Abstract:
This study aimed at examining the views of the employees on risks and
occupational accidents among employees in the oil and gas industry at the Jubilee
Field, Takoradi. There were four specific objectives which include to examine the
level of awareness of the employees on risks, to examine the perceived
occupational risk factors to which employees are exposed in their work
environment, to examine the perceived most frequent types of occupational
accidents and finally to examine the strategies employed by the management to
address the risks and the occupational accidents in the oil and gas industry. The
study was quantitative, and it was based on the views of 200 staff from the study
area. A self-administered questionnaire was the main research instrument and the
results were analysed using the SPSS (22.0 version) software. The findings have
revealed that the employees were aware of the risks they face particularly
environmental and protection, but little was known about management, political
and operational risks. In terms of risk factors, the study revealed that most of the
employees had the perceptions that they were more exposed to chemical and
psychosocial hazards whilst their perceptions on physical, ergonomical and
biological were modest. In the case of the accidents, almost all the employees (98%)
were convinced that accidents often take place with the frequent ones being pipeline
& gasoline storage area explosions, gas blow out and fuel inhalation. In the light of
these finding, it was recommended that management should focus on placing
measures to mitigate these risks and accidents with most among them including
training, physical activities, and implementation of the OHS Policies.
