INVESTIGATION INTO THE STATUS OF SAFETY PRACTICES IN ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS WORKSHOPS OF TECHNICAL COLLEGES IN DELTA NORTH SENATORIAL DISTRICT OF DELTA STATE

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INVESTIGATION INTO THE STATUS OF SAFETY PRACTICES IN ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS WORKSHOPS OF TECHNICAL COLLEGES IN DELTA NORTH SENATORIAL DISTRICT OF DELTA STATE

ABSTRACT

Safety practices are critical in ensuring the well-being of students and staff in technical colleges, particularly in high-risk environments like electrical and electronics workshops. This study investigates the current status of safety practices in the electrical/electronics workshops of technical colleges in the Delta North Senatorial District of Delta State, Nigeria. Through surveys and observational assessments, the study evaluates the adequacy of safety equipment, adherence to safety protocols, and the level of safety awareness among students and instructors. Key findings reveal significant gaps in safety practices, including insufficient safety gear, lack of regular safety drills, and inadequate enforcement of safety regulations. The study recommends improvements in safety training, provision of appropriate safety materials, and stricter adherence to safety standards to mitigate risks and enhance workshop safety. The findings emphasize the need for policy intervention and institutional commitment to ensure a safer learning environment in technical education settings.

CHAPTER ONE:

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

In recent years, the importance of safety practices in educational institutions, especially in technical colleges, has gained significant attention due to the growing concern about the safety of both students and instructors in practical environments. This is particularly crucial in technical disciplines such as electrical and electronics, where students work with potentially hazardous equipment and materials. Electrical/electronics workshops are an essential part of technical colleges, providing students with hands-on experience in using electrical circuits, machinery, and tools necessary for their training. However, these workshops pose inherent risks, including electrical shocks, fires, burns, and injuries from mechanical tools.

In Delta North Senatorial District of Delta State, like many other regions in Nigeria, technical colleges are expected to provide a safe learning environment for students. However, the status of safety practices in these institutions remains unclear, with concerns about the adequacy of safety protocols, equipment, and training. It is essential to examine the extent to which safety measures are implemented and whether these practices meet the necessary standards required for preventing accidents and ensuring the well-being of students and instructors in electrical/electronics workshops.

The need for this study arises from the increasing number of reported accidents in technical workshops, which underscores the importance of assessing the current safety measures and their implementation in the electrical/electronics workshops in technical colleges within Delta North Senatorial District.

Safety Practice is a fundamental requirement of any job in many establishments today. If good quality safety practice is properly applied and effectively implemented in different workplaces and technical college workshops, it would reduce incessant workplace accidents to workers and students. It will also prolong the service lives of machines, tools and equipment and drastically reduce wastage (Anaele, Adelakin & Olumoko 2014). Nigeria Institute of Safety Professional (NISP, 2012) defines accident as unwanted incidents caused by “unsafe conditions” resulting in injuries or damages. It has being established that in any accident that happen, people are involved because they either do know how to do work correctly or could not perform the task assigned to them and sometimes do not bother to follow safety rules (NISP, 2012). In the views of Oranu, Nwoke and Ogwo (2002), safety is the ability to perform every task involved in a job without causing injury to oneself, tools, equipment or materials used in performing the task while safety according to Okon (2011) is the art and science of identification, evaluation and controlling work place hazards that may lead to accident. Accidents occurrences in workplaces or technical college workshop are cause by hazards.

Hazard is an inherent property of a substance, agent, and source of energy or situation having the potential of causing undesirable consequences (accidents) or effects (Work Cover Corporation, 2014). Occupational Safety and Health Organization, OSHA, (2003) stated that hazards exist in every workshop in many different forms: sharp edges, falling objects, flying sparks, chemicals, noise and myriad of other potentially dangerous situation. Hazards in electrical/electronic workshops include: faulty equipment or machines, improper organization of the workshops and laboratories, unjust and unsafe abandonment of naked life wires or cables, working with life and high current without putting on necessary protective equipments, using defective tools or equipment, unjust placement of very hot soldering iron on object with low melting point and so on. United State Department of Labor (2012) submitted that most electrical accidents result from the following three factors: unsafe equipment or installation, unsafe environment and unsafe work practice.

