Occupational Accidents and Need for Worker Safety in Manufacturing and High Risk Industries – An Explorative Study With Solutions
Authors: Ranganathan Padmaraj , Sujatha S. 
Published: July 2023

Abstract: OAs (Occupational accidents) have been responsible for fatalities and injuries in both industrialised and developing nations. Due to weak documentation and notification systems, where developing countries in particular lack reliable information on OAs, there are no worldwide standards for information on OAs. Baseline OSMs (occupational safety measures) statistics are still used in workplaces for improving worker safety notwithstanding the underreporting of accident data. 2.78 million Workers every year are estimated to pass away from OAs and other associated conditions, while another 374 million have non-fatal OAs, according to estimates from the ILO (International Labour Organization). Additionally, because manufacturing sectors are dealing with greater OAs, it is necessary to confirm links between safety performances in order to maximise productivity.

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to explore the effects of workplace safety s of assembly workers in manufacturing facilities.

Theoretical framework: According to studies, industries can enhance their safety cultures by focusing on five key areas: management commitment, communication, safety priority, supportive environment, and involvement. These areas in turn improve employee and equipment performance, as well as safety performance as measured by safety performance reports.

Design/methodology/approach: The suggested workplace safety for this job was tested in assembly sites and put into practise. While secondary data was gathered from material found in publications, books, journals, and the internet, primary data came through questionnaires provided to management and personnel. The safety cultures of firms that did not participate in any lean events during the same time period were compared to control groups.

Validity: To gauge Security Environment in the assembling enterprises in Tamilnadu, a changed rendition of the poll utilized by Corridor (2013) was utilized. This survey was chosen in light of the fact that at first, the instrument utilized by Corridor (2013) filled in as a kind of perspective. The said instrument contained 27 things. The main limit of the first estimating instrument is that the association's whose working environment wellbeing is estimated utilizing the instrument should have a comparative workplace and hierarchical construction as the steel processes that were utilized to approve the first instrument. This need was met by the associations picked for the ongoing review. Inward consistency was utilized to pass judgment on the nature of the estimating instrument, as exhorted by Cooper et al (1998)

Findings: P values less than 0.05 were found for the four individual dimension scores—Management Commitment, Priority of Safety, Involvement, and Work Environment—and the overall score, indicating that the proposed framework improved workplace safety-related metrics after adoption. The improvement in the mean total scores for both groups shows that the suggested framework can increase workplace safety. Additionally, rotation times were shortened by 16.6%, space was used up by 22.2%, and stocks were cut by 25% throughout testing. Due to these enhancements, the overall level of workplace safety was greatly raised along with favourable changes in these four dimensions.

Practical and social implications: However, it seems important to draw attention to the ongoing effects of the accident phenomenon on social and health systems, as well as how the development of the economic system has brought about some risk factors that can be addressed through different work practises, increased organisational well-being, and a widespread introduction of corporate welfare tools, in addition to increased controls. The introduction of hazardous work instruments and the absence of controls in particular industries are only two factors contributing to the accident statistics; high workloads are also a frequent factor, the lengthening of workdays and a "culture of performance" and productivity that, even if they do not result in an accident, raise risk margins and, thus, exacerbate the state of "work-related stress." The suggested methodology provides businesses with verified tools and specialised resources that may be applied by businesses using a sustainable and integrated approach. The recommended technique is broken down into steps that engage both workers and prevention experts. The danger of work-related stress is taken into consideration while evaluating the recognised allowances, which merely reflect the most obvious and emerging facet of a much larger issue.