THE RELEVANCE OF TOOLS AND MACHINERY IN ACCIDENT PREVENTION . (A CASE STUDY OF SPDC PORT-HARCOURT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background of the Study

According to the most recent estimates, some 2.3 million workers die from work-related accidents and diseases; over 474 million people suffer from occupational diseases and non-fatal accidents; with the costs of these exceeding US$2.8 trillion, or 4% of gross domestic product (Takala et al., 2012). These have increased by at least ten percent compared to a decade ago (Takala, 2005); and are expected to increase even further as countries and organizations are challenged by rapid advancements in technology, changing nature of accidents, hazards and risks, changing societies views of accidents, introduction of new forms of regulations, and increasing levels of complexity and coupling. The degree of these will, no doubt, depend on the sector and context of the industry concerned.

Rahim (2008) defined an accident as an event that which is out off any planning, desirable, expectation or controlled. People would normally pay more attention to the accident that result in injuries (Hinze, 1997). An accident does not means that it is necessarily cause an injury but it also destroy the tools and materials. Accident is an undesired event, which results in physical injury or property damage, usually resulting from contact with a source of energy above the ability of the body or structure to withstand it. According to Ridley (1986), 99% of the accidents happen are due to either unsafe acts or unsafe conditions or both. All accidents should be of concern regardless of the nature of the loss or damage. Precaution should be taken to avoid and minimize the future accidents. Accident in construction has result in undesired injury, property damage and interruption. In order to minimize the number of accidents, there is a need to identify where and how risks arise. According to Tam et al (2004) , the causes of accidents were the poor safety awareness from top leaders, lack of training, lack of organizational commitment, lack of technical guidance, uncontrolled operation, unwillingness to input resources for safety, lack of certified skill labour, unsafe equipment, lack of first aid measures, lack of rigorous enforcement of safety regulation, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), lack of protection in material transportation and storage, lack of teamwork spirits, shortage of safety management manual, lack of innovative technology and poor information flow.

From the studies and research carried out by the several researchers, it could be concluded that the unsafe acts and unsafe condition are categories to immediate or primary causes of accidents, because they are the most obvious causes and are usually directly involved or present at the moment the accident happen. According to Holt (2001), secondary causes are the failures of the management system to anticipate, and include lack of training, maintenance, adequate job planning and instruction, and not having safe systems of work in place.