Analysis of the implementation of occupational safety and health standards at manufacturing companies in the city of Valledupar.

Introduction: Occupational safety and health is a process that requires the adoption of measures that guarantee the physical, social and mental wellness of a person, under normative parameters that must be met, supervised, and controlled.
Objectives: To diagnose occupational safety and health conditions at manufacturing companies in the city of Valledupar, Colombia.
Methods: The study focused on the development of a diagnosis on occupational health and safety conditions at manufacturing companies, based on the application of two instruments which focused mainly on identifying socioeconomic conditions of workers and determining the compliance status of the minimum occupational health and safety standards.
Results: According to the determined socioeconomic conditions of the workers participating in the study, it was found that, on average, the companies are complying with only 23% of all the requirements established in the resolution 0312 of 2019. Conclusions: Seventy percent of workers affirm that their companies are not taking any action to implement safety and health procedures at work.

Introduction

Occupational safety and health is a process that has been generated over the last years as a key element in the business development of any region; however, its purpose is focused not only on work productivity, better employees, the best way of doing things, etc. Instead, its mean interest is basically implementing actions aimed at preventing health damages, since this would reduce costs and enable investments to improve social, mental, and physical stability not only at the labor level but also at the society level, which is where the companies and their employees develop their actions. However, the first step is to understand workers’ conditions, which leads us to diagnose and understand the current status of occupation safety and health.

“The definition and assessment of public policies to prevent health damages and promote the well-being of the working population in Latin America and the Caribbean requires the strengthening of information systems on labor health”;[1] hence, it is to maintain updated data, especially in an industry like manufacturing, which, according to the Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism,[2] had a 0.3% increase in the number of workers employed in the production area, as well as a 0.1% increase in the number of those working in the management and sales area, compared to January 2018. Temporary employment increased by 1.2%, whereas permanent employment decreased by-0.4%, a factor of great importance, considering data from the Colombia’s National Administrative Department of Statistics[3] obtained in the 2018 manufacturing industry survey, which found that there are approximately 709,507 people working in this industry, and approximately 2,782 in the department of Cesar.

Resolution 0312 of 2019[4] established minimum standards consisting of an array of mandatory norms and procedures with which employers and contracting parties should comply. Furthermore, these standards establish, verify, and control minimal management and financial conditions for the functioning of the occupation safety and health system and should apply to all economic sectors in the country.

According to Beltrán-Hernández et al.,[5] the application of these regulations requires a starting point, in order to create strategies and programs that allow for the compliance with current regulations. This starting point becomes a diagnostic tool to identify weaknesses and opportunities that allow not only for regulatory compliance but also for preventive actions in occupational health.

Furthermore, it is worth stressing the importance of the company’’s top management team, since it includes the top executives, those who should establish the actions required for regulatory compliance. However, a study on the reasons of the breach of safety and health controls in the work showed that 58.15% of breaches complied with the political commitment of the company’s top management team. Other reasons included lack of economic resources and lack of decision power in position related to occupation safety and health.[6] With regard to the latter action, Vega-Monsalve[7] states that results will not be promising unless occupational safety and health is integrated in all company levels and an only person is in charge of managing this matter.

It is necessary that the system be comprehensive in all components of the company, in order to guarantee a full strategic management process that is not only responsible for ensuring health care but that also integrates social responsibility, focusing on employees in their socioeconomic dimensions and within the scope where the company develops, also involving environmental components. As Anaya-Velasco[8] proposed, “the Health and Safety at Work Model with Integral Management for Sustainability of Organizations (Modelo Salud y Seguridad en el Trabajo con Gestión Integral para la Sustentabilidad de las Organizaciones, SSeTGIS) is holistic, with an integral management of organizations from the perspective of occupational safety and health; without being limited to organizations themselves, but rather considering their natural and social environment, with quality and productivity”.

Lima (2002), cited in Castiblanque,[9] states that occupational safety and health problems observed in a study conducted in Spain and Portugal are associated not only with technical characteristics, but it is also important to consider employees’ social elements and cultural habits. Moreover, it is necessary to establish and identify these aspects, since they have a direct impact on accident rates, according to individual conditions, such as age, stress, depression, economic factors, and other conditions that create a block of information that enables to understand that conditions of occupational safety and health are related to company’s internal and external factors.

This investigation aimed to conduct the initial assessment of occupational safety and health processes according to the minimum standards established in decree 1072 of 2015 and to investigate the sociodemographic profile of workers from manufacturing companies according to decree 1072 of 2015 and resolution 2646 of 2008.

