The increase in Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) cases in the context of manufacturing industry in Malaysia in
the recent years has become a national concern. Therefore, the study aims to compare the severity of the WMSDs cases
involving electronic workers by using survey, interview, observation and experimental methods. The questionnaire
was designed and distributed to 204 assembly workers performing printer and inserting semiconductor in the electronic
sector. The ergonomic risk was assessed through direct observation of workers’ posture at their workstation using
WERA. In addition, Electromyogram (EMG) analysis was used to measure the muscle activity of workers. The result
shows that standing workers are exposed to consistent MSD more than sitting workers in all body regions except for
the upper back. According to WERA results, both postures contribute to high risk of MSD especially at wrist and leg
regions. In conclusion, there is a significant correlation in the findings from the survey, observation and EMG analysis
about the prevalence of MSDs among the workers, although the degree of prevalence differs in some body regions.
Hence, there is a need to identify more interacting variables associated with the problem.
This study intended to investigate the level on airborne microbe in indoor air for new constructed building. It was divided by three different phase of building commissioning in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor. The first phase of the sampling was carried out after the building fully handed over from the main contractor to the building owner. Second phase of the sampling take place after the building is equipped with furniture. Phase three sampling is conducted after one month of building occupancy. Airborne microbes’ concentrations were determined by using a single stage impactor (Biosampler) as per requirement of National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) method, NIOSH Manual Analytical Method MAM 0800. The total concentration of airborne bacteria and fungi were average to 641 and 38 CFU/m³ in the first phase, 133 and 117 CFU/m³ in the second phase, and 389 and 52 CFU/m³ in the third phase. These findings indicate that although a new constructed building should be having a significant background level of airborne microbe (total bacteria and total fungi). The building owner should be aware to their indoor air status to protect the occupant from the safety and health problem (risk) especially for ventilated building.
In the new global economy, workplace safety has become a central issue among companies all over the world.
It is becoming difficult to ignore that this trend has also been happening in Malaysia especially the manufacturing
sector. The worrying trend can be seen from the increasing number of workplace accidents reported by Department
of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), Malaysia in manufacturing companies. In recent years, researchers have
shown an interest in studying the role of safety leadership to reduce workplace accidents. It is found that safety
leadership plays a significant role in ensuring a safe and sound workplace. Due to this concern, this paper attempts
to provide a conceptualization of safety leadership from the perspective of Malaysia’s manufacturing sector. It is
proposed that positive safety leadership lead to a reduction of workplace accidents. In response to this matter, it is
hypothesized that the higher level of safety leadership will positively affect the lower level of workplace accidents.
A questionnaire from Wu et al. (2008) will be adopted to explain the conceptualization of safety leadership, where it
is expected that the concept of safety leadership practised in Malaysia’s manufacturing sector has a similar meaning
from the perspective of western researchers.
Regulation on occupational safety and health in Malaysia had evolved from the prescriptive Factory and Machinery Act (1967) to a self-regulated Occupational Safety and Health Act (1994). However, from the authors’ observation the high standards of occupational safety and health culture that surpass the legal requirement were not widely practiced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The two main objectives of this study are: first, to identify and determine the level of conformity; and second, to investigate the reasons of nonconformity to Occupational Safety and Health Act (1994) regulation in SMEs involved the chemical industry sub-sectors. The survey questionnaire was distributed to 150 SMEs in chemical industry sub-sectors. Forty one of the survey questionnaires were completed and returned, giving a response rate of 27.3% for the survey. The survey results revealed that an overwhelming majority (92.7%) of the respondents from SMEs are likely not conforming to the basic requirement of Occupational Safety and Health Act (1994). In addition to this, the survey also found that only 3.1% of the management personnel can be considered competent in terms of knowledge, skill and ability in carrying out occupational safety and health regulation within their respective organization. While, 96.9% of the respondents that participated in the survey can be considered not competent. The authors hope the result of this survey could assist the relevant authorities in formulating a better policy and strategy for implementing occupational safety and health in SMEs involved in chemical industry sub-sectors.
