communication, full compliance and good behavior) as among the crucial elements required to be possessed by the principal employers in three sectors, namely manufacturing, public services and construction. In relation to this, this paper will describe the development and validation of instruments prior to the measurement of principal employers’ roles and responsibilities in the implementation of OSH. Three assessment tools were developed, namely the Benchmarking Interview, Questionnaire and Workplace Inspection. Fifteen companies were selected for the benchmarking interview, 50 employers conveniently selected for the survey interview (covering three sectors) and 90 employers selected for the workplace inspection (30 respondents for each sector). The development of benchmarking interview and workplace inspection scores are briefly discussed while the main focus is on the validation of the survey constructs (or items). The reliability check on 53 items representing four elements (i.e., Commitment, Communication, Compliance, Behaviour) of employers’ roles and responsibilities in the implementation of OSH showed that the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient is more than 0.90 which indicates that the internal consistency is extremely reliable. It also indicates that the set of items in each element are closely related and well understood by the respondents. Validity check on the items based on the Rasch measurement infit and outfit mean square statistics and standardized z-score found that nine items had misfitting values and finally corrected for further analysis. This study had shown that a valid and reliable instruments are important in ensuring that accurate and precise findings are obtained in measuring the roles and responsibilities of principal employer in the implementation of OSH.
The main objective of this study is to determine the association between respirable hexavalent chromium compounds with urinary β2-microglobulin levels among welders in an automotive components manufacturing plant. 49 welders and 39 workers involved in stamping process were selected as the exposed and the comparative group. β2-microglobulin is a protein renal tubular dysfunction marker that can indicate renal dysfunction caused by heavy metal. Air samples of worker’s breathing zone were collected using personal air sampling pump and filter papers. Filter papers were then diluted and analysed with Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). Workers’ urine samples were collected at the end of 8-hour work shift and analysed with β2-microglobulin ELISA Kit (IBL-Hamburg) and a microtiter reader. Meanwhile, creatinine levels were analysed with creatinine test strips and Reflotron®. A mean concentration of respirable hexavalent chromium compounds in air for the exposed group was 0.135 ± 0.043μg/m3 while for the non-exposed group was 0.124 ± 0.029μg/m3. The mean level of urinary β2-microglobulin per creatinine for the exposed group was 84.996 ± 39.246μg/g while that of the comparative group was 61.365 ± 21.609μg/g. The concentrations of respirable hexavalent chromium compounds were higher in the exposed group compared to the comparative group (Z=-2.444, p=0.015). β2-microglobulin level was also higher in the exposed group compared to the non-exposed group (t=3.821, p=
Recent development in industrialization and global economy has contributed to the increased number of workplace
injuries and accidents. Safety culture has been seen as a central medium to curb the worrying trend of workplace
accidents. The term of safety culture has emerged from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 and the concept has
been widely used until today. However, the conceptualization of safety culture suffers from several major drawbacks
such as no definite understanding of how safety culture is being defined and measured. This paper hypothesized that
higher levels of safety culture in the workplace will display lower numbers of accidents. Due to this concern, this
paper seeks to provide a clear conceptualization of safety culture, dimensions used to measure it and common research
methodology used in the previous safety research.
The objective of this research is to analyze and evaluate the hand arm vibration exposure of hand held grass
cutter machines during their normal operation time. On-site field measurement for five different types of hand held
grass cutter machines. In this research, the hand arm vibration exposure levels of different machines were measured
at practical cutting condition in accordance to guidelines on occupational vibration which are presented in the
occupational safety and health standard manual. The hand arm vibration level on the worker’s both right and left
handles of the grass cutter machine were measured and analyzed, respectively. The vibration frequency weighting
acceleration was calculated by using h-weighting. The hand arm vibration acceleration value was expressed in the
root-mean-square (rms) combination of all three major axis (ahwx, ahwy & ahwz). The estimated daily vibration exposure,
A(8) were differ between 2.1 to 20.7 ms-2 for right hand while 2.7 to 29.1 ms -2 for left hand. In short, worker will
induce fingers blanching in 10% of the exposed person after less than 3.7 years exposed to hand arm vibration.
