Occupational safety risk assessment inknife manufacturing companies

Knife manufacturing workplaces in Turkey is at the level of SME and they are located in terms of NACE code 25.71 business group. All of this group is in the dangerous class. Although the rate of work accidents resulting in death is low in these manufacturing workshops, significant injuries and near miss events are encountered. In these small-capital workplaces, real data on the health and safety of employees are needed. In order to achieve this aim, it is necessary to identify the sources of danger in different workplaces that manufacture knives, to determine the dangers and risks caused by these sources, and to make suggestions for risk control measures, and to create documents that will guide for knife manufacturing workplaces. The main aim of this study is to determine the hazards and risks in the workshops that produce knives and to determine what should be done in order to analyze these risks and to reduce them to acceptable level. In this study, two knife manufacturing workshops were selected as application field. Environmental conditions in the workshops, manufacturing process and equipment usage are examined. The main dangers are; the workshop environment is irregular, incorrect and close positioning of the machines, insufficient electrical installation, uneducated employees, and the occupational health and safety legal requirements are not met. Determined hazards and risks were evaluated by using L type matrix method. According to the results, it has been determined that the greatest risk values in the workplaces that manufacture knives have not been taken as fire precautions, insufficient ventilation systems and the misuse of the machines. Measures to be taken to eliminate or reduce the risks are determined.