Occupational Safety Management and its Effect on Water Transportation Sector: Evidence from Lagos State Water Ways Authority

Occupational Safety Management and its Effect on Water Transportation Sector: Evidence from Lagos State Water Ways  Authority

¹Sholesi, Olayinka Yusuf  Ph.D., ²Agboola Oluyemisi Omobola Ph,D., ³Williams Omodara Alabi Ph.D., ⁴Taiwo Ositimehin

¹Department of Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management, Lagos State University, Nigeria

²Deparment of Entreprenuership, Ekiti State University

³Department of Entrepreneural Studies, Bamidele Olumilua University of Education Science and Technology

⁴Martin J Whitman School of Management Syracuse University, Newyork

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2025.120500032

Received: 24 April 2025; Accepted: 28 April 2025; Published: 30 May 2025

ABSTRACT

The incessant  fatalities on our water ways which  is  as a result of non compliance to safety measures is creating problems  for water transportation in Lagos  State, Nigeria. The study examined  occupational safety management and water transportation  in Lagos state water ways Authority. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design, the  total population is one  hundred and eight and using  Krejie, and Morgan formlar  a sample size of eight six was arrived at. The questionnaire was designed on a five point  likert scale and the study made use of pearson product moment correlation  and multiple regression in analyzing the collected data. The findings revealed there is a 94.5% and  83.9% strong and  positive relationship between occupational safety awareness occupational  hazard and water transportation respectively. The findings further revealed that occupational safety  awareness and occupational hazard account for 95.2% of water transportation. The study concluded that strict compliance to safety rules is  imperative  to ensure safety of lives and  properties in water transportation system.  However the study recommended among others, that the authorities responsible for regularizing the water transportation system must regularly sensitize and enlighten employees and  customers on the need to keep to safety rules and standard and ensure regular maintenance of their ferries.

Key Words:    Occupational Safety Management, Water Transportation, Occupational Hazard.

INTRODUCTION

Globally the issue of safety management have become of great concern over the years. Occupational safety management has been  increasingly important  to employees, organizations and the society  at large.

Recently safety of water transportation have become topical in Lagos, Nigeria due to the increase in fatal accident, which occurs mostly as a result of non compliance to safety measures.

Mathis and  Jackson (2014) posits that safety  has  to do with protecting  the physical  well being of people. According to the international labour organization (2021) about 340 million  Occupational accidents occurs and 360 million individual are affected by occupational  accidents.

Occupational safety management is concerned with preventing work related fatalities  and injuries and  is related to working conditions which could be considered a subject of management. It aims at improving work place setting emphasizing the adoption of occupational  health and  safety practices that promotes the well being of the society at large.

Accordingly ensuring the protection  of lives through a safe work environment and implementing safety, and  health policies must be emphasized to reduce water transportation accident. The study seeks to examine occupational safety management and water transportation in the Nigerian transportation sector.

Statement  of the problem

The increasing population in Lagos metropolitan city Nigeria has made it imperative for the government to develop other means of transportation, also the incessant traffic congestion on Lagos road being the commercial hub of Nigeria and Africas largest city in terms of population has made it expedient for the populace to make use of other mode of transportation..

The challenges of non compliance to safety measures, is a  major factor creating problems for water transportation in Lagos state, such as over loading, bad conditions of the boat, failure to put  on life jackets, bad weather condition, among others.

Several studies have been carried out on  occupational safety   Mehmet, 2021; Onoh, 2021  & Perera, 2019) but little has been done in the water transportation sector. The loss of man hours and  accidents that occur on  Lagos roads due to traffic is affecting the economic activities in Lagos state. This has made it  imperative for this study to be  curried out.

This study therefore examines the link between occupational safety management and water transportations.

Research Objectives

The main objective of this study is to examine occupational safety  management  and water transportation. The specific objectives  are to examine the relationship  between  occupational safety  awareness and water transportation, investigate the  relationship between occupational hazard and water  transportation and ascertain  the joint effect  of occupational safety awareness and  hazard on water transportation.