Methods

This investigation sought to diagnose occupational safety and health conditions at manufacturing companies, supported by two main components: workers’ socioeconomic conditions and minimum occupational safety and health standards. Study population was determined using information provided by the Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the sample was established through an inclusion and exclusion procedures.

This descriptive study was based on the administration of an instrument designed with the purpose of the population under study and their points of view. The instrument was administered at the respondent’s workplace, after an explanation of its objective and signing of an informed consent form supporting the following ethical considerations: respect for people and their autonomy; beneficence, i.e., to maximizing benefits and minimizing risks for research subjects; and non-maleficence, i.e., avoid doing harm to research subjects.

The fist data collection instrument focused on identifying workers’ socioeconomic conditions and addressed workers’ characteristics, housing characteristics, social security regime, physical conditions, etc. Meanwhile, the second instrument was based on resolution 0312,[4] which established the minimum standards with which companies must comply, according to the Colombian legislation.

The inclusion and exclusion process is specified in Figure 1:

Figure 1

Inclusion and exclusion process to determine study sample.

The collected information was analyzed by Epi Info and Excel software, where frequency analysis statistics was developed, and some variables were related in order to establish a certain behavior.

A preliminary analysis of literature systematic review of scientific information on occupational safety and health was conducted using the Scopus database, through the following equation: “Title-abs-key (“health and safety at work” )and [limit-to (pubyear, 2020 )or limit-to (pubyear, 2019 )or limit-to (pubyear, 2018 )or limit-to (pubyear, 2017 )or limit-to (pubyear, 2016 )]”. Metadata retrieved from the database showed that the area of knowledge with the greatest amount of information on occupation safety and health was engineering, accounting for 23.2% of the total of articles. Additionally, 56.8% of publications were scientific articles, and the country with greatest number of publications was Italy, with 21 publications, followed by Colombia, with nine. There has been also an increase in the number of publications on the theme, from 38 publications in 2016 to 41 in 2019, showing that it has gained importance over time.

Subsequently, metadata retrieved from Scopus database were exported to the VOSviewer software and a bibliometric data map was designed. The results for the trends on the theme of occupational safety and health are represented in Figure 2.

Figure 2

Bibliometric map on occupational safety and health.

Three clusters were identified. The first one had safety and health as the central theme and was related to risk assessment, industrial safety, industrial hygiene, occupational diseases, accidents, health risks, among others. The second one had human as the central theme and was related to data on female, male, adult, occupational health, safety, workplace, among others. Finally, the third one had health and safety at work as the central theme and was related to occupational medicine and prevention. When assessing the distribution of themes by year, it was observed that the latest topics addressed in the publications were: industrial hygiene, health and safety at work, ergonomics, and occupational risks.

Results

Workers’ socioeconomic conditions

Table 1 describes the most relevant characteristics of the population working in the manufacturing industry.

Table 1

General socioeconomic characteristics of the population working in the metal-mechanic industry

Variable	%
Age (years)
18-28	26
29-38	23
39-48	28
48 or older	28
Sex
Male	68
Female	32
Marital status
Single	34
Married	34
Common law marriage	28
Separated	4
Educational attainment
Elementary education degree	4
High school degree	47
Technician/technologist degree	30
Undergraduate degree	19
Type of housing
House	72
Apartment	24
Room	2
Not answer	2
Socioeconomic stratum
Stratum 1	11
Stratum 2	60
Stratum 3	17
Stratum 4	8
No answer	4
Public services available in the household
All	57
All, except for internet	43

With regard to housing conditions of workers in the manufacturing industry, 18% of workers declared they had household appliances to facilitate housework, such as fridge, television, microwave oven, washing machine, computer, car, and motorcycle, in addition to internet services; and 28% reported having all appliances, except for motorcycle and microwave oven. With regard to floor material of households, the predominant one was tiles, accounting for 78.72%.

When asked about the amount of time working in their current position, 40% of respondents affirmed that they had been working in the company for more than 5 years, and the same percentage reported working from 1 to 5 years in their current position. With regard to average month income, it was found that 49% of workers earn approximately one current minimum wage and 41% earned from 2 to 3 minimum wages. With regard to the characteristics of their positions, 38% of workers declared that they occupied a leadership position, and 26% reported having an operational position.

Moreover, 51% of respondents were covered by a contributory social security scheme and 46% by a subsidized social security scheme linked to a health promotion company (empresa promotora de salud [EPS] in Spanish). Additionally, 38% of workers affirmed that they were affiliated to a pension fund, of which 44.44% were affiliated to a public pension fund and only 28% are affiliated to an occupation hazards administrator (administradora de riesgos laborales [ARL] in Spanish); among these, 20% did not know the name of their ARL.

