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International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics

AHFE 2019: Advances in Safety Management and Human Factors pp 111–122Cite as

Welders’ Knowledge of Personal Protective Equipment Usage and Occupational Hazards Awareness in the Ghanaian Informal Auto-mechanic Industrial Sector

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Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 969))

Abstract

This study explored the knowledge of informal auto-mechanics welders on personal protective equipment (PPE) usage, and their levels of occupational hazards awareness associated with the welding activity. Guided by OSHA’s 2014 Hazards Assessment Checklist, and interviews, data was collected from three auto-mechanic shops engaged in welding activities in Volta Region of Ghana. Based on the analysis, it is established that the informal auto-mechanic welders generally lack knowledge on significant PPE requirement associated with the welding activities. they also lack awareness of occupational hazards associated with physical elements of the welding activities, even though they showed semblance of awareness in relation to others that are chemical-oriented. It is concluded that though the informal auto-mechanics engaged in welding activities have the requisite expertise and skills to perform their tasks, their knowledge of PPE usage and their awareness levels of occupational hazards associated with the welding activities seemed to be generally constrained.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Ghana Business School, Legon, P. O. Box LG 78, Accra, Ghana

    Mohammed-Aminu Sanda & Juliet Nugble

  2. Luleå University of Technology, SE 97187, Luleå, Sweden

    Mohammed-Aminu Sanda

Authors
  1. Mohammed-Aminu Sanda
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  2. Juliet Nugble
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Correspondence to Mohammed-Aminu Sanda .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. DPS, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Pedro M. Arezes

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Sanda, MA., Nugble, J. (2020). Welders’ Knowledge of Personal Protective Equipment Usage and Occupational Hazards Awareness in the Ghanaian Informal Auto-mechanic Industrial Sector. In: Arezes, P. (eds) Advances in Safety Management and Human Factors. AHFE 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 969. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20497-6_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20497-6_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-20496-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-20497-6

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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