Awareness of occupational machinery hazards in mechanical engineering workshops in TVET institutions in Nairobi metropolitan, Kenya

Abstract

The growth of the Technical, Vocational Education, and Training (TVET) sector and particularly in metal fabrication programs highlights the expansion of workplaces with few safety standards and protocols. The objective of this study was to assess the awareness of occupational machinery hazards in mechanical engineering workshops in TVET Institutions. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional research design and employed a structured questionnaire and a checklist for data collection.The data collected from the questionnaires was entered into MS Excel sheet and tabulated. Trends, patterns, and relationships from the data collected were analyzed and presented in tables and graphs. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 was used to analyze data by uncovering the distributions within the data. Noise (90.4%) was reported as the most common occupational hazard in mechanical engineering workshops. Other hazards included vibrations (71.9%), heat (51.4%), poor ergonomic practices (44.6%), electrical (41.5%) and mechanical abrasion (36.7%). Regarding workstations, grinding section (39.4%), milling section (15.8%), drilling section (13%), welding section(7.2%) and turning section(7.2%) in that respective order to be experiencing high level of noise. High proportion (87%) of the respondents indicated that they use hand tools that generate vibration while at work. The study established that most trainees and trainers were aware of the various hazards within the workstations with noise and vibration being the most common reported hazards. The study recommends adequate provision of PPE to trainers and trainees and the TVET institutions to put in place a noise prevention program to educate trainers and trainees.