Occupational health hazards as a result to exposure to mineral dust containing silica has been established long time ago in occupational health history. Its effects on lung function and symptom was evaluated in a cross sectional studied among 49 small enterprise pottery workers in the county of Sayong clustered in 3 villages. Respiratory symptoms and lung function was evaluated using MRC respiratory questionnaire 86 and standard spirometry performed. The prevalence of chronic cough, phlegm and chest tightness was 24.5%, 16% and16% respectively. There was no significant decrement in lung function parameters from the predicted normal value with the mean predicted FVC; FEV1 and FEV1/FVC ratio was 85.32%, 83.87% and 99.22 respectively. The relationship between lung symptoms and lung function parameters was evaluated and the result was not significant.
Malaysia’s palm oil industry is growing in complexity and successively to succeed on the global level by accounts for about 36% of the word production of palm oil [1]. But, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) issues are still problematic areas that need to be addressed by all parties concerned in this industry. In the olden days, unlike construction or manufacturing industry, palm oil industry was green in OHS management system. However, due to stringent in the legislative enforcement in the past few years, it has lead some of the plantation companies to develop OHS management system, which are based on Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS), towards corporate sustainability. Sustainability is not about paying lip-service to the latest corporate buzzword; neither is it about superficially meeting minimum requirements for the sake of compliance. Rather, sustainability is a core value that lies at the heart of the companies’ business conduct. In practical terms, this means strive to operate with due consideration for the interest of all stakeholders by making the health and safety of all workers a priority. This paper describes the certification of OHSAS 18001 and MS 1722 in Genting Plantations Berhad (GENP) prove the commitment to sustainability by forming guiding principle on safety management. Further, this paper also demonstrates that the implementation of safety management can help to reduce the accident rate, especially fatal accident.
Pesticides are commonly used for pest control in oil palm
plantations. The knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) while handling pesticides
may potentially result in adverse health effects among the estate workers. The aim of
this study is to determine the KAP of pesticides used and the capacity of selfreporting
health conditions among workers in palm oil plantations. A crosssectional
study was conducted to investigate the KAP and its self-reporting health
symptoms by using questionnaires and face-to-face interviews to 120 male estate
workers who use pesticides in their daily work routine in the oil palm plantation. At
least 85.8% of respondents had a good knowledge of pesticide used, 46.7% of them
indicated neutral level of attitude on the pesticides’ usage, and 68.3% of them
demonstrated a good practice while handling mixture of pesticides. Overall, there is
a significant association between the practices of pesticide usage with the selfreporting
health symptoms, such as dizziness, excessive vision, cough,
nausea/vomiting, redness of skin, difficulty in breathing, skin rashes, blurred vision,
excessive sweating and hand tremor. More than half of the estate workers indicated
a moderate to good knowledge, attitude and practices level of pesticide handling in
oil palm plantations. This study suggests that the self-reporting symptoms are real
and not over-reporting by workers. The increase in KAP of pesticides usage among
these workers have highlighted the necessity to improve the traditional field training
method of safe handling of pesticide to a sustainable field practical-based learning.
The latter training approach is to engage theory into practice.
The effects of propylene stored in pressurized spherical vessel were investigated using radiation & explosion modeling using PHAST 6.7 software in one of the refinery in Malaysia. The simulations were performed for various weather conditions with different leak scenarios in deterministic approach. Modeling approach was standard with current industry practice. Resulting events such as jet fire, vapor cloud explosion, boiling liquid evaporating vapor explosion effects shown in thermal radiation and overpressure towards targeted technical buildings. The effects of resulting jet fire flame length increase with release rate and explosion overpressure effects increase with degree of confinement and volume fraction respectively. The results were reviewed, interpreted against industry standard. The sensitivity cases show that, using lower inventory with moderate operating conditions will keep the consequence in acceptable region. This consequence analysis will form a basis for layout development, safety distance and fire zone segregation during conceptual design stage. Propylene storage conditions, layout arrangements and blast protections were recommended as part of preventive and mitigative measures.
