SAFETY MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME IN MANUFACTURING FIRM
USING THE NINTH MILE ENUGU AND GOLDEN GUNIEA PLC (NBPC) UMUAHIA FOR THE CASE
STUDY
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THESUBJECT MATTER
There is no double that industry is one
of the most important sectors of the economy.
The fact that a major share of the nations yearly budget goes to the
industrial sector remains a testimony.
In Nigeria industrialization, virtually unknown twenty years ago is
providing the much needed new dimension into which the national economy can expand
and diversity.
With dynamism in industrial activities,
new and modern sophisticated technology is involved, when these equipment are
not used by trained workers, accidents could result because of wrong handling
causing damage to equipment and the advice that why brain (1990) gain the advice
that safety awareness should be created in the minds of management of all
manufacturing organization no matter their size or level of growth. It goes without saying that accidents occur
in an industry and if not minimized or checked would ultimately affected
productive capacity of the workers as well as the management of the industry
and economy in general.
Having known that accidents prevent
organization from accomplishing objectives and goals, the question now should
be, what measures are the 50- called management of industry doing to
ameliorate, if not totally eradicate the rate of injury and accidents
occurrence in the government owned industry.
The managers are expected to be at the upper echelon, introducing measures
and mounting pressure to ensure safety and protection against. Their hazards and accident in the work
environment. Unfortunately some management look at safety programme as added cost to the organization
hence, they have tended to relent to forestalling the possible hazard in the
firm.
In addition to this, Shublin in Udeze
(2000:243) indicated that management should realize that reduction of accident
covers their high direct and indirect accident costs of more than pay for the
expense of a continuing safety programme.
There has been a lot of hues and cries
calling for the attention of the management towards work safety, there has
equally been a factory act of 1958 which stipulates certain safety standards in
manufacturing companies; there has also been the government insistence that safety
should be given priority attention as a part of the social responsibility of
the organization it is in the light of all these that this study has embarked
on finding out the impact of safety management on workers performance in government owned industries.
But the problem has often been that
management that employees does not feel responsible for ensuring that such
hazards are removed.
The safety management programme that
should trail industrialization is lacking.
1.2 PROBLEMS
ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER
Accident and hazards are the inevitable
phenomenon of any human organization but the concern of every rational and
curious researcher is on the measures that should be applied to minimize the
occurrence of accident in government owned industry.
Furthermore, it is difficult to described
a situation in which in spite of various academics writes ups government
concerned about workers safety. This is why Anibata (1991:38) in his analysis
opi9ned that as industrial workers depends on his employer, as being able to
providing him with his safety requirements needed for his work and to receive
some compensation when his health is affected, these requirement when absent
creates laxity in workers.
Workers in the government owned industry
are often injured, maimed and incapacitated as a result of industrial
resident and to add that some management
are not even aware of their role and responsibility as regards to industrial
accident. Though some argue that however
careful we are, accident can still happen but, what of a situation where
workers are not given adequate training or where management are not concerned
about safety.
For the employees to be committed and
work toward achieving organizational goal and objective their own individual
need and aspiration must also be met. Thus, it is the responsibility of the
management to ensure that all employees are properly equipped and trained so
that employee would work safety and productively.
Good safety behaviour should be a
condition of employment and should be treated in the same way as any other
performance criterion. Poor safety
performance in any section of the business demands correction which good
performance needs recognition. There
fore, management to achieve its set goals must foster and nurture a committed
work force, which can be achieved by setting their aspiration fulfilled. Attention channeled towards improving the
environment upon where workers work and their safety considerations, help in
goal attainment for example, a Nigerian worker who feels that his life is as
stake when operating a machine without adequate protective equipment might not
put his best no matter the monetary rewards because life has no duplicate.
1.3 PROBLEM(S)
THAT WILL BE CONCERN WITH
The following research question were used
to draft the questionnaire to the study .
i. How does your company
ensure effective implementation of her safety management programme?
ii. What are the positive
effects on workers performance that result from the implementation of your
company’s safety management prgramme?
iii. How
secure is your place of work against factory accidents?
iv. What are the negative
effects that your company’s safety management programmes have on workers
performance?
1.4 THE
IMPORTANCE OF STUDING THE AREA.
This study on the impact of safety management programme in Nigeria industries
would benefit the workers, companies and Nigeria in general if implemented for
instance.
i.
Would emphasize the role of the working supervisors and the importance
of his responsibilities for the safe operation of plants control of people in a hazardous working
environment.
ii.
Would emphasize the type of
training needed and given to the worker about safety at work place and
developing safety consciousness.
iii.
Would motivate staff to work
safety for the benefit of themselves, other and to the nation.
iv.
It will bring about a major
improvement in safety performance in a way that will be sustained.
1.5 DEFINITION
OF IMPORTANT TERMS.
The following terms have been used in a
number of places in the study for the purpose of this research they have been
used in the following sense .
SAFETY– Freedom from accident in
the work place.
ACCIDENT– Any unpredicted
unplanned event, which could result in personal in jury, damage to plant, in
creased cast, loss of production and population of the environment.
HAZARD- A hazard is any condition that
might operate against the safety workers.
IMPACT- The impression the programme made on the workers.
PERFORMANCE– What is accomplished
contrasted with capacity.
PPE- Personal protection equipment
REFERENCE
Anibata I. (1991) “ Risk Management in
Nigeria Station Information “ Booklet Vo. 12.
Brain G. (1990) “Safety at Work” in
information Booklet on H.S.E (Warri SDC Corporate Re. Prographic
Center.
Udeze J.O (2000) “Human Resources”
Management in Nigeria, Enugu Joe Best Books.