Need for Effective Health and Safety Practices in Store Operation
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The major objectives of this project research are to
- to examine firms and types of industrial accidents in various stores.
- to examine the causes of industrial accidents in various stores
- to examine and investigate the measures taken or put up to prevent industrial accident that occurs in stores.
- to know the extent to which staff and management yield to the code safety practice.
- to examine the various laws and legislation put on accidents in store.
- to suggest new feasible ways to maintain an accident-free industrial base.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
A significant proportion of Nigerians do not enjoy the desirable level of wellbeing that allows social and economic productivity, especially those working in Nigerian factories. Wellbeing is the state of acceptable level of good physical health, emotional and mental wellness (WHO, 2004). Wellbeing is all encompassing referring to aspects of psychological; physical health; financial, social well-being and the likes (WHO, 2004). Grant, Christianson, and Price (2007) define well-being in terms of three factors which include social, physical, and psychological functioning. Following the classification of Nussbaum, (2001) and Sen, (1993); the psychological dimensions describes variables such as agency, satisfaction, self-respect, and capabilities; physical dimension include food, shelter, health care, warmth, and mobility. The dimensions of social wellbeing include; community participation, acceptance and altruistic behaviours. A broad spectrum of literature have identify that importantly employee wellbeing is a significant determinant of organisational performance and firms survival. Due to its ability to lower health/illness related costs, labour turnover, work tardiness, absenteeism, increased organizational citizenship behaviour (Grant, Christianson, and Price ,2007; Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, and Bachrach, 2000) and job performance (Grant, Christianson, and Price, 2007). Accordingly, managerial safety initiatives among other organisations goals are often structured with the explicit aim of improving performance through increasing employee well-being. Safety management, a group of activities relating to health and safety in the workplace implemented by the management (National safety Council, 2004). These include: Identification, assessment and control of all workplace hazards and risks; proactive approach to safety and health issues by members of organization (Supervisors, Workers and Managers); provision of information and training for employees in all cadre; design and implementation of organizational goals on health and safety (National safety Council, 2005). Literature has shown that the most significant approach to safety management (improving employees’ safety awareness and safety behaviours) is through safety training practices, equipment design and maintenance though given less priority by organizations (Jensen, 2002). Safety training is a consistent activity in encouraging safety awareness and safety compliance. Consequently, success in safety management is attained if there is substantial compliance to safety procedures and regulations (Yu and. Hunt, 2004).Safety training is successful only when the employees internalises safety rules, regulation and put to practice. Though there is difficulty in directly estimating the impact of safety management practice have on various dimensions of employee wellbeing. It is adjudge that safety management improves psychological well-being of employees as it moderates employees’ satisfaction and quality of life (Judge and Watanabe, 1993).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to evaluate the need for effective health and safety practices in store operation
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information for the study the need for effective health and safety practices in store operation. 200 staff of Shoprite was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain the need for effective health and safety practice in store operation.
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of health and safety practice in store operation.
Summary
Safety in every human endeavor is first, and must come first both in the business organizations and in our individual lives, to enable us perform efficiently and effectively. Safety on the other hand, provide the condition whereby the probability of accident is minimum, and it contributes to the elimination of unsafe conditions and unsafe acts.
Conclusion
This study investigated the influence of safety management on employees’ wellbeing. Results revealed that workers training and design of equipment design did not correlate with wellbeing. Routine maintenance was associated with sound psychological wellness. Based on these, it is imperative that workers training and equipment design have to be inculcated in the safety management practices of the manufacturing companies. Sound health and healthy work conditions are important prerequisite for employees’ wellbeing. Industrial firms should encourage and support the participation of workers in effective health and safety/health promotion committees and programmes, and in collective bargaining processes that enhance health and well-being. The study is limited to employees in some selected production companies in Oluyole industrial estate in Ibadan as all the companies in the industrial zone could not be visited due to time constraints and limited financial resources. Based on the enumerated limitations of the study, further studies should be carried out and the sample size increased to include all production companies in the industrial zones within and outside Ibadan. This is such that actual prevalent level of industrial safety could be ascertained and a meaningful comparison among the different zones on the variables of interest could be carried out.
Recommendation
Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations were made:
- Safety policies and procedures should be reviewed whenever there are changes in operating conditions to make them more relevant.
- Management should recruit professionally competent as well motivated safety officers as opposed to quacks and touts.
- The Federal Government should enacts and enforces laws that provide for stiffer penalties for employers of labour that do not implement safe work practices or records accidents in their operations.
- Management should adopt a proactive safety policy and management system that focuses more on the latent causes of accidents as opposed to the immediate causes.
Reference
- Barridam, D.M. (2006), Research Methods in Administration Science, Port Harcourt, Belk Publishers.
- Chukwu, B.I. (2007), Fundamental Business Statistics, Horsethron Concepts Publishers.
- Courts, S. (2003), Work and Enterprise Panel of Enquiring Links between the Quality of Working life and Performance: London, HSE.
- Deming,W.E. (1986), Out of Crisis: Bostan, Masachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Heinrich, H.W. (1941) Industrial Accident Prevention, (2nd Edition,) New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Dennis, W.G. and Namus B. (2002), Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Change, NewYork: H
- arper & Row. Dorman, P. (2001), The Economics of Safety, Health and Well-being at Work, London,
- Longman Dow, S.C. (2002), Economic Methodology: An Inquiring: New York, Oxford University Press. Edwards, R (1979), Contested Terrain: The Transformation of the Workplace in the Twentieth Century, London Heineamann.
