Analysis of risks in Nigeria ship building industry
Date
2024-03
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Federal University of Technology, Owerri
Abstract
The aim of the study was to determine the determinant risks of occupational injury and illness associated with exposure to hazards in the shipbuilding and repair sector in Nigeria. The study used Starzs shipyard Onne, Rivers shipbuilding and repair clusters and Niger Dock shipbuilding facility in Lagos clusters and adopted a mixed research design approach in which both secondary data from the Environmental Health and Safety Department of the Shipyard and the primary data from survey were used. The method of principal component analysis , Risks analysis methods, and descriptive statistics cum inferential statistics were used to analyze the data obtained. It was found that, welding and cutting hazards, chemical fumes and dust inhalation hazards, and noise hazards with Eigen value for each exceeding 1(Eigen value>1), constitute the determinant hazards of Starzs shipbuilding and repair facility in Rivers clusters in Nigeria while in Niger Dock Shipbuilding facility Lagos clusters, risk of hazards associated with welding fabrication and cutting, noise hazards, chemical fumes and metallic particles inhalation, hazards linked to vibration of equipment and hazards linked to fire and explosion each have Eigen value greater than 1(Eigen value>1), as a result formed the determinant hazards in the Niger Dock Shipbuilding and repair facility to which worker are exposed. The workers in Niger Dock are further significantly exposed to fire and explosion hazards and hazards linked to vibration of equipment in addition to the three hazard types (welding and fabrication hazards, noise hazards and chemical fumes and dust particles inhalation risks) to which workers in Starzs Marine Shipyard are significantly exposed. The implication is that dock workers in Niger Dock are exposed significantly to greater number of occupational hazard types than those in Starzs Marine Shipyard, implying that workers in the shipbuilding and repair sector in Nigeria are exposed to similar hazard types, but significance or proportion of exposure to each hazard type is a function of the shipyard. The findings of the study also indicate that burns injury, rhinorrhea illness, cuts injury and tinnitus illness pose the greatest levels of risk of occurrence in Niger Dock. The result also indicates that about 42.1% of the dockworkers identified the existence of fall hazards (slips and trips
hazards) in the shipbuilding sector in Nigeria while 77.3% of the respondents identified that dockworkers are exposed to electrical hazards in the shipbuilding and repair sector in Nigeria. About 62.5%, 83%, 26.1%, 99.8%, 52.3%, and 84.1% of the respondents identified that dockworkers in the shipbuilding and repair sector are exposed to vibration hazards, noise hazards, biological hazards, welding & cutting hazards, fire & explosion hazards, chemical fumes and dust hazards respectively. The implication of this is that the shipyard and the shipbuilding and repair sector in Nigeria should prioritize the control reduction and elimination of the occupational injury and illness types that pose the greatest risk of
occurrence and consequences in Nigeria.
Description
This thesis is for the award of Master of Science (MSc.) in Maritime Management Technology
Keywords
Workplace-hazards, risks-analysis, occupational-safety, shipbuilding-and-repair-industry, accidents, incidents, diseases, Department of Maritime Management Technology
Citation
Nnamdi, N. (2024). Analysis of risks in Nigeria ship building industry [Unpublished Master's Thesis]. Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria