Industrial Accident and Safety Hazards at the Workplace: A Spatio-Physical Workplace Approach

The challenge facing management from time immemorial is that of creating a work environment that not only attracts, keeps and motivates its workforce, but also organizes the workplace in such a way as to ensure the safety and health of the workforce. The organization of the workplace should also provide proactive ways of evacuating the workforce and preventing neighbours from being injured in cases of workplace accidents and hazardous disasters. Focusing on the situation in Nigeria, this treatise examines the interrelationship between health and safety and the layout of the physical work environment. Although, there is dearth of material on this area, researchers have established that good physical layout of the workplace coupled with efficient management processes prevents unnecessary accidents at the workplace and boost productivity and improves organizational performance. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p294