Comparative cross sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of hearing impairment among workers in one of the airport in Malaysia and the factors associated with it. A total of 248 subjects comprising 175 from the exposed group and the remaining control group were sampled. The main tools used in this study were validated questionnaire on hearing assessment and pure tone audiometric test. Response rate was 94%. Both area and personal exposure monitoring have exceeded action level for 8 Hrs TWA in the exposed group but within normal limit in the control group. The prevalence of hearing impairment was 88% among the noise exposed group and 11% in the control group with prevalence odds ratio (POR) 3.569 (95%CI 1.210-10.53, p
In the recent years, an extensive number of scientific researches on occupational diseases have been done to
identify occupations at high risk of inducing diseases. There are many categories of occupational diseases, and unitary
of them are occupational respiratory diseases. This study was conducted in a tea factory located in Cameron Highlands,
Malaysia, with an output of 600,000.00 kg per annum. Its objective was to evaluate respiratory diseases among the
workers, conducted via questionnaires, interviews and lung functional tests. A total of 38 workers participated in this
study, 19 in the exposed group and 19 in the control group. The most common chronic symptoms for the exposed
group are wheezing, dyspnea (short of breath) and phlegm. The result shows that, among the tea processing workers,
the exposed group suffer from respiratory diseases.
Two EU directives which are RoHS and WEEE have restricted the usage of certain hazardous substances in
electrical and electronic equipment. This has led to the introduction of green compound which is halogen free. The
non-halogenated molding compound with different recipes was developed by compound manufacturers without
compromising the reliability performance of electronic packages. The focus, often, has been on product reliability
performance while qualifying new materials which overlook relevant safety and health concerns that might incur
during the production stage. This paper is intended to study the forming of crystalline deposits which are found at
the exhaust inlet of the Post Mold Cure Oven (PMC) arising from the usage of this green compound. The writers will
investigate the underlying reasons and the impact on the work environment and the potential risk on health. From the
initial evaluation result, the writers have indentified Compound A as the cause of this deposition. Data analyzed from
the Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) revealed higher weight loss which was 0.26% for compound A compared to
other green compounds which are also used. Differential Scanning Calorimetric (DSC) test shows melting temperature
of crystallized particle at 139°C while cold crystallization temperature at 80°C. The temperature in the interior of the
oven is 180°C while the temperature at the exhaust inlet which is exposed to room temperature, and thus, providing
the opportunity for this deposition. Further study carried out using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy
on one of the ingredient of the green compound (material C) observed a 95% spectrum matching compared to the
crystallized particle. Material C is a catalyst added to the mold compound for epoxy-phenolic reaction. It is also
considered to have the capability to enhance flame retardation. This paper will discuss in detail the characteristics of
Compound A green compound and its impact on human and environment.
Flood warning is designed to protect community from loss of life and their important goods. The objective of
this research is to design the flood warning system using mobile application that able to give warning and sign to
the mapping. With mobile application concept we can deliver warning faster which is to community smart phone
that nowadays majority of them used it. Department of Irrigation and Drainage have built the system that able to
detect the rising of water and have delivered the data to the department. The mobile application will get the data
directly from server Department of Irrigation and Drainage and distribute to all community. Not just give warning
but also able to give sign to the mapping such as GPS and Waze. Red color is danger, Yellow color will consider as
warning and green will consider as alert. It is expected that better warning process to community in Malaysia’s in
order to promote protection through legislation. The development of mobile application will fulfill the needs of the
public, representative of employee, or governmental official to protect community during flooding. Moreover, with
this mobile application that cheaper cost and easy to use to the community, it will help government to reduce the cost
while flooding. With the ability able to give early warning, give information and educated people, it will make people
more alert and get enough information of flooding.
