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Research Article Assessment of The Use of Safety Devices by Welders in Osogbo, Nigeria
Research Article Assessment of The Use of Safety Devices by Welders in Osogbo, Nigeria
Research Article Assessment of The Use of Safety Devices by Welders in Osogbo, Nigeria
com
International Journal
of Recent Scientific
International Journal of Recent Scientific Research Research
Vol. 5, Issue, 2, pp.397-402, February, 2014
ISSN: 0976-3031
RESEARCH ARTICLE
ASSESSMENT OF THE USE OF SAFETY DEVICES BY WELDERS IN
OSOGBO, NIGERIA
1Adelani Tijani FWACN*, 2Adewale Adetutu, 3Oladeji, Michael Oloyede FWACN,
4Bello Y. Aderemi
1, 3 Department of Nursing Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso Nigeria
2Department of Biochemistry Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso Nigeria
4Clinical Instructor,VA Medical centre, Morcon College, Indiana State, USA
INTRODUCTION many informal sector workers are urban poor and lack access to
medical care as they are not covered by employment legislation.
In Nigeria, welding is an informally learnt occupation. Informal They also lack protective equipment which is the major reason for
sector contributes significantly to the economic development of their exposure to occupational hazards and subsequent poor health
the country. The operators of the sector are artisans with mainly condition. Welders are particularly observed to be more prone to
primary education, and sometimes no formal education at all. The occupational hazards which cause many health problems like
artisans are found in mining and quarrying (excluding petroleum), impaired pulmonary function, chronic bronchitis and interstitial
small scale manufacturing companies, building and construction, lung disease.
woodwork and furniture making, tailoring, electronics and
electrical gadgets repairing and among others (Ekpo, 2012). A welder (also welder, which is the term which distinguishes the
According to Rongo (2011), activities in the informal sector in tradesman from the equipment used to make welds) is a
Nigeria are difficult to measure; the artisans are highly dynamic tradesman who specializes in welding materials together. The
and contribute substantially to the general growth of the economy materials to be joined can be metal (such as steel, aluminum,
and personal income. However, most times they operate outside brass, stainless steel e.t.c) or varieties of plastic or polymer. Allen
the purview of government regulation. The sector encompass a (2009) further stated that the welding process best suited to
wide range of small scale, largely self employed activities which joining two pieces of metal depends on the physical properties of
may be invisible, irregular, non structured and sometimes their the metal, the specific use to which they are applied and the
mode of operation are parallel with that of formally trained production facilities available. Also, welders typically should pay
professionals. In the work of Nwaka (2008), it was found out that attention to detail and have some technical knowledge about the
informal sector plays an important role in employment creation materials being joined and the best practices in the field. The
and poverty alleviation by producing income to unskilled and hazards expose welders to asthma, pneumonitis, pneumoconiosis,
semi-skilled workers who otherwise would be unemployed. The lung cancer, photokeratitis, eye burns, cataracts, maculopathy and
work further reveals that the International Labour Organisation impaired human immunity. Other health problems associated
estimated the proportion of the urban workforce engaged in the with the welding work are erythema, pterygium, short and long
informal sector to be highest in sub-saharan Africa and they term injury to the skin, non melanocytic skin cancer, malignant
account for more than 50% of urban employment in two-thirds of melanoma, reduced fertility and decreased volume of semen and
the countries surveyed in 1999. Rongo (2011) observed that sperm count. Erdal and Berman (2008) identified various
physical hazards associated with the welding process. Physical
Table 1 Respondents’ opinion on the use of safety devices to prevent occupational hazards
Always Sometimes Rarely Never
Reepondents’ opinion
(%) (%) (%) (%)
Welder should use safety devices while working 42 (38.2) 46 (41.8) 11(10) 11(10)
Use of safety devices delay completion of work 12 (10.9) 34 (30.9) 31 (28.2) 33(30)
Experienced welders should use safety devices 44(40) 43 (39.1) 11 (10) 12 (10.9)
Use of safety devices is a mere decoration of body
12(10.9) 33(30) 54(49.1) 11(10)
to brag on the job and it’s therefore unnecessary
Use of safety devices in itself causes work related
11 (10) 11(10) 34(30.9) 54(49.1)
injury
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International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, Vol. 5, Issue, 2, pp.397-402, February, 2014
Table 2 The impact of the use of safety devices in preventing occupational hazards
Strongly Strongly
Respondents’ views Agree (%) Undecided (%) Disagree (%)
agree(%) disagree(%)
Occupational hazards result in chronic ailment
11 (10) 31(28.2) 34 (30.9) 23 (20.9) 11 (10)
and sometimes death
Occupational hazards can be averted by the use
11 (10) 11(10) 12(10.9) 31(28.2) 45(40.9)
of safety devices
Welding is a dangerous vocation because it is
11(10) 11(10) 12(10.9) 44(40) 32(29.1)
bedeviled with lots of health hazards
Eyes and hearing problems are the most common
11(10) 11(10) 12(10.9) 44(40) 32 (29.1)
hazards of welding vocation
Other common health hazards are burn, sparks,
11(10) 22(20) 21(19.1) 33(30) 23(20.9)
electric shock, lung and skin diseases
None compliance to the use of safety devices
11(10) 23(20.9) 12(10.9) 53(48.2) 11(10)
causes these health hazards
Inadequate training in the use of safety devices
11(10) 11(10) 12(10.9) 64(58.2) 12(10.9)
causes non compliance to it uses
Welders don’t use safety devices because they
64(58.2) 12(10.9) 11(10) 11(10) 12(10.9)
are not readily available in the market
Respondents views on the impact of the use of safety devices in X2-Calculated=4.230, X2-table=1.063, df=1, P=0.05
preventing occupational hazards among welders are represented in Inference: Since the table value (1.063) is less than calculated
table 2. value (4.230) at 0.05 level of significant, it implies that there is
Testing of Hypotheses significant difference between the educational qualification of
welders and the use of safety devices. Therefore the null
Hypothesis 1: There is no significant difference between the hypothesis is significant and hence rejected.
knowledge of welders and the use of safety devices.
