Occupational Health and Safety Management System and Organizational Performance in Selected Industries in Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study adopted qualitative research design to examine Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) implementation and organizational performance of Food/ Beverage and Building/Construction industries in Cross River State, Nigeria. Three companies from each category and 25 workers from each company totaling 150 research subjects were selected for the study. Three research questions and three null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study, while the internationally accepted OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001 checklists, directed the preparation of a validated questionnaire which was used for data collection. Mean, standard deviation and Analysis of Variance were used for data analysis. Results showed significantly high and positive influence of OHSMS implementation on the performance of Food/ Beverage and Building/Construction industries in Cross River State. This stresses the strategic importance/need of OHSMS as a yard stick for organization and operation of every industry.  Comparatively however, a more significant influence of OHSMS implementation was recorded in Food/Beverage, indicating a difference in implementation level. Furthermore, each of all the OHSMS elements significantly influenced study industries, except for auditing, indicating that all the essential elements of OHSMS are important at every point of OHSMS implementation. However, more attention should be paid to auditing, in order to achieve a more reliable and successful implementation. In addition, OHSMS, with a consideration for local environment, was highly recommended for its application in all study industries, to bring about optimal performance in the areas of management influence and employee participation.