A poor Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a crucial problem which produces by the improper maintenance of Mechanical Ventilation and Air Conditioning (MVAC) ducting. A budget constraint intimidates for the practise of monitoring of the MVAC ducting. Thus IAQ measurements were conducted at the room where the air supplied by centralized air conditioning. It has been performed at four different offices that supply by two different Air Handling Unit (AHU). Walkthrough survey was conducted and the area samplings were selected for data collection. This paper examines the result of comparison of air ducting and air quality at academic office building, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM). The parameters involved were Temperature (°C), Relative Humidity (RH), Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Carbon Monoxide (CO). Pictures were also captured to demonstrate the real conditions inside the ducting by using Mechanical Robot. Thus, duct cleaning was recommended to be an exceptional platform for the IAQ improvement.
Medium penyampaian maklumat merupakan media pengajaran utama yang digunakan dalam menyampaikan
maklumat kepada pekerja tempatan dan juga asing dalam Kursus Induksi Keselamatan dan Kesihatan (KIKK).
Justeru, kertas kerja ini menumpukan kepada perbincangan mengenai permasalahan serta hasil kajian lepas berkaitan
penggunaan media penyampaian maklumat sedia ada oleh pekerja asing dalam KIKK. Kesimpulan hasil kajian
perpustakaan mendapati terdapat beberapa masalah penggunaan media penyampaian maklumat sedia ada ini daripada
aspek penggunaan bahasa, cara penyampaian dan medium penyampaian. Bahasa Melayu lazimnya digunakan sebagai
bahasa pengantar semasa penyampaian maklumat dalam KIKK sama ada dalam bentuk teks mahupun penyampaian
lisan. Namun, penggunaan Bahasa Melayu ini didapati tidak difahami oleh kebanyakan pekerja asing terutamanya
pekerja asing bukan warga Indonesia. Cara penyampaian maklumat juga dilihat bersifat satu hala dan kurang difahami
serta medium penyampaian yang digunakan kurang interaktif dan berbentuk presentasi. Malah, medium penyampaian
maklumat seperti PowerPoint yang digunakan masih belum cukup kemas untuk memenuhi keperluan kerja pekerja
asing di tapak bina yang mana teks bahasa Melayu terlalu panjang digunakan, susunan teks dan grafik tidak kemas,
saiz teks tidak konsisten serta penggunaan grafik yang kurang jelas.
Solar thermal system or solar water heater system is one of the applications used to produce hot water in the residential sector. This paper describes HAZOP analysis and reliability assessment to evaluates the potential hazard and system probability for the closed loop solar thermal system applied for the residential area. Hazard identification for the main system components is analyzed while Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Reliability Block Diagram (RBD) and Weibull distributions performed to determine the reliability for the overall system. The result shows that there are 49 potential hazards for the system with failure probability at 0.23822 and the reliability is 0.9693. Subsequently, this study determined the potential hazards for the system which can be anticipated by the residential consumer for the safety aspect. Furthermore, the evaluated reliability result shows that the application of closed loop type solar water heater system at residential premises is highly recommended due to its long lasting operational condition.
Recent fire accidents in schools have given rise to the safety
issues. Training on fire safety is very important to help improve the safety aspect
in schools while perceptions of fire safety training among school teachers are
crucial in order to identify methods to prevent accidents from recurring. This
study was conducted in order to analyze the perceptions of school teachers
towards fire safety training in schools. Survey questionnaires were distributed
among 400 school teachers from 111 schools randomly selected from ten District
Education Offices (DEO) in Kelantan. The results were analyzed using
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). They were based on 32% and
68% male and female respondents respectively. Descriptive analysis shows that
most of the school teachers agreed with the need for fire safety training to be
conducted in schools. This study suggests that school teachers require fire safety
training in order for them to help improve fire safety in schools. Thus, teachers
will be able to teach their students on the importance of fire safety, how to
prevent fire and actions to be taken if an emergency happens in schools. It is
hoped that the number of fire accidents in schools can be reduced with the school
communities’ commitment towards safety.
Safety behaviour is important in preventing industrial accident.
