Evaluation of port workers’ general awareness of dangerous cargo transport

Abstract

The International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code training is mandatory for all shore-side personnel involved in the handling and transport of dangerous cargoes by sea. This study aims to measure and evaluate the port workers’ dangerous cargo transport general awareness level. For this purpose, the “Dangerous Cargo Transport General Awareness Questionnaire” was developed and applied to trained 100 port workers face-to-face. The questionnaire was proven to be valid and reliable by content validity, construct validity, internal consistency reliability, and test-retest reliability analyses. Four factors were determined as a result of Explanatory Factor Analysis. Discriminant analyses were performed using the Student’s t-test and One Way ANOVA test. Pearson correlation analysis was carried out to determine the relationship between factors. Simple linear regression analysis was used for modeling the relationship between factors. SPSS 24.0 was utilized to conduct the analyses. According to analysis results, port workers’ dangerous cargo transport general awareness does not differ depending on age, position, and education. There is a weak positive or a moderate positive correlation between factors. Port workers have an average and above-average level of general awareness. It is highlighted that increasing this level is possible by increasing the frequency of dangerous cargo transport training. Suggestions are offered for more effective training.