Review of knowledge, attitude, and practice among laboratory workers towards occupational safety and health

Laboratory workers exposed to diverse occupational exposures to accidents. Evidently, extant, yet very limited empirical underpinnings suggest that knowledge, practices and awareness of safety precautions are uncharacteristically poor among laboratory workers. As such, their demonstration of safety-related attitudes and practices have remained questionable. This paper, thus presents a systematic search of the literature on laboratory workers’ safety-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Specifically, literature published between 2007 and 2017 that characteristically attempted to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices among laboratory workers on Occupational Safety and Health were reviewed. Evidently, results from the review indicate poor knowledge, attitude and practice among the laboratory workers. It is critical that strategies be put in place by the management of the health facilities to institute and undertake activities in the form of training, improved safety management practices, organizational commitment and improved safety culture

The effect of using dual screen computer panel to the neck-shoulder muscle activity among group of students

Background: Workstation design has shift from using single monitor screen to dual monitor screens, which may impose some impacts towards the muscles activity. This study aimed to determine the effect of using dual monitor screen computer to the neck-shoulder muscle activity among computer user. Method: This experimental study was conducted in 2015 among 28 healthy students in University Malaysia Perlis. The muscle activity of sternocleidomastoid and trapezius were recorded using surface electromyography (sEMG) as the participants perform two types of computer task: (1) proofreading task for 10 minutes (2) typing task for 20 minutes in setting; single and dual monitor screens. Results: There was a significant reduction in the median frequency of the left trapezius muscle (t=-2.515, P=0.018). Sternocleidomastoid muscle activity for both sides also showed a significant reduction in the median frequency where right SCM (t=-2.579, P=0.016) and left SCM (t=-2.345, P=0.027). When compared between both setup of screen display, it is showed that dual screen gave a lower trend of muscle activity compared to single screen. Conclusions: Using dual screen may results in increasing the movement frequency and reducing the static strain in the neck-shoulder muscle area

The effectiveness of the Occupational Safety and Health Master Plan 2015 (OSH-MP 15) in enhancing government leadership and preventive workplace

Background: Occupational Safety and Health Master Plan for Malaysia 2015 was intended to increase awareness, knowledge and commitment to Occupational Safety and Health in all undertaking to reduce the number of injuries, diseases and fatalities. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of Occupational Safety Health Master Plan for Malaysia 2015 (OSH-MP 15) in enhancing government leadership and preventive workplace culture. Methods: This cross sectional study covered all the states in Malaysia, constituting of 309 employers, 350 Occupational Safety Health practitioners and 360 employees as respondents. There were three questionnaires for three different groups which were employers, Occupational Safety Health practitioners and general employees. The respondents were selected through random sampling. Results: For strategy 1, there was a significant difference in mean of effectiveness of OSH-MP15 between sectors for general workers [F (11, 348) =12.06, p=<0.001], OSH practitioners [F (11, 338) =1.19, p=0.033] and employers [F (11, 297) =5.62, p=<0.001]. For strategy 2, a significant difference in mean of effectiveness of OSH-MP15 between sectors was found for general workers [F (11, 348) =4.52, p=<0.001], OSH practitioners [F (11, 338) =2.28, p=0.011], employers [F (11, 297) =5.74, p=<0.001]. Conclusion: There was a significant difference between the effectiveness of fostering, and enhancing government leadership and inculcating preventive workplace culture among respondents. This study acts as the baseline data for the effectiveness of Occupational Safety and Health Master Plan 2015 in enhancing government leadership and preventive workplace culture

Determine the risk level of occupational hazards among laboratories staffs in Makkah

This study aimed to determine the risk level of occupational hazards (chemical, physical, biological, ergonomic) among laboratories staffs in Makkah via hazard identification risk assessment and risk control (HIRARC). These results indicated that the severity of risk and control measures related to chemical hazards showed that only 53.3% had a low risk while 46.7 were at a moderate level. As a conclusion, the majority of laboratories staff were in the high level of risk related to occupational hazards and it shows the need for control of this issue and finds a practical way to solve this problem

Quality of work life in occupational safety and health among Malaysian workers in different industries in Malaysia

Background: Quality of Work Life (QWL) is a subset of the quality of life which expresses the interactions between workers and their total working environment with individual or human dimension. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of QWL among Malaysian workers. Methods: 2740 respondents (1921 males and 819 females) were randomly selected from 11 different industries from all states of Malaysia. Respondents were aged between 18 to more than 55 years and were a local OSH Personnel and local general workers. Face to face interviews were conducted in all the selected industries using a structured questionnaire form adapted from Malay-sian OSH Profile 2016. Respondents have completed the questionnaire under instructions and supervision of the research team. Results: Majority of the respondents were male (70.1%) and from manufacturing industries (76.3%). 50% of the respondents identified a high level of QWL in each component like not having a stress with the work load (85.5%), good work environment (78.4%), family life (83.1% and 83.6%), enough income and distribution (58.9%), good communication and harmonies relationship between colleagues and boss (93.4% and 88.7%), good facilities (88.6%), welfare at work (71.3%) and productive working condition (80.8%). There is a significant difference between QWL and type of industries [F(10)=12.897, p=0.001] where agriculture industry had the highest QWL. There is significant difference between QWL and gender (p=0.009) where male reported higher QWL compared to female. Conclusion: These findings could be used by the organizations in order to enhance its performance, productivity, employees' commitment and satisfaction