Safety leadership attribute by the supervisors is one of the determinants of safety
behaviour among the employees. This study aimed to determine the influence of
employer’s safety leadership towards worker’s safety behaviour within Small and
Medium Enterprises (SME)-Manufacturing in Negeri Sembilan. Three independent
variables representing safety leadership namely safety motivation, safety concern
and safety policy were selected whilst safety compliance and safety participation
were the dimensions used to measure safety behaviour. Self-administered
questionnaire were distributed and answered by 210 employees of Negeri
Sembilan’s SME-Manufacturing. The results revealed that safety concern and safety
policy had significantly influenced safety compliance. Whilst, safety motivation and
safety concern determined the workers’ safety participation. No significant influence
found by safety motivation towards safety compliance as well as safety policy
towards safety participation. Safety concern was the important component of safety
leadership as it consistently explained the variance in all dimensions of safety
behaviour.
Workers who are exposed to high noise level were at risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). This crosssectional study was conducted to investigate the noise exposure level and hearing symptoms among workers exposed to noise in a teaching hospital. Utilising convenience sampling method, 20 laundry workers and 17 mechanical cutters were recruited into this study. Noise exposure levels were measured using noise dosimeter for 8 hours and information on hearing symptoms were gathered using a modified questionnaire adopted from the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA). A significantly higher mean noise level (85±2 dB(A)) was reported among mechanical cutters as compared to laundry workers (80±3 dB(A)), p=0.001 although the former had shorter duration of noise exposure (20±3 hours per week vs. 28±12 hours per week). Fourteen (70%) laundry workers and six (35%) mechanical cutters had reported having hearing problem in noisy background. Higher proportion of laundry workers (n=8, 57%) had reported hearing symptoms compared to mechanical cutters (n=6, 43%) and longer work years was found to be significantly associated with hearing symptoms (p=0.049). There is a need of appropriate education and training on noise exposure, NIHL and hearing protection devices usage in the workplaces
Poor IAQ would lead to the occurrence of Sick Building Syndrome
(SBS) and other symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the IAQ and the symptoms
of SBS among the office workers in the two selected buildings (old and new). A
comparative cross sectional study was conducted among 90 office workers from an
old building (26 years of age) and a new building (5 years of age). The SBS symptoms
were assessed utilising the questionnaires adopted from Industry Code of Practice
(ICOP) 2010 while IAQ parameters were monitored using the Handheld 3016 IAQ
Particle Counter and Multi-Function Ventilation Meter. All the parameters studied
were below the standard limit as set by the Department of Occupational Safety and
Health (DOSH) and the United States of America’s Environmental Protection Agency
(US EPA) except for air velocity in the old building which was lower than the
acceptable standard range. The levels of PM10 and total particulate matter (TPM) in
the old building was significantly higher as compared to the new building (PM10: Z=
-2.495, p = 0.013 and TPM: Z = -2.873, p = 0.014). The SBS prevalence was 51.1%
among respondents at the new building while 64.4% for old building. However, the
difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). There was a significant
association of drowsiness among respondents between old and new building (2=
4.050, p = 0.044). Therefore, in order to ensure a good IAQ, regular maintenance of
ventilation and control measures should be conducted.
Lack of safety awareness among quarry workers caused a number of accidents in quarry industries. The objective
of this study is to gauge the awareness level towards safety among quarry workers. A questionnaire was distributed
randomly among quarry workers in Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan. The questionnaire consists of 6 questions
regarding safety at workplace. Results revealed that 56.9% of the respondents agreed and totally agreed for the health
and safety suggestions made to be given consideration and used. As many as 79.3% respondents admitted that they
obeyed all the safety rules stated at the workplace and 86.3% respondents said that they always focused and gave
full attention while completing their task. A high percentage of 88% of the respondents agreed for all accidents
to be reported to responsible persons while 77.6% respondents agreed for all personal protective equipment to be
used suitable with the task given and 86.2% respondents answered that they performed their task following the safe
operation procedures provided by the company.