The Effect of Guidelines for Reducing and Preventing Work Accidents in a Prefabricated Houses Factory

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to (1) study the personal and working environmental factors of employees at a prefabricated houses factory, (2) investigate problems and obstacles of safety management in the workplace, (3) compare workers’ safety behaviors before and after the implementation of guidelines for reducing and preventing work accidents, and (4) propose the accident reduction guidelines for a prefabricated houses factory to be used by occupational safety officers. The study’s population consisted of 180 manufacturing employees in the company, which produced prefabricated houses. The purposive sampling was applied in selecting 60 participants – 30 in the experimental group and 30 in the control group. Data on safety behaviors were collected for 2 months in both groups using behavioral observations, constructed interview, and post-activities test. Descriptive and t-test statistical analyses were applied. Results indicate the following: (1) Of all respondents, the majority were male, one-third were 31-35 years old,95.5 % finished an associate degree, 56.7% were married, and 38.3% had 4 years of work experience. (2) Regarding the problems and obstacles of safety management, 53.8% had unsuitable physical working environments, whereas 84.6% agreed with the suitable work schedule, 92.3% had a suitable break period, 53.8% had suitable overtime work periods, 69.2% had no weariness, and all were impressed with the overall as well as their own outputs. (3) Concerning the safety behavior scores of the experimental and control groups, before using the guidelines the score difference was only 0.17 (SD, 1.84), which was not statistically significant at the 95% confidence level (t = 0.115). But after using the guidelines, the score difference was 7.92 (SD, 20.07), which was significant at the 95% confidence level (t = 4.842). (4) The accident reduction and prevention guidelines were used to define a safety talking topic in the factory’s morning meetings by the professional safety officer. Recommendations: the following should be carried out – regular surveys on employees’ satisfaction and positive/negative attitudes, suitable work-time allotments for each job position, suitable overtime work allotments, support for safety activities for employees’ better safety understanding or practices, and regular inspection of personal protective equipment.