Research Hypotheses             

1. There is no significant relationship  between occupational safety  awareness and water  transportation system
2. There is no significant relationship between  occupational  hazard and water  transportation system.
3. There is no significant joint effect of occupational safety awareness and  hazard on water  System.

Significance of the Study

Every government should be concerned with the best possible way of improving the well being  of the people and the economy at large.

The findings from this study will contribute to the improvement of the society in general.

In specific term the study will assist the government to take measures that will guarantee safety of lives and prroperties in the water transport system which will help them  to achieve overall efficiency and effectiveness in operations.

Further more the findings from the study will also help policy makers and practitioners to formulate policies that will improve the water transportation system and adopt new ideas that will guarantee efficiency service delivery

Conceptual Review

Occupational safety can be described  as workers working  in conditions suitable  to human  honour in  every way. Occupational safety  system involves put in place measures to reduce risks at the work place and taking precautions  against  hazard..

Further more occupational safety management system was established to handle the hazards in many industries. The increasing interest in occupational safety  management has to with additional  regularization  of executive applications in safety.

Granerudi (2011) posits that occupational health safety management system are systemic  instruments that enable organizations to cope with their occupational risks and assist manages to maintain safety issues in  the workplace..  

Theoretical   Review

1. The human relations approach (1920) Elton Mayo

The  Human  Relation  Approach

Elton Mayo studies in the Hawthorne plant of the western electric company from 1927 – 1952 led to this approach. Although the Hawthorne experiment  were originally  designed to test the effect of physical  working  conditions such as illumination, lighting temperature  and  work schedules on workers productivity.

The conclusions  and  contributions  of the Hawthorne studies on human relations movement

1. That greater productivity can be achieved by strengthening the work groups rather  than  merely directing management attention  to the individual  as an isolated member of the
2. That it is not economic rationality  or financial incentives and rewards which strictly determine  human behaviors and  output rather group  dynamics and  norms and the human  desire to associate  to fulfill his social  and  optional needs are the main determinant of human action and the productivity of individual workers.
3. That an employee is most influence  by the people he or she works with. Thus, group production, standards  are  much more important than management of wage incentive  in affecting  individual output.
4. That special attention given  to workers by management increase productivity regardless of actual  changes in working conditions. This is known  as the Hawthorne

Recommendations of  Human  Relation  Approach

1. The humanization of technology organization structure and job  design  using the principles of job  enlargement, dencenrtlization, loose organization, human emphasis flexible procedure positive environment people orientation  among others.
2. A combination of the informal organization structure and the formal
3. An increase in welfare schemes and recreational facilities group

Justification for the theory adopted for the study

The study reviewed  the human  relations  theory wnich was used to  provides explanatory framework.

Empirical Review

Several empirical studies  have  been carried out on occupational safety management for instance in a study conducted by Erol (2019) on occupational  health and work safety systems in compliance with industry 4.0: research directions. The research adopted the structure  literature  review with  literature  process, divided into the  phases which  include selection of data base, selection of keywords, Elimjnation of papers, Analysis  and  research directions. The study concluded that if the technologies  of industry 4.0 grows in a disconnected manner and the occupational  health   and safety proposals of decision makers are disorganized risk will escalate and some of the benefits made in hazard blocking so for many be  missing. The study further concluded that more research is necessary to achieve that transformation smoothly since there have been very few research attempts with  respect to industry 4.0 related  OHS framework and their application.

Turkmenoglu (2021) conducted a study on occupational health and safety and job satisfaction the   research adopted  the quantitative method, two hundred and two participants were sampled from the furniture manufacturing firm in Bursa, Turkey. Questionnaire  were distributed and multiple  aggression was used to analyze  data. The findings revealed that occupational  health and safety  positively influence the job satisfaction of employees.

Linus (2021) conducted  a study on  effect of safety practices on  job performance  of  health care workers in Enugu state university teaching hospital, the study adapted a cross sectional study three hundred and fifty  health care workers were sampled. The result revealed that 95.4% agree that adherence to safety practices like  hand washing draping, waste segregation and  use of boots have  impact on quality of their job performance. Also 98% agree that the use of personal protective equipment like gloves,  face mask can reduce the risk of accidents.

