Occupational safety evaluation index-based obstacles prediction for manufacturing industries

Abstract

A new safety index known as Occupational Safety Evaluation Index (OSEI) is developed to evaluate and map the level of workplace safety in medium size iron and steel manufacturing industries (MSMIs) of Punjab. Delphi method is used to devise the OSEI based on a set of 40 key factors validated by content validity index (CVI). In order to determine the various obstacles in workplace safety, stepwise regression analysis is carried out using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS, version 20.0). The analysis reveals that factors such as organizational attributes, workplace layout and housekeeping, occupational exposures, personal protective equipment (PPE) and hygiene factors are the main obstacles for workplace safety in MSMIs. It is therefore recommended that the MSMIs should uplift these safety parameters to minimize the obstacles for better and safe working environment at the workplace. Hence, OSEI proves to be a useful tool to evaluate the safety performance of industries and by following the corrective measures suggested in this study, the level of safety in MSMIs of Punjab can be improved upon.