MST-School of Public Health

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Browsing MST-School of Public Health by Author "Amol, Daniel Aluora"

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    Occupational Safety Culture in Devki Steel Mills Limited in Athi River, Machakos County, Kenya
    (Kenyatta University, 2023-01) Amol, Daniel Aluora
    Workers in Devki Steel Mills Limited are exposed to several hazards and as a result, an average of three workers go on sick leave monthly due to occupational incidents. The management sought to reduce these incidences using a leading indicator through Safety Culture. Determining the safety culture at Devki Steel Mills Limited was the main objective of this study. Independent variables considered were artefacts, espoused values and basic assumptions while the dependent variable was occupational safety culture. The study made use of an analytical cross sectional design. The study population was 800 permanent employees from which a sample of 260 respondents were selected through the stratified sampling technique. The study used an interviewer administered questionnaire and observation checklist to collect primary data. Key informant interviews were conducted to further elaborate on basic assumptions. Pre testing of the research tools was undertaken to ascertain that the tools were reliable and the resulting data was valid. The data was analysed through inferential statistics by aid of the SPSS version 24.0 software. Tables and charts were used to present the analysed data. This data was interpreted using a safety culture assessment tool provided by Worksafe New south Wales (NSW). The tool categorised an average score that lies between 0% and 49% as Poor, 50% and 74% as Average and above 75% as Good. Of the twenty five artefacts investigated, nineteen were observed. This resulted in a score of 76% which showed that the workplace made good use of safety artefacts. The study analysed the aspired values of the organisation using attributes of safe work procedures, Policies, Injury Management, Return to work and communication. With an average score of 42.9% the organisation scored poorly on upholding the aspired values. For Basic Assumptions, the study analysed attributes of Reporting Safety, Training, Supervision, Management Commitment and Safety prioritisation. The average score of these attributes was 39.3 % resulting in a poor rating for basic assumptions for safety in the organisation. The Pearson’s Correlation was used to deduce the factors that promoted safety culture. The results of the correlation were: management commitment to safety,51.2%, training and supervision, 49.8%, consultation of workers, 49.1% , reporting safety incidents, 45.1%, safe work procedures, 43.2% and injury management & return to work with a score of 38.9%. The study therefore concluded that: (i) the artefacts were installed for regulatory compliance, (ii) A lot of the stated values were not practiced as evidenced by the poor perception amongst respondents (iii) The study also concluded that workers' attitude towards safety in Devki Steel Mills Limited was improving but a lot more should be done in the areas of Induction, Training, Updating safe work procedures and increased resources allocated to safety programs. From the sum average of the first three objectives, the Worksafe NSW Tool ranked the organisation as having an Average safety culture with a mean score of 52.7%, (iv) From the Pearson’s correlation, the most important attribute in building a good safety culture was Management commitment to safety with injury management as the least important. The study recommends that: (i)the organisation incorporates care based artefacts in addition to the existing compliance based ones, (ii)Workers opinions on safety matters be sought through a clear communication channel between management and workers, (iii)the company should provide consistent training on workplace safety and raise awareness of the risk and dangers associated with the tasks performed and (iv) the management should be seen to promote safety through proactive measures as this will demonstrate to workers that the organisation is committed to their safety.