An ergonomics to occupational healty and safety shipyard practices

Turkey has to be aware of the need for investment in human factor in addition to all the other items of investment required to become an industrialised country as she enters the 21st century. The most critical resource in industry is the work fone. Every contribution to its education and protection has an improving effect in the efficiency, competitiveness and stability of production. This includes the fact that protection of health and safety at work are not only humanistic but also economic arguments. It must be noted that such arguments and the effort fowards improvemets must be carried out vithin the discipline of the science of "Health and Safety at Work". The fact that the number of occupational accidents is high together with proportionally significant material and immaterial loses necessitate wider recognition of the insues both by the labor force and the employers. The aim of this study is to approach the occupational health and safety from the industrial engineering point of view with reference to ergonomics. By this approach, the basis for discussion is widened and the gains and improvements which may be achieved by consistent and methodical work are demonstrated. The practical part of the work is carried out in eight shipyards in Istanbul. Of the eight, one is a naval yard, three are state owned yards and four belong to the priuate sector. The total workfone in these establishments reach 5500. The occupational accident statistics taken into consideration cover the ten years period from 1983-1992. In addition, in terms of the general picture in Turkey, the general statistics of occupational accidents from 1972 to 1991 are investigated in a comparative manner. In the inroductory chapter, it is emphasised that the improvement, by a humanistic aproach, the of work conditions and environment is an important issue not only in developed countries but also in countries on their way to industrilisation. Research in this area shows that the inefficient industrial practices in developing countries