A descriptive study of occupational hazards, safety provisions, health services and occupational diseases in RAM Foods, Incorporated

• Main Authors: Calogcog, Joyce, Cruz, Chris Ryan, Nadal, Irmina Shae
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1993
• Subjects: Occupational health and safety; Occupational diseases; Food industry; Labor and laboring classes > Medical care
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/9404
• Institution: De La Salle University

A descriptive study was done on the occupational hazards and related occupational diseases existing among factory workers in RAM Foods, Inc., a food and household care manufacturing company located in Cabuyao, Laguna. The total labor force examined was 330 of which 15 personnel's are involved in the administrative offices and 315 are involved in the actual production processes. The occupational health hazards were identified through ocular inspection of the various production processes in the household care, cannery and bottling departments. In relation to this, environmental parameters such as light intensity, noise, temperature and humidity were measured to evaluate the working areas where the workers are frequently exposed to. The identified occupational hazards were then specifically classified as physical, chemical or hazards due to cuts and abrasions. Thoroughly analyzing the medical records of the factory workers employed from January 1990 to December 1992 lead to the identification of the existing occupational diseases. Based on the results of the study, various afflictions of the different systems of the body, of which the most affected was the respiratory system, are still prevalent inspite of the company's implementation of a well-organized system of policies for the safeguarding of worker's health. The highest average percentage of incidence of diseases, meanwhile, occurred at the cannery department due to poor environmental working conditions such as ventilation and temperature.