When questioned about their health habits, 51% of workers reported performing some physical activity; 85% reported not smoking; 49% reported consuming alcoholic beverages, of which 69% consumed them occasionally and 23% consumed them weekly; furthermore, 98% reported not using any type of psychoactive substance. When asked about their health status, 49% of respondents considered it was good and 26% excellent; moreover, 96% of respondents declared they did not have any disability, and only 2% declared they suffered from sensory disability.

Conditions for compliance of minimum occupational safety and health standards

Table 2 presents the degree of compliance of manufacturing companies with minimal standards of occupational safety and health.

Table 2

Compliance with minimal standards of occupational safety and health in the manufacturing industry

Standard	Answer
	Yes	No	NK/NA
1. Does the company review the curriculum vitae of the person who designed the OHSMS?	31.91%	57.45%	10.64%
2. Does the company assign economic resources to prevent occupational risks, and does it have evidence of this assignment?	42.55%	51.06%	6.39%
3. Are company’s employees affiliated to social security (pension, health insurance, and ARL)?	29.79%	55.32%	14.89%
4. Does the company have a COPASST?	8.51%	76.60%	14.89%
5. Does the company request meeting minutes and reports developed by the COPASST?	8.51%	76.60%	14.89%
6. Does the company have the meeting minutes and reports by the Labor Coexistence Committee (Comité de Convivencia Laboral)?	8.51%	74.47%	17.02%
7. Does the company have a training program and evidence of its execution?	31.91%	57.45%	10.64%
8. Does the company have a defined occupational safety and health policy?	48.94%	40.43%	10.63%
9. Does the company establish an Annual Work Plan that defines its objectives, goals, responsibilities, resources, and schedule?	42.55%	48.94%	8.51%
10. Does the company have an archive with supporting documents, pursuant to the current legislation?	34.04%	51.06%	14.90%
11. Does the company determine the sociodemographic profile and diagnose workers’ health conditions?	26.09%	58.70%	15.21%
12. Considering the diagnosis of health conditions, does the company develop occupational health activities and have evidence of their execution?	6.38%	74.47%	19.15%
13. Do company’s employees undergo admission, regular, and retirement medical tests?	23.40%	68.09%	8.51%
14. Does the company have a document addressing the recommendations issued by the EPS or ARL and showing how the company acted towards them?	25.53%	59.57%	14.90%
15. Does the company have evidence of receipt from Disability Qualification Boards?	6.38%	76.60%	17.02%
16. Have there been any occupational accidents or diseases?	25.53%	59.57%	14.90%
17. Are occupational accidents (FURAT) and occupational diseases (FUREL) reported to ARLs and health promotion and territory direction companies within two working days after the event?	12.77%	76.60%	10.63%
18. Does the company investigate work-related accidents within the periods established by the national legislation?	14.89%	65.96%	19.15%
19. Does the company identify its hazards, in addition to assessing and appraising risks?	46.81%	44.68%	8.51%
20. Does the company perform the maintenance of facilities, equipment, machinery, tools, and does it have evident of this maintenance?	61.70%	25.53%	12.77%
21. Does the company have a program on personal protection equipment to identify which equipment is required and how to use it, as well as to train staff and to have a replacement plan?	34.04%	57.45%	8.51%
22. Does the company have a prevention, preparedness and response plan for emergencies?	27.66%	63.83%	8.51%
23. Does it have a trained emergency brigade?	6.38%	85.11%	8.51%
24. Is compliance with the OHSMS validated by the management team?	14.89%	74.47%	10.64%

ARL = occupation hazards administrator (administradora de riesgos profesionales in Spanish); COPASST = Joint Committee on Safety and Health at Work (Comité Paritario de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo in Spanish); EPS = health promotion company (empresa promotora de salud in Spanish); FURAT = Unique Occupational Accident Report Form (Formato Único de Reporte de Accidentes de Trabajo in Spanish); FUREL = Unique Occupational Disease Report Form (Formato Único de Registro de Enfermedad Laboral in Spanish); NK/NA = Do not know/no answer; OHSMS = Occupational Health And Safety Management System.

Discussion

This investigation allowed us to diagnose occupational safety and health conditions at manufacturing companies, based on the following components: workers’ socioeconomic conditions and minimum occupational safety and health standards. Furthermore, the applied instruments revealed the current status of the manufacturing industry in terms of occupational safety and health.

