Abstract:
For a long time, water infrastructures have remained neglected, the state of facilities has contributed to poor service delivery in the water sector. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) practices on workplace environment in the water service industry. The target population of the study was 80, being the numbers from Kisumu County water service provider (Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company Limited) and Lake Victoria South Water Service Board, working in the construction and operations of water and sanitation facilities. A Census and simple random sampling was employed to draw the respondents from each site and self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to acquire data due to specificity and limited number of staff in the target facilities. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Frequencies and percentages were obtained and correlations done using Spearman’s rho correlation coefficients for rank correlation (Statistical dependence between the ranking of two variables). The results indicated that 72.4% of staff were aware of existence of Safety and Health Act of 2007.The research found that enhancing awareness among staff on the occupational safety and health improves work environment, r (76) =.0363,p=0.001, CL = 95%.If exposure to hazards and risks are reduced then the work environment would improve r (76) = -0.095,p=0.413. CL=95%. Majority of the respondents at 59(77.6%) stated that the employer enforced health and safety regulations. The research concluded that practicing occupational safety and health increases the chances of conducive working environment. There exists significant relationship between Occupational Safety and Health practices and management, and workplace environment in the water service industry in Kenya. The management of water service industry should give immediate attention to Biological and Chemical risks while other risks are given attention in the near future. The water sector should increase staff sensitization on occupational safety and health. This study suggests further investigations on the impact of the current biological and chemical risks among staff in the water sector industry.
