Abstract
Poor health and safety record impact on the image/reputation and operational capabilities of businesses, especially those within the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. Given the role of SMEs in the economy, this paper attempts to highlight the issue of poor health and safety performance of the SME sector and suggest a strategy for improving the level of performance. To this end, survey questionnaires were distributed to assess the overall awareness of people about health and safety issues, motivations and constraints, vis-a-viz supply chain improvement initiatives. Based on the findings (responses from questionnaires) and existing literature, the unique characteristics of the supply chain network makes it a suitable medium through which health and safety improvement in small and mediumsized enterprises can be realised. Additionally, the findings show that good health and safety management culture enhances image, lowers costs, and improves the overall competitiveness of organisations. To complement the efforts/desires of health and safety regulators, there is need to leverage on the relationships that exist in supply chains, shown in this exercise to have a major influence on the activities of organisations.
Highlights
There are indications that in spite of the contribution of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector to national economies, efforts at improving health and safety standard of this sector have not produced intended results
Important is the exploration of other health and safety improvement initiatives [15] that would enable SMEs to benefit from the initiatives, knowledge and capabilities of others [9]
This paper has explored factors that deter SMEs from effectively managing health and safety within their organizations
Summary
There are indications that in spite of the contribution of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector to national economies, efforts at improving health and safety standard of this sector have not produced intended results. This conclusion is informed by the noticeable gaps in the implementation of health and safety laws, and compliance with these laws by SMEs [1], and the greater challenges encountered by SMEs in developing and maintaining health and safety programmes than their larger counterparts [2,3,4,5,6]. Important is the exploration of other health and safety improvement initiatives [15] that would enable SMEs to benefit from the initiatives, knowledge and capabilities of others [9]
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