Comparative Study of Safety Awareness and Compliance between Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria

Abstract

The aim of this study is to conduct a comparative analysis of safety awareness and compliance between small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria. The study utilized a structured questionnaire to collect data from 179 respondents, including workers from both small and medium-scale manufacturing companies. The mean scores were computed for the various safety awareness constructs to have the general safety level awareness for both small and medium-scale companies. Z-test was utilized to establish a significant difference in the safety awareness level between small and medium-scale workers. Principal Component Analysis was used to unravel structures or patterns in the safety awareness level among the workers. The findings revealed that medium-scale company workers generally exhibited significantly higher levels of safety awareness compared to their counterparts in small-scale companies. The principal component analysis (PCA) result highlighted the distinction between management-level and individual-level safety awareness factors, indicating the need for tailored interventions for small and medium-scale companies.