An evaluation of occupational accidents in the wooden furniture industry – A regional study in South East Asia

Published Date
Safety Science
June 2012, Vol.50(5):1190–1195, doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2011.12.035

Author 

• Jegatheswaran Ratnasingam ^a,,
 
• Florin Ioras ^b
 
• Ioan Vasile Abrudan ^c

• aFaculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
• bBuckinghamshire New University, Queen Alexandra Road, High Wycombe, HP 11 2 JZ Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
• cFaculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University, Sirul Beethoven 1, Brasov, Romania

Received 17 June 2011. Revised 17 November 2011. Accepted 27 December 2011. Available online 10 February 2012. 

Abstract

Studies on the rate of occupational accidents among workers in the wooden furniture industry is sparse, although the industry is deemed to be highly accident prone. Therefore, the rate of occupational accidents among workers in the wooden furniture industry in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam were studied, in 240 furniture manufacturing factories, using a structured questionnaire. The findings of the study suggest that contract workers are less prone to occupational accidents compared to their permanent counterparts, and hence, are more productive. Further, the results also revealed that the contract workers have a more positive attitude towards the work, and hence, pick up the essentials of safe working practices quickly. It must therefore be recognized that the “production oriented mentality” prevalent in the wooden furniture industry, which has been argued to compromise occupational safety and health standards in the industry may be debatable. In this context, it is essential for the policy makers to re-examine the employment of contract workers for the furniture manufacturing industry, as changing the psycho-economic parameters of the industry may be warranted before the industry is deemed attractive to a permanent workforce.

Highlights

► Occupational accidents among workers in the furniture industry was evaluated. ► Migratory workers were less prone to accidents compared to the local workforce. ► Workers attitude and characteristics are important accident preventive factors.

Keywords

Contract workers

Injuries

Furniture manufacturing

Training

Accident risks 

South East Asia

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Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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