Ghana: Roadside Mechanics Workplace Health

Workplace Health Without Borders (WHWB) mission is to engage Occupational Hygiene, Health and Safety Professionals in ensuring that workers and employers throughout the world have the expertise, knowledge and means to prevent work-related disease. Our vision is a world where workers, their families and communities do not get ill because of their work.

Work-related disease kills 2 million people a year around the world more than other well-recognised global health and safety challenges like HIV/AIDS, armed conflict and automobile crashes. Another 160 million people in the world get ill every year from Occupational Health hazards. Not only adults are affected: 168 million of the world’s children are child labourers, half of whom work in hazardous conditions. For more details please refer to: https://www.whwb.org .

There is recognition that greater challenges exist in parts of the world where perhaps, historically, less import has been placed upon the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) of individuals. The challenge is being accepted by many countries where increasing numbers of practitioners are promoting an understanding and appreciation of good OHS practices.

WHWB is seeking funding for a project in the informal sector in Ghana, namely, Roadside Mechanics Shop Activities. This project commenced in Q3 2022 and we aim to complete the project by Q4 2023.

To carry out this project, we will need $8,000 (USD). Please help WHWB to carry out this project – your donations will be gratefully received and will help WHWB tackle OHS and workplace health issues in Ghana.

By supporting our mission, you have an opportunity to help these worthy causes toward better workplace health. Please help this appeal by donating what you can afford. If this funding campaign is successful, any monies raised over our target will be used to help our future endeavours keep people healthy and safe. We thank you for your support.

Ghana has a large informal work sector which makes up close to 85% of the urban economy . This sector has minimal regulated working conditions, with workers having to rely on seasonal or production demand-based work.

An example of such groups of informal workers, are roadside mechanic shops of Ghana. Such groups are located next to busy roads, and carry out a range of vehicle repair and maintenance activities.

This project will be carried out at roadside mechanic shop activities, to investigate existing workplace exposures to dusts, metals and other hazardous substances, noise and ergonomic aspects, and then to develop and implement appropriate control strategies to reduce such exposures. The Roadside Mechanics Shop Groups sector is an informal work sector, which consist of disadvantaged and underserved working populations and their families.

This project is a collaboration between Ghana-based personnel (Ebenezer Ofori, Helena Maku Teye, University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) personnel), UK-based and Belgian-based WHWB members (Dr Dave Rogers, Steven Verpaele), and other WHWB members as available.

The Ghanaian regulatory authorities, whilst keen to improve the regulation of this sector, are currently not well-informed of occupational/industrial hygiene aspects and do not have the technical resources to recognise, evaluate or control workplace health exposures. The outcomes of this project will be available to the Ghanaian regulatory authorities, to improve workplace health matters in this industrial sector.

The outcomes of this project will help to increase the awareness of workplace health issues in this sector, and will allow the implementation of appropriate workplace control strategies to improve workplace health conditions.

The project findings will be available to WHWB to disseminate as they wish.

More details of the project are provided in the following seven tasks:

Task 1: Identification and Recruitment of Roadside Mechanics Shop Groups

The UMaT team (supervised by Dr Eric Stemn) is working together with Ebenezer Ofori to identify and recruit appropriate Roadside Mechanics Shop Groups into this project. UMaT currently has an MoU with the association of Garages in Tarkwa, where UMaT student spends at least a day of the week with the mechanic for learning purposes. Therefore, the project will leverage on the existing MoU between UMaT and the mechanics to recruit research participants. Considering the project will involve human participants, ethical clearance will be sought from the UMaT Human Research Ethical Committee. This process will clarify some ethical considerations, including, anonymity, confidentiality, voluntary participants, informed consent, among others.

The in-country team will develop and issue the relevant Memoranda of Understanding documents, which will set out the commitments for each group to the project, the freedom of information aspects, their agreements for Tasks 2 to 6 (see below) to occur, the publicity of the project during its activities, and their willingness for the ongoing implementation of actions and control measures that come out of this project.

Work has commenced on this task and initial meetings have been held with Mechanics Shop Groups.

Task 2: Initial Workplace Assessments

Ebenezer Ofori will work together with the UMaT team (supervised by Dr Eric Stemn) to carry out initial workplace assessments at the 5 to 10 selected Roadside Mechanics Shop Groups.