An unsafe practice has being defined by Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals (2012) as a conduct that necessarily increases the likelihood of injury, violate estaIJLRET blished safety rules, or contrary to expected conduct while unsafe act is an observed unsafe condition. This implies that unsafe act is therefore an action taken by an individual who has knowledge and control of an existing unsafe condition or action but chosen to perform the action or ignore the condition.

The Nigeria Institute of Safety Professionals (NISP, 2012) also buttressed that unsafe condition and unsafe act contributes about 96% of accidents that occur in the industries where the high percentage being as a result of workers’ negligence to observed and apply safety rules. At this point, the question to be asked is “Are these workers adequately trained on safety and its application in their workplace”? To reduce the rate of accident in any workplace and in technical workshops and also for effective quality instructional delivery in technical colleges in Rivers State, the technical instructors/teachers, workshop attendants and students must be trained to ensure that effective implementation of safety practice in technical college workshop and its premises are adequately observed.

Technical Colleges in Nigeria are established to produce craftsmen at the craft level and master craftsmen at the advance craft level (Federal Ministry of Education, 2013). Abdulrauf (2012) defined technical colleges as institutions where specific knowledge and practical skills required for specific trade, employment or professional craftsmen, technicians, or similar level in business and industry are imparted or taught. According to Yekinni (2016), technical colleges aim to provide functional vocational, technological and scientific skills, knowledge and attitudes which individuals need to gain entry to and progress in a selected occupation. United Nations Educational, scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and National Board for Technical Education, (NBTE), (2011) reported that the aim of technical colleges’ curriculum is to give training and impart the necessary skills leading to the production of craftsmen, technicians and other personnel who will be enterprising and self-reliant. Technical colleges enroll students who must not be less than 14 years of age and should have successfully completed three years of junior secondary education or its equivalent (UNESCO & NBTE, 2011). The courses offered at the technical colleges leads to the award of National Technical Certificate (NTC) and Advance National Technical Certificate (ANTC). The curriculum programmes of technical colleges according to Federal Government of Nigeria (2013) are grouped into related trades. These include; the computer trades, electrical/electronic trades, building trades, wood trades, mechanical trades and electrical/electronic trades.

The electrical/electronic trades cover electricity/electronics subjects. Federal Republic of Nigeria

(FRN, 2013) highlighted three subjects that are subsumed into electrical engineering trade: Electrical installation and maintenance work; radio, television and electronics work; and appliances repairs. Electricity, according to Grob cited in James (2009), is an invisible force that can produce heat, light and motion, and many other physical effects. Electricity implies a form of energy generated, transmitted, and converted into heat, light, motion, and other forms of energy through natural processes such as lightning, as well as by devices built by people such as generators and alternators while Anaemena as cited in Yekinni (2016) opined that electronics is a physical science that deals with the study of the properties and behavior of electrons under all conditions, especially with reference to technical and industrial application.

In electrical/electronic trades, workplace hazards also include machines related hazards since electricity is used to power most of the machines and equipment. Workers or operators sustain injuries from shock burns, electrocution, fires and explosions. These conditions make instructional processes more challenging to both the facilitator (teacher, instructors) and the learner (learner) within and outside the college workshops. The term instructional quality refers to good teaching of instruction that leads to effective learning which in turn improves thorough and lasting acquisition of the knowledge, skills, and values the facilitator or the college has set out to impart. It also refers to how facilitators relates with students on how they cope with or accomplish different tasks given to them by their individual teachers. In technical college where emphases are anchored on acquisition of practical skills, there is need for the workshops to be conducive and free from hazards capable of creating distractions and causing accidents. From the above juxtaposition, it is of necessity that electrical/electronic workshops in technical colleges in Rivers State should embark on high level of safety practice implementation in order to prolong the service live of technical instructors, teachers, students and workshop equipment.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In many Nigerian technical colleges, including those in Delta North Senatorial District, there are concerns about the effective implementation of safety practices in electrical/electronics workshops. Despite existing safety regulations and guidelines, incidents of electrical shocks, fires, injuries from equipment, and other workshop-related accidents have been reported in various institutions. The primary issues contributing to these accidents include inadequate safety equipment, insufficient safety training for students and instructors, lack of proper supervision, and non-compliance with safety regulations.

