PreprintArticleVersion 1Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Assessment of Health Problems and Hazards Prevalent among Garment Workers in a Developing Country: An Approach using Risk Priority Number and Best-Worst Method
Version 1
: Received: 1 March 2024 / Approved: 1 March 2024 / Online: 1 March 2024 (16:53:25 CET)
How to cite:
Islam, F. Assessment of Health Problems and Hazards Prevalent among Garment Workers in a Developing Country: An Approach using Risk Priority Number and Best-Worst Method. Preprints2024, 2024030066. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0066.v1
Islam, F. Assessment of Health Problems and Hazards Prevalent among Garment Workers in a Developing Country: An Approach using Risk Priority Number and Best-Worst Method. Preprints 2024, 2024030066. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0066.v1
Islam, F. Assessment of Health Problems and Hazards Prevalent among Garment Workers in a Developing Country: An Approach using Risk Priority Number and Best-Worst Method. Preprints2024, 2024030066. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0066.v1
APA Style
Islam, F. (2024). Assessment of Health Problems and Hazards Prevalent among Garment Workers in a Developing Country: An Approach using Risk Priority Number and Best-Worst Method. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0066.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Islam, F. 2024 "Assessment of Health Problems and Hazards Prevalent among Garment Workers in a Developing Country: An Approach using Risk Priority Number and Best-Worst Method" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0066.v1
Abstract
The contribution of readymade garment (RMG) industry is immense behind the rapid development of some countries with emerging economies. This industry is empowering these countries to provide employment opportunities for millions of people. However, the health as well as safety issues of the workers in this industry are often ignored, particularly in these developing countries. In recent times, because of the several undesirable and obnoxious conditions that exist in their working environments, they are vulnerable to various health related problems which are increasing at a staggering rate. The main purpose of this paper is to assess and prioritize the major health related problems faced by these garment workers in these countries where the economy is flourishing. In addition, the main hazards responsible for these health perils are also quantified. Data were collected from three different garment factories situated in different locations of Bangladesh. Thirty workers from each factory rated the frequency and severity of 14 health related issues. The health risks were then assessed and prioritized through risk priority number (RPN). Afterwards, three experts provided their opinion on the main hazards prevalent in the workplace of almost every garment factory in this country. These hazards were grouped into four main classes which are: 1) Physical 2) Ergonomic 3) Chemical and 4) Psychological hazards. The main classes were later divided into sub classes also. Best-worst method (BWM) was then applied to analyze these hazards by assessing their relative weights depending on the experts’ judgement. The results showed that the health issues faced by the workers in three different garment factories varied to some extent. The results obtained from the experts’ opinion indicated that physical hazards in the workplace are the most detrimental ones whereas the chemical hazards were the least harmful.
Keywords
Risk assessment, Garment industry, RMG, Health risks, Best-worst method, MCDM
Subject
Engineering, Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