In a study conducted by Perera  (2019) on Occupational  health and safety practice and job performance: Role of job satisfaction, the study adopted the descriptive  survey research design, questionnaire were distributed two hundred and fifty machine  operators in a manufacturing firm. The findings revealed significant influences among occupational  health and safety practices, job satisfaction and  job performance and job satisfaction fully mediated the relationship  between occupational  health  and safety practices and  job performance.

METHOD

In view of the  nature and scopes of this  study this research is  limited  to Lagos State  water ways authority\ , Ikoyi, Lagos State, Nigeria.

The total population is one hundred and eight and using Krejie and Morgan formular  a sample size  of eight six was arrived at. The organization has about 11 terminals  and 37 jetties in the five divisions  of  Lagos State, (Lagos Island, Epe, Ikorodu,  Badagry  Ikeja).  The  study adopted the survey descriptive research method data were collected using google form questionnaire. The questionnaire  was designed on a five point likert scale. Purposive  sampling  technique  was used, the occupational safety scale and water transportation scale were adapted from the institute  for work and  health (2016) &  Aiyegbaje & Dienne (2021) . The organization was chosen for convenience and availability of data and the choice of Lagos  State is based on the fact that it is the commercial  hub of Nigeria. The instrument  was pilot tested using the test  re test method and a reliability coefficient of  0.70 was obtained.

The  study made use of product moment correlation and multiple regression  in analyzing data  using  S.P.S.S 27.0 version.

Hypothesis One: There is no signifcant relationship between occupational safety awareness and water transportation in Lagos State.

Table 4.1: Correlation result of occupational safety awareness and water transportation in Lagos state.

		Occupational Safety Awareness	Water Transportation
Occupational Safety Awareness	Pearson Correlation	1	.945
	Sig. (2-tailed)		.000
	N	86	86
WaterTransportation	Pearson Correlation	.945**	1
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.000
	N	86	86
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was conducted to determine the relationship between occupational safety awareness and water transportation in Nigeria. The result in Table 4.1 shows that there is a positive significant correlation (r = .945 n = 86, p =<0.01) between occupational safety awareness and water transportation in Nigeria. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected, and concluded that there is a positive significant relationship between occupational safety awareness and water transportation in Nigeria. The finding implies that as occupational safety awareness increases , there is a tendency for  water transportation services to improve in Lagos State..

Hypothesis Two: There is no significant relationship between occupational Hazards and water transportation in Nigeria.

Table 4.2: Correlations result of Occupational Hazards and Water Transportation

		Occupational Hazards	Water Transportation
Occupational Hazards	Pearson Correlation	1	.839
	Sig. (2-tailed)		.000
	N	86	86
Water Transportation	Pearson Correlation	.839	1
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.000
	N	86	86
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was conducted to determine the relationship between occupational Hazards and water transportation in Nigeria. The result in Table 4.2 shows that there is a significant positive correlation (r = ..839^, n = 86, p =<0.01) between occupational Hazards and water transportation in Nigeria. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected, and concluded that there is a signifcant positive relationship between occupational Hazards and water transportation in Nigeria. The findings implies that as the level of inherent risks associated with water transportation activities rises, it poses significant threats to the safety and well-being of water transportation employees.

Hypothesis three

Ho₄:  There is no significant joint effect of occupational safety awareness and occupational hazards on water transportation in in Nigeria.

Table 4.3a. Model Summary

Model	R	R Square	Adjusted R Square	Std. Error of the Estimate
1	.976a	.952	.951	.41786
a. Predictors: (Constant), OccupationalHazards, Occupational_ SafetyAwareness

The model summary in table 4.3a shows the multiple correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination. The result shows that the R value of 0.976 indicates a high positive relationship between Occupational Hazards, Occupational Safety Awareness and water transportation services in Nigeria. while the R² value of .952 indicates that 95.2% total variation recorded in water transportation services was explained by Occupational Hazards, Occupational Safety Awareness.