The incident involving hydrogen release in industry has become a major concern since numerous incidents were observed to have occured over the years. This paper is designed to do the consequence modelling and analysis using PHAST Simulator for the release rate, potential fire and vulnerability to human by lethality versus probit simulated at 5 mm, 35 mm and 70 mm leak scenarios and three types of atmospheric stability at hydrogenation plant in Telok Panglima Garang. The simulation was carried out by inputting data of leak scenario, meteorological data, material data and process data related to the hydrogenation plant. The simulation results were analyzed and discussed on the discharge rate, dispersion concentration and effect of jet fire such as flame length, downwind distance and lethality for radiation intensity level of 4 kW/m2 , 12.5 kW/m2 and 37.5 kW/m2 . Based on the results, the discharge rate and radiation intensity are dependent on the leak sizes regardless of the different atmospheric conditions. However, the dispersion is dependent on both atmospheric stability and leak sizes. Lastly, the lethality and area of impact are simulated from the radiation intensity produced by the jet fire for each leak size. To conclude, adoption of PHAST software is vital for consequence modelling as this software is able to illustrate the outcomes of hazards due to loss of containment and with this will enable related personnel to respond effectively to any hazardous incidents. As a recommendation, hydrogen fixed gas detectors are proposed for installations at specific location after taking into account the smallest leak that may happen which is at 5 mm leak size.
Construction industry is one of the major contributors towards Malaysian economy and socio-economy. It is an important
industry gearing Malaysia towards developed nation status. However, fatalities in this industry are a crucial problem. Number of
fatalities in this industry is the highest compare to other industries registered in Malaysia. The contributing factors can be separated
into immediate (human and worksite elements) and underlying (management and external). Occupational safety and health (OSH)
management is a challenge in the construction industry due to its hazardous nature. A framework of construction OSH management
consisting of policy, process, personnel and incentive elements were tested. 13 respondents from 13 residential projects comprising of
high-rise and low-rise in Pulau Pinang were interviewed. It was found that the immediate factors are being more recognized by the
respondents compare to the underlying factors. Human element is perceived as the most significant contributor, while the external
element is the least significant. In terms of construction OSH management, process and personnel elements are the most significant in
developing an effective OSH management programme.
In general, the industrial accident rate in Malaysia is decreasing. However, statistically it is still relatively high
if compared with that of other developing nations. One of the reasons why accidents keep on happening is poor
learning from accidents. This paper discusses the level of accident learning, based on accident reports submitted to the
Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) Malaysia and the Society Security Organization (SOCSO)
Malaysia involving a total of 1,291 accident cases. Based on the quality and completeness of accident reports, the
levels of learning were classified into five accident causation levels which are no, limited, fair, good and excellent
learning.
The paper focused on the examination and testing of local exhaust ventilation (LEV) systems at one of Electrical Company to check the transport velocity whether it meet the recommended American Governmental Industrial Hygienist (ACGIH) Standard. The industrial hygiene approaches, AREC (Anticipating, Recognize, Evaluate and Control) were adopted in this study. This is to ensure that the LEV system installed has the optimum efficiency to extract out the contaminants from the workstation. Objective of this study is to make comparison with previous and current monitoring data. The efficiency and the other parameter measured will be the main source to analyze for the particular applications. The differential of data was discussed and several recommendations are proposed to make sure the LEV system performance is excellent.
Brake pad apparatus is designed for help student and instructor in teaching and learning application. The objective
of this research is to differentiate the pressure effect and braking temperature condition of different pad. This apparatus
also aimed for learning the safety car and motorcycle braking system. This apparatus can to compare with theoretical
calculation in order to approve that this apparatus is useful. The main concept in this apparatus is thermocouple use
to detect the temperature gain while braking process. Speed motor controller used for set the angular velocity of the
motor in braking process. Pressure applied at brake pedal detected by pressure gauge and data logger function as a
connector. This apparatus also designed based on valid data for average of teenager in Malaysia which made on a
sample university student. Result show that the apparatus can function effectively by defines the different temperature
when applied the different pressure and different pad. Pad C shows the 880C for thermocouple 1 and 790C for
thermocouple 2 at the 20 psi and infrared thermometer show 1130C for pad C. Graph from calculation shows that the
pad A have 216.480C at 1000 rpm which have low temperature than pad B, C and D. high efficiency of friction and
pressure applied will cause more heat generate than low coefficient of friction and pressure applied.
This study develops a Road Safety Index (RSI) for commercial bus with the aim of determining whether the
proposed index can be beneficial to the stakeholders for the purpose of mitigating road accident and promoting road
safety. Five risk factors which include drivers, Vehicle, Task, Hazard/Risk and Road, where three critical factors out of
these factors, were identified as high contributing factors (Drivers, Vehicle and Road) were selected for the construction
of RSI. Drivers risk perceptions data were collected using survey instrument with sample size (n= 465) to test the
model and the data fits the model perfectly. The main benefits of this approach and the subsequent development of
RSI are: (1) Enable organisations to justify the investment on road safety by providing a measurement and evaluation
mechanism. (2) The index provides a balanced view of the impact of the three critical (DVR) risk factors that the
management can improve upon.