Were you formally trained for welding? * Welder should use safety devices while working.
Crosstabulation
Count
Welder should use safety devices while working.
Sometimes Always Rarely Never Total
Were you formally trained Yes 0 22 0 0 22
for welding? No 46 20 11 11 88
Total 46 42 11 11 110
Count
lack of formal training affects the use of safety devices.
Strongly Strongly
disagree Disagree Uncertain Agree disagree Total
Educational Primary six 0 0 12 11 0 23
qualification SSCE 0 0 0 31 12 43
ND 11 0 0 0 0 11
HND 0 0 0 11 0 11
BSc. 0 11 0 11 0 22
Total 11 11 12 64 12 110
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International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, Vol. 5, Issue, 2, pp.397-402, February, 2014
Years practicing the welding vocation * Experience welders should use safety devices.
Crosstabulation
Count
Experience welders should use safety devices.
Sometimes Always Rarely Never Total
Years practicing <5yrs 9 0 11 0 20
the welding 5-10yrs 23 33 0 0 56
vocation 11-15yrs 11 11 0 0 22
16-20yrs 0 0 0 12 12
Total 43 44 11 12 110
It was found out that the occurrence of work related accidents was
rampant among the subjects with few years of experience and
among those with relatively short period of training in welding.
This supported the views of (Sabitu et al., 2009 and Hamel, 2011)
opined that the inconsistency in the training of welders accounted
for poor knowledge of the hazards inherent in the job and the use
of safety devices for prevention as demonstrated by some welders.
In the present study, it was discovered that with subjects who
were formally trained had a better understanding of the hazards of
the job and the use of various safety devices for preventing the
Inference: Since the table value (1.462) is less than calculated hazards while their colleagues who learnt the job informally had
value (6.050) at 0.05 level of significant, it implies that there is just sketchy ideas of the hazards and the preventive methods.
significant difference between the working experience of welders In the hypotheses tested, there was significant difference between
and the use of safety devices .Therefore the null hypothesis is the knowledge of welders and the use of safety devices. The more
significant and hence rejected. knowledgeable the subjects were in the art of welding, the better
their use of safety devices. In the second hypothesis, there was
DISCUSSION significant difference between the educational qualifications of
Traditionally, men in Africa are always found dominating labour welders and the use of safety devices. Subjects with post
intensive and risky vocations. The reason for this emanate from secondary education, such as ordinary national diploma (OND),
their domineering attitude and their boldness to face challenges higher national diploma (HND) and national certificate in
better than their female counterpart. According to Ajayi et al., education (NCE) qualifications complied much better than those
(2011) welding, as a labour intensive vocation attracts young men with lower education. Also, those with relatively higher
of between 20 to 35 years because the vocation serves as an educational qualifications were discovered to be more serious in
avenue for demonstrating their boldness and dissipating their the practice of welding vocation and they observed the safety
latent youthful energy. The findings in the present studies is in rules more than their colleagues with lower level of education.
line with this observation as men comprised majority (97%) of the The findings in the third hypothesis were similar as there was
subjects and majority of them were in their youthful stage of life. significant difference between the working experience of welders
Studies have shown that welding is a vocation which provides and the use of safety devices. Those subjects with longer years of
income for unskilled and semiskilled people in the society who work complied more in the use of safety devices. Overall, the
could otherwise remain jobless (Ekpo, 2012 and Nwaka, 2008). results of the study justify the age long believes of formal training
The present study also revealed similar findings; it was discovered as the bedrock of success in any human endeavour and the
that welding, as an informal vocation, is a means of livelihood acquisition of post secondary education before one dabble into
mainly for people of low educational status of the society, as only any vocation which ensures better performance and success in the
39.1% of the subjects had secondary education with as much as vocation.
20% having no formal education at all. The low level of Recommendations
education might be one of the reasons for their low compliance to
the use of safety devices. An illiterate person do not usual attach The following are the recommendation to ensure compliance to
much importance to devices that could guarantee their personal the use of safety devices among welders which will help a lot in
safety in dangerous adventures. On the issue of specific years of the prevention of welding related hazards:
formal training welding, the results of the present study Welders should be health educated on the concepts of
corroborate the findings of Hamel (2003) who discovered that safety devices and occupational hazards constantly
formal training in welding varies as most apprentices spend through seminars and conferences to be organized by
several years learning and perfecting their skills in an informal local and state governments on regular basis.
setting while few learnt it while watching their relations (welders) Safety devices should be made readily available and
in their workshop for few months. That is why those welders who accessible through sale at subsidized rates to welders by
learnt the vocation for appreciably long years used safety devices the local and state governments.
better than those who did not learn the job formally. Welders should form viable union who could monitor
the use of safety devices and apprehend defaulters on
regular basis for various forms of sanction.
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International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, Vol. 5, Issue, 2, pp.397-402, February, 2014
Local and state governments should institute a Erhabor GE, Fatusi S, Obembe OB. Occupational effects of arc
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