Causes and Frequency of Accidents Among Food Laboratory Workers in Mombasa County, Kenya

Kenya has put in place legislations to safeguard the safety and health of workers, but still the number of accidents at workplaces has continued to increase. According to the Directorate of Occupational safety and health Services (DOSHS) Annual Report, the Coast region was leading with the number of fatal accidents at 42 and non-fatal accidents at 842 for the year 2004. The DOHS Annual Report (2010) reported an increase to 1742 accidents, where 34 were fatal and 1713 were non-fatal in the coast region. Literature from various parts of the world has identified numerous causes of accident. Human error plays a big role in accident causation, behavioral factors such as improper attitude, lack of knowledge, lack of skills and inadequate physical and mental condition. Carelessness and reckless behavior, inattention or fatigue, inadequate or unsafe equipment and lack of adequate training increase the probability that an accident will occur. However, not much has been documented in Kenya, particularly in food laboratories. The paper therefore presents the causes and frequency of accidents in food laboratories within Mombasa County .The target population was 200 food laboratory workers from all the thirteen food laboratories in Mombasa county out of which 50% was the sample representative. Simple random sampling was used to identify those to be issued with questionnaires. Data collected was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively using the SPSS computer software and results were presented in tables as percentages and frequencies.Results indicated that slips and falls are the main cause of accidents as was stated by 43% of respondents. The results also showed a strong inverse correlation between the work experience and accident occurrence. A regression identified on three factors that are main cause of accidents: Drug use, Poor working environment and lack of adequate training. © 2018 Elixir All rights reserved. Elixir Org. Behaviour 114 (2018) 49505-49509 Organizational Behaviour Available online at www.elixirpublishers.com (Elixir International Journal) Florence Mary Kisulu et al./ Elixir Org. Behaviour 114 (2018) 49505-49509 49506 According to Dorman(2000), the food industry includes a wide range of subsectors, such as the slaughter, preparation and preservation of meat; the manufacture of dairy products; canning and preserving fruits and vegetables; canning, preserving and processing fish and seafood; the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats; grain milling; the manufacture of bakery products; the manufacture and refining of sugar; the production of cocoa, chocolate and sugar confectionery; and the manufacture of animal feeds. The drink industry covers the distillation and blending of spirits and the production of wine, malt liquors, soft drinks, fruit juices. Workers in these industries can be exposed to dust and chemicals in a number of ways when spraying, they can inhale the chemicals during and after spraying, the chemicals can be absorbed through the skin, and the workers can ingest the chemicals if they eat, drink, or smoke without first washing their hands, or if drinking water that has become contaminated with the chemicals. Despite the fact that the Government of Kenya has put in place legislations to safeguard the safety and health of workers, the number of accidents at workplaces has continued to increase (Mutemi, 2005). The human error is often indicated when the causes of accidents are not found in the technical systems. A technical perspective on safety leaves the person involved with an individual responsibility. As the injury ‘only’ affects the operator, he/she is to answer for the accident and therefore also to blame (Reason, 1990). The human errors made by i.e. designers, manufacturers of machines, purchasers, maintenance personnel, administrators, management or safety analysts, that may contribute to an accident are seldom analyzed or brought forward despite their contribution to the whole complexity of risks (Sundström-Frisk, 1996). Reason (1990) distinguishes two kinds of error: active errors, committed by the sharp-end personnel where effects are felt almost immediately, and latent failures with adverse consequences that may lie dormant within the system for a long time, only becoming evident when they combine with other factors to breach the system’s defences. Latent failures can contribute to a number of different accidents, and can increase the likelihood of active failures through the creation of local factors promoting errors or violations. Reason (1990) also stated that there is a growing awareness that it is more important to uncover and remedy the latent failures resulting from poor design, incorrect installation, faulty maintenance and bad management decisions than to minimise the error of the individual operator. A study conducted by Danso (2005) stated that poor working conditions may have an effect of the health and safety of the workers. These unhealthy or unsafe working conditions can be found in any workplace. The individual workers are very often prone to accidents associated with their work because of inadequate safety provisions. The major occupational health hazards identified included Physical hazards: lighting, extreme heat, ventilation, noise, intense physical activity, electric shock, dust, fire and vibration;Chemical hazards: exposure to diesel oil, lubricating oil, and carbon monoxide; Mechanical hazards: vehicle, abrasive/cutting tools, hand tools, cranes and lifting gears, and contact with hot parts of machines; Ergonomic hazards: repetitive work, poor work posture, long standing times, lifting heavy objects; and Psychological hazards: stress, excessive overtime, and lack of job control. This literature is from most countries including Kenya however it focuses on workplaces in general and other studies focus on building industries. There is lack of relevant studies on major causes of accidents in food laboratory workers. This study sought to establish the causes and frequency of accidents among food laboratory workers in Mombasa county. 2.0 Research Methodology The study adopted descriptive survey study in an attempt to explain the causes of accident occurrence among food laboratory workers. Descriptive survey study was used because it is best suited to answer the ‘how’ research questions in the study. Orodho (2005) stated that the target population is the aggregate of elements of interest to the researcher. The target population in this study was the food laboratory workers in Mombasa County. The study sampled 100 respondents; this followed the recommendations by Nkapa, (1997) that, for a population running into hundreds, the sample size should be 50%. The researcher therefore sampled at least 50% subjects from each institution as listed in table below. In ensuring a good representativeness of the sample, the study adopted simple random sampling to identify those to get questionnaires, the required number of staff was picked randomly from each institution.The Table below shows the food laboratory institutions in Mombasa County, the population and the sample size used for each of them. Table 1.1. Population of workers and Sample Size. Institution name Population of laboratory workers Sample