In general, with regard to the application of occupational safety regulations, data from our instrument related to minimum standards point that, on average, only 25.82% of basic normative requirements are met by companies. This finding can be compared with a survey conducted in Germany assessing companies (of which 30.2% were manufacturing) found that only 23.9% of companies fulfilled all the legally required occupational safety and health measures.[10]

It is worth clarifying that, when determining the sample for the development of this project, there was the exclusion of microcompanies, whose rationale was based on data presented the annual report by the Federation of Colombian Insurers (Federación de Aseguradores Colombianos, Fasecolda),[11] which established that, as for Colombian companies, the greater the company, the higher the rate of labor formality. This is consistent with lo established by Hoge et al.,[10] who reported that the greater the company, the greater the capacity to implement occupational safety and health measures. Similarly, a study by Gómez et al.[12] with 102 companies in Ecuador, of which 23.5% were manufacturing, concluded that small companies where those with the lowest rates of compliance with legal requirements. Large companies, instead, comply with these requirements, due to their high level of entrepreneurial awareness, their willingness to maintain a system aimed at improving productivity, and their concerns on the liability of company’s owners.

It was also worth emphasizing that, in the case of Colombia, Fasecolda[11] observes that small companies, due to their limited staff, do not have a person in charge of occupational safety and health and, if they do, this person performs a great number of functions that prevent the creation of actions directed to prevention.

With regard to socioeconomic conditions, it is important to maintain a constant information flow and to maintain data updated, since most of these conditions have a direct impact on accident rate. This fact is evidenced in a study on accidentability in southern Europe conducted by Castiblanque,[9] whose analysis of accident rates by sex revealed that men were more likely to suffer an accident than women and that, if considering psychosocial conditions, such as occupational diseases, the rates of accidents could increase to 40% compared to women. With regard to age, the author reports that young individuals tend to exhibit greater accident rates than adult individuals; as for employment relationship, people with temporary employments were found to have a higher rate of occupational accidents.

It is important to maintain processes that allow for the development of actions to maintain workers affiliated to the social security system, as expressed by Campos et al.[13]: “strengthening labor legislation in terms of labor rights, social security, health insurance, and health care professional’s security”. This aspect was evidenced in the manufacturing industry of the city of Valledupar, since the analysis of the instrument showed that 98% of respondents reported being affiliated to an EPS, which is an important condition for the management of worker’s health. However, only 28% of respondents were affiliated to an ARL. Nonetheless, this finding should be counterbalanced, since an analysis of data on standard compliance revealed that 55% of business owners reported affiliating their employees to social security.

With regard to the development of an occupational safety and health program, a Portuguese diagnostic study on the application of the ISO 45000 standard[14] observed that 88% of companies complied with requirements of identification, evaluation, and control of occupational risks; analysis of occupational accidents, internal inspections, and audits; among others. Conversely, this investigation showed that only 50% of companies performed risk identification and only 30% conduct an analysis of work accidents.

An analysis on whether companies are performing occupational medical tests, a determining factor in the development of occupational safety and health programs, demonstrated that 68% of the companies surveyed did not perform these tests; a result similar to that of a study conducted in Ecuador, which found that 79% of companies did not perform occupational tests.[15]

The development of this investigation represents the first step for the establishment of actions aimed at improving occupational safety and health at manufacturing companies and allows us to understand which factors should be subjected to more recurrent processes. However, it is worth considering Cespedes and Martinez,[16] who state that “Deficiencies in the conception of occupational safety and health management system are not only of normative nature, but also arise from the interpretation and application of the legal standards that regulate the institution”. Therefore, there is the need to conduct studies to determine how companies are assimilating occupational safety and health processes.

Conclusions

An analysis of socioeconomic conditions of workers in the manufacturing industry showed that 56% of them are older than 39 years; 68% are men; and 50% had only the high school degree. Furthermore, 60% of workers belong to stratum 2, living under appropriate housing conditions, although 43% reported having internet.

With regard to working conditions, it was found that 40% of study respondents had been working in the company for more than 5 years and 41% from 1 to 5 years, on average, which reveals work stability and specialization in the industry. As for income, 49% of works received an average of one minimum wage; an analysis of affiliation to the social security system revealed that 98% of study participants were affiliated to an EPS; however, only 28% were affiliated to an ARL.

When asked about their health status, workers, in general, reported taking actions to maintain good health, e.g., 98% do not use psychoactive substances and 85% did not smoke. Nonetheless, healthy life habits should be encouraged and promoted, since only of 51% of study respondents play any sport.

With regard to occupational safety and health standards, there is a concern on how this normative process has been assimilated, since, on average, 75% of study respondents declared that their companies are not taking any action. Therefore, interventions should be implemented by government entities, with the support of academic institutions, in order to develop strategies to minimize this non-compliance indicator.