Automobile exhaust emission control is one of the trending issues in automobile research field. It caused by high
pollution such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and hydrocarbons (HC) distributed by automobile
especially form diesel engine. These pollutants give a harmful effect to the environment and human health. Therefore,
this paper proposed in reviewing methods on fabrication of modified catalytic converter. FeCrAl is used as substrate
which treated using ultrasonic bath technique which could improve the exhaust emission control. This metallic catalytic converter used as the replacement of precious metal that have high production cost.
Geographically, Malaysia is situated in the equatorial region, thus having a climate of hot and humid throughout the
year. Effect of heat stress and physical work load at construction industry need to be investigated because of the high number of
accidents. Thus, perception of physical workload and heat stress by the construction workers in Malaysia needed to be investigated
and documented. The aim of this paper is to establish a set of questionnaires containing the item generation regarding on physical
workload and the heat stress perception of construction workers. Physical workload factors such as fatigue, risks, concentration,
work rhythm, responsibility, satisfaction, and autonomy are inserted as the items in assessing the physical workload. While heat
stress are assessed using heat risk factors such as temperature, humidity, heat radiation, air movement, workload, clothing and
acclimatisation. A questionnaire has been developed resulted from various reviewing of literatures on physical workload and heat
stress and better suited to the Malaysia working environment.
The aim of this paper is to share views on the Safety and Health Performance Indicators (SPIs) for the Small
Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to assist SMEs in improving their business performance, growth and resilience through
effective Safety and Health Performance Management framework. Traditionally, industries are relying on the “lagging”
indicators of safety and health performance. Lagging indicators are limited due to the reactive approach and to some
extent, they create complacency among the industries which do not have any accidents or to the SMEs which face
low risks at work. As a result to their limitation, there has been a move in using “leading” indicators in measuring
safety and health performance in the industries. SMEs are important to Malaysia. However their contribution to the
workplace accident statistics is equally substantial. They are the major contributors to 80% of the total accidents.
Hence, effective Safety and Health Performance Indicators is indeed crucial to assist SMEs in measuring their safety
performance to enable them to move forward in achieving safety culture which is good for their business to stay strong
and resilient in this new business millennium.
Disaster can strike at any time on a small or large scale, but if an institution is prepared, the damage may be reduced or avoided. A disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a society, causing widespread human, material, or environmental losses which exceed the ability of affected society to cope using only its own resources. Disasters are often classified according to their speed of onset (sudden or ‘slow burning’), or according to their cause (natural or man-made). There is no single and specific method in handling a disaster. The application and method of disaster management do not only depend on types, location and levels of disaster, but also depend on the effectiveness and good system of management as well as the total commitment of first responders and disaster managers involved in handling a disaster. National Security Council Directive No. 20 is both a proactive and reactive generic plan to manage disasters in Malaysia. It is an integrated disaster management plan in mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
Purpose - The aims of this concept paper are to critically review and identify gaps in current literature on personality
and safety performance, provide a definition of personality and safety performance, explore the role of personality on
safety performance, come out with recommendation for future research. Design/methodology/approach - Review and
synthesis of literature. Findings - All dimensions of Big Five Personality (Openness to Experiences, Conscientiousness,
Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism) have contributed to the safety performance. Research limitations/
implications - Personality for this concept paper refers to the Model of Big Five. Future studies should explore other
personality types such as Myers Briggs Personality and Holland Personality. Practical implications - The authors
recommended that organizations need to design test of personality specially for safety and health and use it during the
interview session in order to select the right candidate to serve them for enhancing safety performance. Originality/
value - This concept paper offers a set of interesting lessons for organizations by providing the positive personality
that must be apply by employees based on Big Five Personality model that will assist to improve safety performance.
