Causes and effects of industrial accidents and health hazards among vehicle body builders and machinists in Suame Industrial Area, Kumasi

The issue of industrial accidents and health hazards have engaged the attention of some governments, organizations, managements, and employers all over the world for some time ROW. Despite the efforts made by industries, industrial accidents and health hazards are still among the most severe epidemics of the world. The toll of the world’s total accident burden is o million accidents, leading to some 335,000 fatalities a year (Jukka Takala cited in Rantanen 2000). The only sustainable strategy for controlling the accidents and health hazards is prevention. Majority of industries worldwide, especially the large ones attempt to find solutions or means to manage and reduce the frequencies of occurrence of industrial accidents by sending some of their employees to training courses on industrial safety, organizing comprehensive safety programmes and many others. These efforts are buttressed in some countries by legislation set up by the governments to enforce the observance of industrial safety rules and regulations; examples are the enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1970, which is purposed in the United States to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve human resources. This 1970 Act established three government agencies namely: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, to enforce the law. In this country, Factories, Offices and Shops Act, 1970 (Act 328) is applied in our industries. The relevant national authorities, especially in developing countries have problems in the promotion of occupational safety and health, especially when they have limited resources for the promotion. They also find it rather difficult to reach small-scale enterprises. However, small-scale enterprises are significant sources of employment for the general economic activities in society, and their impact on the economy is significant, therefore, attention must be accorded them. Suame industrial area (Magazine) lies within the Kumasi Metropolis in the Ashanti Region of Ghana and has an estimated population of over 80,000. Most workers there appear to work with little or no observance of safety rules and regulations. It is also perceived recently that incidence of industrial accidents is considerable and there is no document on these situations. This study is aimed at finding the causes and effects of industrial accidents and health hazards in Suame industrial area so as to furnish RAG with the information sensitize them to effectively organize safety campaigns to curtail such incidences. It will also create the awareness for the Factory Inspectors to step up their activities in the industrial area. Methods employed for the study included non-participant observation of practices of the workers, interview using an interview guide, and administration of questionnaires. The study was limited into two groups in the industrial area namely, vehicle body builders, and the machinists. It was also restricted to the working practices and conditions, and the observance of safety rules and regulations among vehicle body builders, and the machinists in the industrial area One hundred (100) machinists, seventy (70) vehicle body builders, eight (8) Regional Association of Garages officials, and two (2) personnel of the Factories Inspectorate Department were interviewed. From the study, the important findings regarding causes and effects of industrial accidents were unsafe acts, for example, working at unsafe speed, carelessness revealed by 49.4% of the respondents (artisans), then unsafe working conditions, s. lack of maintenance mentioned by approximately 76% of the artisans, lack of proper illumination lack of display of warning signs at dangerous places and machines revealed by r the artisans, and to some extent unguarded moving parts of machines. Approximately sixty-three percent stated that injuries sustained through accidents could result decrease in productivity. 54% also mentioned costs of repairs or replacement of damaged equipment/machine, and treatment of the injured worker as some of the effects of industrial accidents. Regarding health hazards, inhalation of fumes, smoke and gases, exposure to ultraviolet radiation and heat, and eating with unclean hands were revealed; their effects were headaches cold/catarrh, chest pains, cough, skin and eye problems. Other findings included ignorance of safety rules and regulations on the part of most workers and some of the officials of the Garages Association no mechanism set up to ensure or enforce the observance of safety rules and regulations in the industrial area and the failure of Factories Inspectors to visit and inspect to ensure safety in industrial area. It was recommended that: 1. The Garages Association should periodically organize effective education on safety for the workers. 2. The Garages Association should form safety Committee and safety representatives to help monitor safety activities in the industrial area. 3. The Garages Association should organize inter-zonal safety contests and award prizes to the deserving zones, groups or workers who would have the best safety record for a given period. 4. Factories Inspectorate Department should add Suame Magazine to their list of operational areas. 5. KMA should involve themselves in the sanitation issues of the industrial area.

Source: KNUST