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


Patrick Kipkurui Ronoh
Charles M. Mburu

Abstract

The metal fabrication sector involves a variety of processes, activities, products, and by-products. This involves various interventions such  as milling, turning, welding, drilling, and grinding. Firms in this sector use one or a combination of these interventions where machinery  is used, which can expose workers to machinery hazards if proper safety procedures are not observed. Occupational Safety and Health  (OSH) is vital in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, especially in mechanical engineering programmes where  metal fabrication is practised. 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 research design and employed a structured questionnaire  for data collection. Purposive sampling was used to identify institutions participating in the study. SPSS version 25 was used to analyse  the data and present it in tables and graphs. Noise (90.4%) and vibration (71.9%) were reported as the most common occupational  hazards, respectively, in mechanical engineering workshops. Regarding workstations, the grinding section (39.4%) and milling section  (15.8%) were reported as experiencing high levels of noise. The study recommends that adequate control measures be put in place to  mitigate against these hazards. 


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eISSN: 1561-7645