Air pollution in steel making operations effect to respiratory health. This study aimed to measure the dust exposure and evaluate the respiratory health among steel workers. A cross sectional study was conducted among 402 male workers. Respiratory symptoms using British Medical Research Council (BMRC) Questionnaire while lung function was measured The airborne dust [PM2.5, PM10, and Total Particulate Matter (TPM)] were monitored by Handheld 3016 Counter. All the parameters studied exceeded the limit of Malaysian guideline standard. Prevalence of chronic phlegm, chest of tightness, and shortness of breath were 35.8 %, 32.8 %, 23.4 %, and 22.4 %, respectively. significant differences between shortness of breath and work section (2=9.236, p=0.026) and %FEV1/FVC with work section [F (3, 3.98=3.194), p=0.025]. Smoking was associated with chronic cough (Adj OR =1.07, 95% CI: phlegm (Adj OR =1.05, 95% CI: 1.03 - 1.08), and shortness of breath (Adj OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.00 past respiratory illnesses was associated with chest tightness (Adj OR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.04 - 4.84) and (Adj OR = 4.16, 95% CI: 1.92 - 9.92). Duration of employment was associated with FEV1 (β=-0.025, 0.020) while past respiratory illnesses was associated with %FEV1/FVC (β =-1.784, 95% CI: -3.017 workers are at risk of developing respiratory symptoms and lung function impairment.
Fogging activity has become one of the important methods in tackling dengue outbreaks nowadays. Despite this, it is an occupation that has known hazards namely noise and pesticides which can affect the body organs. Based on this knowledge, a cross sectional study was conducted to determine the association between hearing impairment and serum cholinesterase level among foggers from five randomly selected Health District Offices in Selangor. A total of 200 workers comprising of 100 workers exposed to fogging activity and another 100 workers not exposed were randomly selected for this study. Data was obtained through self administered questionnaire, audiometric testing and serum cholinesterase level measurement. The overall prevalence of hearing impairment was 16% with foggers having significant higher prevalence (24%) compared to the non foggers (8%) (χ2=9.52, p=0.002). Measurement of serum cholinesterase showed that exposed workers had lower level compared to the non exposed group. Similarly, those who have hearing impairment had also lower serum cholinesterase level although it was not statistically different. Among all studied factors, age and duration of exposure to fogging activities were statistically different with hearing impairment (p
In the development of current vehicle capabilities required an effective braking system, has a little wear, and
safety riding. The objective of the research is to determine wear and braking distance because of braking load and
speed motorcycle Honda supra X125 cc. This research used the speed of 50 km/h, 60 km/h, and 70 km/h. Braking load
used to be 4 kg, 5 kg, and 6 kg. The test was done by dynamic method and the research was done in two stages; testing
in the field and measuring brake wear in the lab using a profile projector. Testing the hardness of brake was done to
know hardness brake before and after testing due to the effect of wear, braking time, and braking distance.From testing
it was found that increasing of braking load, resulted in increasing wear. The smallest wear was 6 x 10-5 mm/sea at a
speed of 50 km/h, braking load of 4 kg, and braking time of 15.94 seconds. Increasing the speed resulted in increasing
braking distances with the smallest of braking distance was 55 meters at the breaking load of 6 kg, the speed of 50
km/h and braking time 9.93 seconds. The hardness of brake lining, increased after the brake lining wear testing. The
hardness before the test was 95.8 HRN and after the test was 100.4 HRN.
Evacuation profile systems in high rise building are important to determine the safety level during any fire
emergency. In relation to this, the study was conducted with its objective to develop the evacuation profile for
NIOSH Tower. Evacnet-4 software was used to develop models for building evacuations using the building network
descriptions and the initial content of the occupant at the beginning of the evacuation. The results show that it
requires 390 seconds to evacuate NIOSH tower, with the highest number of bottlenecks recorded for the Third Floor.
Identification of bottleneck is important to determine the evacuation periods. The information gained from the model
may be used for the emergency response planning and for support material. The model should be tested in real time
to have its reliability verified.
The energy price increased significantly since the early 1970’s and it shows the pattern of all over the world.
According to the estimation of International Energy Agency (IEA), 53% global energy consumption will be increased
by 2030, with 70% of the growth in demand coming from developing countries. Malaysia is one of the most developing
countries among ASEAN countries next to Singapore, with GDP of US$15,400 per capita (PPP basis), and steady
GDP growth of 4.6% in 2009. Malaysia as a developing country focuses on the energy efficiency approach. At this
moment a lot of number of fire and electrical incident more towards overload current and the issues has been faced
trough out the year. This paper highlight the issue on how to avoid the overload current by introducing the method
establish by Energy Commission. The star (*) rating will help us to estimate the current use and the energy efficiency
approach by calculate the current load. The data collected from home appliances are the very basic information rather
than predict in a large scale as industrial and commercial building since the tariff also different in the category. The
equipment such as amp meter, volt meter and the current load data logger will help the current consumption in every
home appliances and it will show the direct reading as well. The issue on electrical safety should be response by
consumer to prevent safety and health risk.