AN EMPIRICAL, PERCEPTUAL INVESTIGATION OF ACCIDENTS AND SAFETY CULTURE IN FIRMS ENGAGED IN SRI LANKAN APPAREL INDUSTRY

The most vital resource of an organization is its human resources -the people who work in the organization. People are essential for the effective operation of a company. To meet the challenges and competitive atmosphere of today’s business environment, managers must recognize the potential of human resources, and then acquire, develop and retain these resources with minimum accidents. This study aims at determining the accidents and safety culture in the three firms engaged in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted among the sample of 150 employees who were randomly selected from the three garment factories, of which 130 employees responded to the survey. Respondents were asked to indicate their agreement on five point Likert Scale. Data analysis was conducted by using Statistical Package of Social Sciences. The levels of measurement of the variables were interval and relevant statistical techniques for these measures under univariate and bivariate statistical analyses were used. The findings of the study revealed that there is a negative relationship between the accidents and safety culture in the three firms engaged in the apparel industry. The results of univariate analysis indicated that the level of accidents was moderate in general. The findings and information gathered in this study could be used for further research, which will assist in many ways to improve the safety culture and reduce accidents in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka. Keywords: Accidents, Acquire, Apparel Industry, Develop, Retain, Safety Culture For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.l