Table 4.3 b : Summary of F-test result showing overall model fit

Model		Sum of Squares	Df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
1	Regression	286.031	2	143.015	819.072	.000b
	Residual	14.492	83	.175
	Total	300.523	85
a. Dependent Variable: Water Transportation
b. Predictors: (Constant), Occupational Hazards, Occupational Safety Awareness

Table 4.3b shows the significance of the model (model fit). The coefficient of F_{(2, 83)} =819.072 and significance value of 0.000 prob.< 0.01), shows that overall, the regression model statistically and significantly predicts water transportation services  in Nigeria .

Table 4.3c: Regression results showing joint effect of Occupational Hazards and Occupational Safety Awareness on water transportation services  in manufacturing sector in Nigeria

Model		Unstandardized Coefficients		Standardized Coefficients	t	Sig.
		B	Std. Error	Beta
1	(Constant)	-1.612	2.391		-.674	.502
	Occupational Safety Awareness	1.265	.061	.702	20.641	.000
	Occupational Hazards	-.712	.070	-.344	-10.109	.000
a. Dependent Variable: Water Transportation

Table 4.3c shows a multiple regression analysis of the joint effect of Occupational Hazards and Occupational Safety Awareness on water transportation services in Nigeria. The coefficient of Occupational Safety Awareness is 1.265 while the coefficient of Occupational Hazards is-712.Meanwhile the t values of the variables are 20.641 and-10.109 respectively.  From the result, it can be inferred that Occupational Safety Awareness (t₌20.641, prob. < 0.01) occupational Hazards (t₌-10.109, prob. < 0.01) predict water transportation services  in Nigeria.

This shows that employee involvement and Occupational Hazards and Occupational Safety Awareness have a significant impact on water transportation services in Nigeria. Higher levels of occupational safety awareness among workers in the water transportation sector are linked to increased activity or effectiveness in water transportation, as indicated by the positive coefficient (1.265) in the regression analysis’s coefficients. On the other hand, the negative coefficient (-0.712) suggests that the industry’s occupational dangers are associated with lower activity or efficacy in water transportation operations.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

Hypothesis one reveals the interaction between occupational safety awareness and water transportation.

The result shows there is a 94.5% strong and positive relationship between occupational safety   awareness and water transportation. The implication of this is that has occupational safety   awareness increases, there is a tendency for water transportation services to improve  in Lagos state.

The result corroborates with previous study of  Turkmenogly (2021).

Hypothesis two shows the relationship between occupational  hazard  and water transportation. The result reveals that there is a 83.9 strong and positive relationship between occupational  hazards and water transportation,. The implies  that has  risk associated with  water  transportation activities  increases, it posses  significant threats  to  the safety and well being of  people and  goals..

Hypothesis three revealed that combined effect of the indicators of occupational safety management on water transportation. The findings showed that there is a direct and positive  relationship  between occupational safety  management and water transportation.

The findings further revealed that occupational safety management  account for 95.2% of water transportation. This implies that occupational safety awareness and occupational hazard   contribute 95.2%  to the safety of water transportation.

The implication of this is that owners and managers of water transportation must ensure they continue to sensitize and enlighten their employees and customers on the need for them to keep to safety rules and standards to maximize accidents  and  hazards in water transportation. This result corroborates with previous study of Linus (2021)

CONCLUSION

The study concluded from its findings that the indicators of the management variable are good measures of occupational safety management. The study also concluded that occupational safety awareness and occupational hazard has a strong and positive relationship with water transportation system which implies that strict compliance to safety rules is expedient to ensure safety of lives and properties in water transportation system.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Based on the findings the following recommendations were made. The authorities responsible for regulating water transportation system must regularly sensitize and enlighten its employees and customers on the need to keep to safety rulers and  standard to prevent loss of  life  and  goods in  water transportation.
2. Managers and owners of water transportation business must ensure regular  maintenance of their boats, ferrys to make sure they are in good conditions.
3. The safety guards at every terminal and jetty must ensure every passenger put on his or her life
4. The authorities and managers of water transportation must also ensure that the boats and  Ferrys are not  overloaded to prevent any accident  on water
5. Finally where tidal variation between low and high tide is  high the use of floating jetties  should be built  in  such areas

REFERENCES

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