STRATEGIES FOR STANDARDIZING SAFETY PRCAUTIONS AMONG LOCAL METAL CASTING ARTISANS IN KANO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated strategies for standardizing safety precautions among local metal casting artisans in Kano State, Nigeria. Two research questions guided this study and two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. Population for the study was 1551
respondents, comprising of 1500 Foundry artisans, 35 Metalwork Technology Industrial Personnel and 16 Metalwork Technology Lecturers/Instructors respectively in Kano State, Nigeria. Out of the 1500 artisans, 300
was sampled using Taro Yamane formula. A total of 367 respondents were used for the study. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire which contained 29 items for the construct. Cronbach’s Alpha reliability
coefficient was employed for checking reliability and the index was found to be 0.98 for the instrument. Three
lecturers from Federal University of Technology, Minna were involved in both face and content validity of developed questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS) version 23. Mean and Standard deviations were used to answer the two research questions while one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the two hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. It was found out among others that: Strategies for standardizing safety precautions in mould preparations in local metal casting operations include; and adhering strictly to safe operating procedures during mould preparation activity, among others. Strategies for standardizing safety precautions in metal handling practices in casting operation include: frequently reinforcing training on safe work practices around furnace during metal melting operation, among others.