Research Article Open Access

ASSESSMENT OF SAFETY PRACTICES IN SAWMILL INDUSTRIES IN AKURE SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Safety practices and workers compliance with safety rules are necessary guidelines in ensuring smooth and undisturbed operations in the sawmilling industries. Assessment of a safe working environment was carried out in Akure South Local Government Area (LGA) of Ondo State, Nigeria using questionnaire, on-the-spot assessment, and noise pollution evaluation, A total number of 14 sawmills from 7 different locations across the local government areas were studied and the data collected were subjected to descriptive analysis. The categorization of the mills is essentially distributed across small, medium, and large scales in the proportion of 14%, 14% and 72% respectively. Workers gender and educational background indicated that 75% of the workers were male with a low level of education and minimal working experience. On the use of PPE, 65.9% of the workers were not familiar with the use of PPE while 52.3% of sawmills are reluctant to use PPE. Furthermore, the study revealed that the noise produced by the machines was above the minimum of 85 Db with the band saw and circular saw machines producing noise above the bearable level. Investigation revealed that workers complained of headaches, skin/eye irritation, and respiratory problem. On the occurrence of an accident, 54.6% of the sawmill employees attested to having recorded accident during the course of using the machine while 56.8% of the accidents are minor injuries. Low levels of safety awareness and compliance were observed among the sawmill workers in the Local Government Area necessitating the need for safety training sensitization.

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