Identifier

etd-11112012-155620

Degree

Master of Science in Industrial Engineering (MSIE)

Department

Construction Management

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The occupational injury rate in the manufacturing sector is higher than the average of all private industries, necessitating safety studies. Occupational safety can be measured through different approaches. Safety climate, a predictive measure of safety, studies the workers’ perceptions of safety of the workplace. This measure includes several dimensions of safety like management commitment, involvement and work place hazard evaluation and was chosen as a method of evaluation in this study. Even though occupational safety is an important concern, management often prioritizes reducing waste and cost. So, there is a necessity for some technique which reduces waste and simultaneously improves safety. Lean has been effective in reducing waste and costs. Researchers have shown that lean might improve occupational safety too. Nevertheless, empirical evidence to prove the relationship between the two is insufficient. In this study, 5S, a lean technique, was implemented in a manufacturing company and its impact on safety climate of the workers was studied to show the relationship between lean and safety climate of the workers. Case and control groups took the Safety Climate Assessment Toolkit, a safety climate questionnaire, both before and after the 5S event. The effectiveness of the 5S event was determined through three productivity measures (cycle time, floor space utilized, ratio between inventory and units produced). Statistical analysis showed that the safety climate of the manufacturing workers increased after the 5S event (p value = 0.0085). The 5S event was also shown to be effective. The cycle time was reduced by 16.6% and floor space utilization decreased by 22.2%. 5S not only improved the processes by reducing waste and costs, but also improved the safety climate of workers.

Date

2012

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Ikuma, Laura

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.396

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