Occupational Safety Culture in Devki Steel Mills Limited in Athi River, Machakos County, Kenya
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Date
2023
Authors
Amol, Daniel Aluora
Wanjohi, Anthony
Bichanga, Robert
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
oalib
Abstract
Workers in Devki are exposed to several occupational hazards resulting in an
average of three workers going on sick leave monthly. The management sought
to reduce these incidences using a leading indicator through Safety Culture.
Determining the safety culture was the main study objective. Independent
variables were artefacts, espoused values and basic assumptions. The study made
use of an analytical cross sectional design. The study population was 800
permanent employees from which a sample of 260 respondents was selected
through the stratified sampling technique. The study used an interviewer administered
questionnaire and observation checklist to collect primary data.
The data was analysed with aid of the SPSS software. Results were interpreted
using a safety culture assessment tool provided by Worksafe. The tool categorised
a score that lies between 0% and 49% as Poor , 50% and 74% as Average
and above 75% as Good. Artefacts scored 76%. The aspired values scored
42.9% and Basic Assumptions scored 39.3%. Management commitment to
safety had the highest correlation to safety culture at 51.2%. The study concluded
that: 1) The artefacts were installed for regulatory compliance; 2) A lot
of the stated values were not practiced; 3) Workers’ attitude towards safety
was improving but a lot more should be done in the areas of resource allocation
to safety programs. From the first three objectives, the Worksafe NSW
Tool ranked the organisation as having an Average safety culture with a mean
score of 52.7%; 4) From Pearson’s correlation, the most important attribute
in building a good safety culture was Management commitment and injury
management was the least important. The study recommends that: 1) The
organisation incorporates use of care based artefacts; 2) Workers opinions on
safety matters are sought, 3) The company should provide safety training; 4)
The management should proactively promote safety.
Description
article
Keywords
Occupational, Safety, Culture
Citation
Amol, D.A., Wanjohi, A. and Bichanga, R. (2023) Occupational Safety Culture in Devki Steel Mills Limited in Athi River, Machakos County, Kenya. Open Access Library Journal , 10: e10527. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1110527