Impact of training on occupational health and safety of woodworkers at a wood processing village in Ghana
1 Department of Construction and Wood Technology Education, Akenten Appiah-Menkah University for Skill Training and Entrepreneur Development, P. O. Box 1277, Kumasi, Ghana.
2 Department of Environmental Science Education, Akenten Appiah-Menkah University for Skill Training and Entrepreneur Development, P. O. Box M 25, Ashanti Mampong, Ghana.
3 Department of Wood Industry and Utilization Division, CSIR - Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, P. O. Box UP 63, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana.
Research Article
Global Journal of Engineering and Technology Advances, 2023, 14(03), 007–018.
Article DOI: 10.30574/gjeta.2023.14.3.0216
Publication history:
Received on 28 November 2022; revised on 28 February 2023; accepted on 03 March 2023
Abstract:
Keeping the workplace safe must not be the concern of only workers and companies but also national and global economies whose productivity and competitiveness play a major role on safe working environment. This paper investigated the impact of training on occupational health and safety of woodworkers at a wood processing village in Ghana. The study was conducted using cross-sectional design with 410 wood processing operators. Questionnaires adapted from safety management operation was used for this quantitative study. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. All the eight (8) items under the use of personal protective equipment had their mean ratings lower than the theoretical mean of 3.0. This suggest that the woodworkers do not put on personal protective equipment during wood processing. Additionally, the study revealed that the woodworkers were not provided with personal protective equipment at work. Furthermore, the study revealed that training could significantly influence woodworker’s practice of occupational health and safety in the wood processing industry. The outcome of this study suggests that the management of the enclave studied need to do more to enforce practice of safety, especially the use of personal protective equipment, to reduce hazards and injuries associated with wood processing industry.
Keywords:
Occupational health and safety; Training; Woodworkers; Wood processing; Personal protective equipment
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Copyright © 2023 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0