An ‘Initial Workplace Assessment’ format will be developed and will be reviewed by Dr Dave Rogers prior to its use.

The ‘Initial Workplace Assessment’ will include relevant workplace health and safety aspects for the Roadside Mechanics Shop sector, together with legal compliance and management aspects. Example topic areas for the initial workplace assessment are: hazardous substances use, exposure and management; noise; vibration; ergonomics; thermal environment; existing control measures for workplace exposures; manual handling; PPE use; workplace health and safety training and worker awareness; workplace health and safety management, procedures and inspections; interactions with regulatory authorities and industry organisations; and family and community impacts of workplaces.

The ‘Initial Workplace Assessment’ will be completed for each group by Ebenezer Ofori and selected members of the UMaT team, and will be based on site visits of one day at each group’s working site, and review of relevant documents provided by each group.

Task 3: Field Occupational/Industrial Hygiene Monitoring (Air)

Air monitoring surveys will be conducted at each site, in accordance with the industrial/occupational hygiene monitoring plans developed in Task 2. UMaT students would assist Ebenezer with these field activities.

It is anticipated that the following parameters maybe included in the air monitoring surveys: total inhalable dust, metals, welding fumes, diesel engine exhaust emissions, and other hazardous substances such as degreasers, paints, isocyanates and solvents.

Currently Ebenezer Ofori has one air pump. To carry out Task 3, additional air pumps, sampling heads and tubing, and an air flow calibrator will be required. SKC UK has refurbished old but now functional air monitoring equipment donated by Dave Rogers. To get such donated equipment to Ghana will require that the freight costs be covered.

Sample media provision and analyses are unlikely to be able to be carried out effectively in Ghana. Sample media provision and analyses will be carried out through Steven Verpaele at the Belgian Center for Occupational Hygiene (BeCOH).

Task 4: Field Occupational/Industrial Hygiene Monitoring (Noise)

Noise monitoring surveys will be conducted at each site, in accordance with the industrial/occupational hygiene monitoring plans developed in Task 2. UMaT students would assist Ebenezer with these field activities.

Currently Ebenezer Ofori has access to a sound level meter which may be able to be used during this project.

As well as sound level meter readings, it would also be useful to carry out noise dosimetry measurements.

It would thus be very helpful if a sound level meter, noise dosimeters and calibrators could be donated to Ebenezer Ofori and used for this project. It is currently not clear if such equipment would be available through WHWB UK or WHWB international.

Task 5: Field Occupational/Industrial Hygiene Monitoring (Ergonomics)

Workplace and work task ergonomic surveys will be conducted at each site, in accordance with the industrial/occupational hygiene monitoring plans developed in Task 2. UMaT students would assist Ebenezer with these field activities.

The ergonomic surveys will include use of the UK HSE’s MAC and ART tools.

Task 6: Project Data Aggregation and Overall Project Report

The data from Tasks 1 to 5 will be aggregated and evaluated using statistical methods and graphical representations.

An overall project report will be produced, which includes the data aggregation and evaluation. This report will allow a project summary to be produced for wider distribution (e.g. to regulatory authorities in Ghana, WHWB UK and WHWB internationally, and through the BOHS, AIHA and other international workplace health organisations).

The dissemination of the result of the study is key as it could inform some policy direction. Therefore, government institutions including ministries must be considered as part of those to receive the report. The Minister/Ministry of Labour and Employment Relations comes to mind for this project.

Additionally, the findings could also be communicated to the project participants – mechanic and a wider group with similar characteristics as the research participants.

Task 7: Action Plan Development and Ongoing Implementation

Action Plans will be developed for both the overall project and for each site. These action plans will include appropriate workplace control strategies to improve workplace health conditions at these sites.

To ensure that these action plans are effectively implemented, Task 7 will also summarise the implementation needs and possible ongoing project support aspects.

The following Measures of Success are proposed for this project:

• Recruitment of 5 Roadside Mechanics Shop Groups to the project;

• Air, noise and ergonomics monitoring reports for 5 Roadside Mechanics Shop Groups;

• Overall Project Report which allows a project summary to be produced for wider distribution, based on the data aggregation and evaluation; and

• Action plans for 5 Roadside Mechanics Shop Groups which include appropriate workplace control strategies to improve workplace health conditions at these sites.

• The Roadside Mechanics Shop Groups sector is an informal work sector, which is poorly regulated in Ghana.