This study seeks to investigate the current status of safety practices in electrical/electronics workshops in technical colleges in Delta North Senatorial District, Delta State. It will identify the key factors affecting the implementation of safety protocols, assess the adequacy of existing safety measures, and explore the challenges faced by the colleges in ensuring a safe learning environment.

Safety practice implementation in electrical/electronic workshops in technical college by instructors, students and other users against workshop and environmental hazards cannot be overemphasized. This is because the high rates of injury and damage sustain cause by accident is public issue. In electrical/electronic workshops in technical college, teachers and students are prone to accidents as a result of the nature of operations involved. The operations include electrical installation, coiling and recoiling, radio and television services, soldering, repairs and maintenance, electrical drafting and fittingsIJLRET , instrumentation etc. These operations also involved working with hot metals, sharp objects, working with infra-red light, consumable materials and substances, hazardous tools, materials and equipment. For these operations to be carried out effectively, electrical/electronic teachers and students must possess safety practice skills in order to prevent or totally eliminate occurrences of accidents which will result in human and material resources wastage.

1.3 Research Objectives

The main objectives of this study are:

To assess the current status of safety practices in electrical/electronics workshops in technical colleges in Delta North Senatorial District.

To examine the types of safety measures and equipment available in these workshops.

To evaluate the training and awareness programs on safety for both students and instructors.

To identify the challenges faced by technical colleges in implementing safety practices in electrical/electronics workshops.

To recommend strategies for improving safety practices in electrical/electronics workshops in these colleges.

1.4 Research Questions

The study aims to answer the following research questions:

What is the current status of safety practices in electrical/electronics workshops in technical colleges in Delta North Senatorial District?

What types of safety measures and equipment are available in the workshops?

To what extent are students and instructors trained on safety practices in electrical/electronics workshops?

What challenges do technical colleges face in implementing safety practices in their workshops?

What strategies can be implemented to improve safety practices in these workshops?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study will provide valuable insights into the status of safety practices in electrical/electronics workshops in technical colleges in Delta North Senatorial District. It will contribute to the existing body of knowledge by identifying gaps in the implementation of safety measures and the challenges faced by educational institutions in ensuring the safety of students and instructors.

The findings of this study will be useful to:

Educational Administrators: The study will help school administrators and policymakers understand the current state of safety practices in their institutions, allowing them to make informed decisions on improving safety measures.

Safety Regulators: The findings will inform safety regulatory bodies and governmental agencies, highlighting the areas in need of regulatory attention and intervention.

Instructors and Students: By raising awareness of safety issues, the study will encourage a culture of safety and help improve safety training for both students and instructors.

Researchers: The study will add to the academic literature on safety practices in vocational and technical education, serving as a reference for future studies.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This study focuses on the electrical/electronics workshops of selected technical colleges in Delta North Senatorial District, Delta State. It will examine the current status of safety practices within these workshops, the available safety equipment, and the level of safety training provided to students and instructors. The study is limited to a specific geographic area (Delta North) and does not extend to technical colleges outside this district or other fields of study apart from electrical/electronics.

1.7 Delimitations of the Study

The study is limited by the following factors:

Geographical Limitation: The study will focus only on technical colleges within Delta North Senatorial District, Delta State, and will not cover other regions in the state or Nigeria.

Sample Size: The study will involve a select number of technical colleges due to time and resource constraints, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.

Scope of Inquiry: The study will concentrate on safety practices specific to electrical/electronics workshops and will not cover other areas of vocational training.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

Safety Practices: Measures and procedures aimed at preventing accidents, injuries, and fatalities in the workplace, particularly in technical workshops. These include the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), proper handling of equipment, emergency procedures, and safety training.

Electrical/Electronics Workshops: Practical learning environments in technical colleges where students are trained in the theory and application of electrical and electronic systems, circuits, machinery, and tools.

Technical Colleges: Educational institutions that provide vocational and technical training in various fields, including electrical/electronics, mechanical engineering, carpentry, and more, with a focus on equipping students with practical skills.

Delta North Senatorial District: One of the three senatorial districts in Delta State, Nigeria, which comprises several local government areas, including the study area for this research.

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