Comparative Study of Safety Awareness and Compliance between Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria
Ubong Iyang
Centre for Occupational Health, Safety and Environment (COHSE), University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Ify Nwaogazie *
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
John Ugbebor
Centre for Occupational Health, Safety and Environment (COHSE), University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The aim of this study is to conduct a comparative analysis of safety awareness and compliance between small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria. The study utilized a structured questionnaire to collect data from 179 respondents, including workers from both small and medium-scale manufacturing companies. The mean scores were computed for the various safety awareness constructs to have the general safety level awareness for both small and medium-scale companies. Z-test was utilized to establish a significant difference in the safety awareness level between small and medium-scale workers. Principal Component Analysis was used to unravel structures or patterns in the safety awareness level among the workers. The findings revealed that medium-scale company workers generally exhibited significantly higher levels of safety awareness compared to their counterparts in small-scale companies. The principal component analysis (PCA) result highlighted the distinction between management-level and individual-level safety awareness factors, indicating the need for tailored interventions for small and medium-scale companies.
Keywords: Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), safety awareness, safety compliance, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs), comparative study