Assessment of occupational risks in a citrus fruit extraction company in Morocco

Abstract

The human and financial consequences of work-related accidents are major for companies and their staff. In this context, we proposed to undertake a study based on the Evaluation of Occupational Risks (EvOR) within a company processing citrus fruits into juice in its various work units. The aim of our work was to identify and prioritize the existing occupational risks and to propose preventive and corrective actions and adequate and adapted protection measures. First of all, we carried out an analysis of the work accidents that occurred in the company, and we noted an increase in the number of days off work due to work accidents, approximately 320 days per year. We then concluded that 55% of the accidents that occurred were considered to be of medium and fairly serious gravity. The method we adopted is that of the INRS and is based on five fundamental steps: inventory of work units, identification of risks, estimation of the seriousness of damage, prioritization of risks and development of a corrective and preventive action plan. The main risks identified are mainly organizational, biological, chemical, mechanical and technical. Based on the results of this analysis, we proposed a corrective and preventive action plan to the employer to eliminate or reduce the identified risks to an acceptable level, and subsequently improve the working conditions of the employees while complying with the normative and legislative texts in force.