Knowledge, attitude, and perception of risk management of steam boilers among workers in palm oil mills

People who work with the steam boilers in palm oil mills are vulnerable to accidents, notably to explosions, whenever failures of any kind occur during their operation.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in palm oil mills to determine the knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP) concerning the risk management of steam boilers among workers in palm oil mills.

A total of 50 workers who were working with steam boilers and/or involved in managing the operation of steam boilers with at least three years of working experience in the palm oil industry were purposively sampled. A self-administrated questionnaire consisting of four main parts - socio-demographic and occupational information, knowledge, attitude, and perception of the risk management of steam boilers was distributed. The knowledge, attitude, and perception were calculated based on a Likert-type scale.

This study found that 56% of boiler workers had a good level of knowledge (mean score = 77.22±19.6), 72% had a good attitude toward risk (mean score = 83.17±5.85), and 64% had a good perception of risk (mean score = 79.50±11.22). The prevalence of accidents was 16%, and, for near misses, it was 24%. The cause of the reported accidents was largely attributed to carelessness, specifically at 80%. Apart from that, there was a positive association (χ2 = 6.56; p = 0.010) between attitude and accidents.

This study found that the workers had good KAP levels of risk management of steam boilers in palm oil mills. However, there is a need for the employers to revise the training of workers and ensure its effectiveness in heightening the awareness of risks and accidents despite the high level of KAP.