life is that a number of people are injured, crippled, renders disabled or killed in the course of their employment in industries each year. Management has a responsibility to ensure that work places are not hazardous to the employees physical and on mental health conditions. However, accident can and do occurs on many job, but the safety of employees in an organisation is one of the price concerns of all managers.

Industrial health and safety management refers to the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupation. It involves the protection of workers in their employment from factors adverse or detrimental to health (Burk 1970:15).

Going by a popular adage that “health is wealth”, organisation’s productivity as well the development of nation depends on the health of its people. According to Ali, (1991:76), the role played by a healthy and contented (Satisfied) work force in the economic development of any country cannot be over emphasized.  To keep employees producing at least at a level indicated by their potential when hired, it is necessary to prevent anything that might result in a temporary of permanent reduction in output from happening to them. The major type of such happenings are injuries and illness. Thus, it become important that organisations evolve measures aimed at reducing accident frequency and severity it is equally important that organisation, if not eliminate, reduce to the minimum factors that might contribute to the cause or prolongation of an illness. Though this is a social/humanitation responsibility of any organisaiton’s management, it is also a cardinal factor in organisations goal attainment.

Injuries and illness do not only have negative effects on productivity, it occurs with them monetary cost. For instance, in 1978, about 2,800 Nigerian workers died or received injuries at their work place resulting in permanent disabilities. Moreover in 1988, a total number of industries accident reported to the factory inspectorate development of the federal ministry of labour, Lagos was 462 while that of 1990 was 420 (Ali 1999:79).

Though the total cost of the injuries and illness cannot be quantified in monetary terms since one cannot accurately place monetary value on a mans’ life or on suffering bone by dependents of the injured and even losses suffered by company as a result of damage to machines and equipment, yet it is generally noted that it has no overriding disadvantage both to employees and the management of organisation.

In developed and high/industrialized countries, industrial safety awareness and movement has been in existence right from the day of industrial revolution. Therefore as Nigeria is enjoying the benefit of industrialization, such as production of goods and services and employment opportunities with its improved standard of living, the employers of labour must not over look the fact that they employ workers with little or no knowledge of industrial process and hazard associated with them, hence a grant responsibility is passed to the management to take all possible measures to avoid the unnecessary loss of live and manpower arising from industrial accidents, which are capable of endangering economic prospect of the nation if precautions are not taken.

1.1    STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The importance of good health and safety conditions in an organisation cannot be overstated. Every organisations whether small or large are expected to safeguard the health and safety of their employees, because regardless of size, every enterprises is affected to some extent by injuries and illness.

These affect the cost of the firms operation and efficiency/productivity as such requires serious attention. Accidents like all other human induced phenomena will never end. It is obvious but the concern and emphasis is on reducing their occurrences.

It is a fact that the number of industrial accidents and health hazard/casualties in most industrial centres are quite alarming.

Some homes have lost their bread winners and were not adequately compensated, means of likelihood becomes matters of uncertainty. Apart from these, the rate of absenteeism by factory workers and other key personnel resulting from industrial accident or health hazards are so high such that productivity becomes low.

From the above mentioned instances, it is ascertained that the neglect of industrial health and safety management pose serious threat to organisation productivity.

1.2    OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study to examine the importance of industrial health and safety management to organisation’s productivity specific objectives are:

To highlight the relevance of industrial health and safety          management practices to organisation high performance,          hence it productivity. To find how industrial health and safety programmes          enhances productivity. To investigate whether organisations educate and train their          employees on health and safety precautions. To examine a whether the sex of an employees play a part in          his/her involvement in industrial accidents. To examine the relevance of a safe and healthy working          environment condition to employees performance. And finally, to examine whether organisation review their         health and safety programmes.

\1.3   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of this study is the contribution it will make to the promotion of health and safety in industrial establishment, as it is an essential function of management if high productivity is to be attained and sustained.

1.4    RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Since the research is carried out to examine the role of industrial health and safety management on organisation productivity as such the research effort will make use of both primary and secondary data. Thus, answers to the following question will be the spring board to the solution of the problem:

Does your organisation educate and train her employees on         health and safety precaution? How often does your organisation review her health and         safety programmes? In what way is the health and safety programmes beneficial         to your organisation?

1.5    HYPOTHESIS

As an aid in answering some of the research question stated the uses the following hypotheses. The null hypothesis to be tested are:

Ho: These is no positive effect between safety training and the           numbers of injuries (accidents) sustained by industrial workers.

Hi:  The industrial health and safety management programmes are        not on any way beneficial to organisation

1.6    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Since most industrial establishment are faced with identical problem especially in the area of industrial accident and health hazards, the scope of the study will focus prominently two industrial outfits (a survey within Akwa Ibom State for the purpose of efficiency and accuracy on the research work.

1.7    LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

There is hardly any activity in a dynamic environment that is not constrained by one factor or the other. Likewise this study investigation cannot be deemed to be perfect in it’s entirely. The limitations that constrain these efforts are numerous. However, worthy of mention include the following:

Top on the list of hindrance is the lack of current materials          for study or research on the subject. A second limitation is the shortness of time during which the          project report is to the written and submitted. This work is further constrained by the cost of financing this         project, which because of harsh economic climates is unduly         exorbitant. They is further contained in obtaining relevance figures and         due to nonchalant and uncooperative attitudes of some staff.   Some complained of being too busy, other declaimed giving         relevant information on grounds of leaking official secretes.

1.8    DEFINITION OF TERMS

Safe

According to Webster New Collegiate Dictionary (1976) defined safe as free from harm or risk or some secure from threat of danger harm or loss.

Safety

This is the condition of being safe from undergoing or causing hurt, injury or loss or to protect against failure breakage or accident.

Accidents

According to Oxford English Dictionary, it is an event or something that happens without a cause that can be seen at once, usually an event (or something) unfortunate and undesirable.

Industrial Health and Safety

This refers to the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupation (Ketez 1982).

Safety Training

This is a pre-requisite for ensuring safe operations in the manufacturing company.

Programs

A complex of goal, policies procedures rules, task or steps to be taken, resources to be employed and other element necessary to carry out a given course of action and normally supported by a capital and operating budgets (Koontz, 1988:661).

Faculty Environment:

This refer to accident caused by factors attributable to the maladjustment in the industrial work environment.

Occupational Health Programmes

Are the identification and control of health hazards arising from toxic substances, radiation, move, fatigues and stresses imposed upon the body and mind at work.

Role

This refers to the task duty or importance of a given element in an undertaking.

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