Association between non-reporting of accident and contributing factors in Malaysia’s construction industry

Malaysian construction sector is one of the critical sectors represented by high accident and fatality rates over time. Accident rate in the construction sector is the third highest in Malaysia and the highest for fatality cases. Construction’s workers came in contact with dangerous equipment and substances which can easily affect their physical and health condition. The increasing development of construction industries raise the probability of hazard exposure and accident occurrence. The goal of the study is to determine the association between non-reporting of accident in construction industries and the factors related with the occurrence of reporting trend. A cross sectional study design was conducted in twelve (12) construction sites of big construction company in Klang Valley and Johor Bahr, Johore by adopting stratified sampling method with the participation of 1598 respondents from selected sites. The data was collected through interview session using self-constructed questionnaire to determine the accident occurrence, reporting behavior, type of common accidents as well as the possible causal factors for under reporting cases. The study revealed the prevalence of non-reporting of accident in construction industries. (94.7%) of the construction workers did not report the accident while (5.3%) did report the accident. Chi square test revealed a significant statistical association between the Occupational Safety Health Management System (OSHMS) and non-reporting of accident. Induction training related to OSH from employer before employee start the work (X2=7.018, p= 0.030) and the awareness of the workers of the risk at the company (X2=8.278, p= 0.016) show significance association with the prevalence of non-reporting of accident. The result from this study, indicates that there was significant association between the Safety and Occupational Health Practices in the involvement of the workers in OSH activities (X2=7.108, p = 0.029) in non-reporting of accident. Based on the findings, further study should be conducted to determine more factors related to non-reporting among workers and a formulation on calculating non-reporting should be developed

Knowledge, attitude, and perception of risk management of steam boilers among workers in palm oil mills

Background: People who work with the steam boilers in palm oil mills are vulnerable to accidents, notably to explosions, whenever failures of any kind occur during their operation. Objective: This cross-sectional study was conducted in palm oil mills to determine the knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP) concerning the risk management of steam boilers among workers in palm oil mills. Methods: A total of 50 workers who were working with steam boilers and/or involved in managing the operation of steam boilers with at least three years of working experience in the palm oil industry were purposively sampled. A self-administrated questionnaire consisting of four main parts - socio-demographic and occupational information, knowledge, attitude, and perception of the risk management of steam boilers was distributed. The knowledge, attitude, and perception were calculated based on a Likert-type scale. Results: This study found that 56% of boiler workers had a good level of knowledge (mean score = 77.22±19.6), 72% had a good attitude toward risk (mean score = 83.17±5.85), and 64% had a good perception of risk (mean score = 79.50±11.22). The prevalence of accidents was 16%, and, for near misses, it was 24%. The cause of the reported accidents was largely attributed to carelessness, specifically at 80%. Apart from that, there was a positive association (χ2 = 6.56; p = 0.010) between attitude and accidents. Conclusion: This study found that the workers had good KAP levels of risk management of steam boilers in palm oil mills. However, there is a need for the employers to revise the training of workers and ensure its effectiveness in heightening the awareness of risks and accidents despite the high level of KAP

Optical Slot-Waveguide Based Biochemical Sensors

Slot-waveguides allow light to be guided and strongly confined inside a nanometer-scale region of low refractive index. Thus stronger light-analyte interaction can be obtained as compared to that achievable by a conventional waveguide, in which the propagating beam is confined to the high-refractive-index core of the waveguide. In addition, slot-waveguides can be fabricated by employing CMOS compatible materials and technology, enabling miniaturization, integration with electronic, photonic and fluidic components in a chip, and mass production. These advantages have made the use of slot-waveguides for highly sensitive biochemical optical integrated sensors an emerging field. In this paper, recent achievements in slot-waveguide based biochemical sensing will be reviewed. These include slot-waveguide ring resonator based refractometric label-free biosensors, label-based optical sensing, and nano-opto-mechanical sensors

Risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders among oil palm fruit harvesters during early harvesting stage

This cross-sectional study intends to investigate the associations of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among foreign labourers on a socio-economic background, occupational exposure, social lifestyle, and postures adopted during harvesting tasks. A total of 446 male respondents (263 FFB cutters; 183 FFB collectors) were studied using an interview-assisted questionnaire. OWAS was used to determine the severity of awkward posture based on videos of harvesting tasks recorded for each respondent. Analysis found that increasingly educated respondents had higher risk of developing MSDs. Shorter daily work duration and longer resting duration appear to increase the risk of neck and shoulder disorders among harvesters, which may be attributable to organizational work design. Awkward posture was a particularly significant risk factor of MSDs among FFB collectors. Among the results of the study, occupational exposure, postures and certain socio-demographic backgrounds explained some, but not all, the risk factor of MSDs among harvesters. An in-depth investigation, preferably a longitudinal study investigating the dynamic of work activities and other risk factors, such as psychosocial risk factors, are recommended