Asia Pacific Environmental and Occupational Health Journal

Objective: In Malaysia, the hierarchy of control (HoC) has been used for many years to manage workplace hazards and protect workers' safety and health. The HoC is a specific framework that identifies and implements control measures to reduce the risk of workplace hazards. Recently, the General Principles of Prevention (GPP) were introduced through an amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act to manage workplace hazards more broadly. GPP is a set of guidelines that help employers prevent workplace accidents and occupational diseases. The propose of the study is to identify the level of awareness and knowledge regarding the application of GPP for effective accident prevention at work among the employers and focusing in manufacturing and agriculture industry. Method: First, a questionnairesurvey was conducted among 226 respondents from various industries, including employers, practitioners, and employees who work in industries that need to comply with OSHA, to obtain an overview of their general knowledge about preventive culture. Then, specific questionnaires were developed tailored to the job scope of the related industry. The Manufacturing and Agriculture industries were chosen because they have a high rate of workplace accidents. A questionnaire was distributed to 75 duty holders from the agriculture sector, mainly from plantation, palm oil milling,and refinery sectors, and 100 respondents from the manufacturing industry. Findings: An average of 90% of respondents from various industries are aware of the general concept of preventive culture in the workplace. However, when answering a specific questionnaire in the manufacturing industry, only 40.6% of respondents were aware of GPP in manufacturing. In the agriculture industry, awareness and knowledge about GPP is very low, with 96% of respondentsnot aware of the GPP in the safety of agriculture. Only 4% were aware of the Principle of Prevention. Prevention in theagriculture industry is challenging because the workplace is often spread out, and workers may need to move around frequently to carry out different tasks, making it difficult to maintain constant supervision and ensure that safetyprocedures are being followed at all times. Conclusion: The level of awareness and understanding of GPP among stakeholders, particularly in the manufacturing and agriculture industries, is still relatively low and it suggests that there may be a need for greater awareness-raising and capacity-building activities to promote understanding and adoption of GPP among stakeholders.

Keywords: General Principle of Prevention (GPP), manufacturing, agriculture, HIRARC