Strategic enhancement of workplace safety in small scale manufacturing industries using AHP approach

Abstract

Despite progress in technology, workplace safety in small scale manufacturing industries (SSMIs) still lacks the required attention. Occupational safety of workers is one of the major concerns for organizations as it involves a number of factors that affect many direct and indirect costs of the industry. To this end, the current study was conducted in order to determine the key factors that affect workplace safety. A total of nine main factors and twenty-two sub-factors were identified and then prioritized using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Opinions from experienced and proficient experts were recorded on a framed questionnaire for all the above factors. The effectiveness of the study was ensured by maintaining a consistency ratio of less than 10% for the factors and sub-factors. The factor personal protective equipment was found to have the highest Eigen vector of 27.4%, and therefore the highest priority. Organizational attributes and hygiene are the factors that demand the next level of priority, whereas, equipment and hand tools safety and machine guarding, and material handling are the factors requiring the least priority. The outcome of this analysis enables the small scale manufacturing industries to effectively implement safety measures by giving priority to the factors in the order specified by the study. This would empower the organizational safety standards and benefit not only the employees but also the employers without considerable costs.