By Dr Irungu Maina – Coffee specialist offering services in the industry
I have been encouraging farmers to increase production and improve the quality of coffee to improve the earnings.
Coffee farming, processing and trading, just like any other business has the revenue and costs. The difference between this is the profit/loss.
Some costs are unavoidable and are necessary for a firm to make profits through production. Other costs are unnecessary and can be avoided to increase the profits.
Recently we have read about fires erupting in the workplace causing deaths, suffering and losses. This can happen in any working place if care is not taken. In coffee factories fire can be caused by electrical faults, ignition sources like cigarettes etc. This can be supported by the sisal bags, dry parchment and other materials.
The Directorate of occupational as Safety and health Services (DOSHS) has given guidelines in terms of laws, regulations and subsidiary legislations that help workplaces to have practices that ensure safety. When these are adhered to the work place will be safe for the workers and other people who are lawfully present at any time.
Failure to follow the guidelines may lead to huge losses in terms of accidents and also fines and penalties in courts of law.
It is therefore in the best interests of any coffee factory, as a workplace, to follow the guidelines to avoid the losses.
Oftenly employers argue that their premises do not qualify to be a place of work and therefore not bound by the occupational safety and health act. This act applies to all workplaces. In law a workplace is said to include any land,
premises, location, vessel or thing, at, in, upon, or near which, a worker is, in the course of employment.
It is so evident that a coffee factory and also a coffee farm falls squarely within the legal definition of a workplace and therefore bound by the occupational safety and health act and the subsidiary laws touching on matters of safety.
As a basic requirement a coffee factory should be registered by DOSHS. When a workplace is registered the authority is aware of its existence. This makes the workplace inspection officers make routine inspections where they offer advice on how to improve the workplace safety. This reduces potential accidents significantly.
Whereas one pays Kshs 6, 500 to register a workplace the fine for operating an unregistered work place is Kshs 100, 000.
A factory needs to undertake a safety audit every twelve months. This requires the engagement of an approved safety advisor who undertakes the workplace audit and advises the management and the employees on how to improve the workplace.
Failure to comply with tis can make the factory occupier be fined up to Kshs 500, 000 or be imprisoned.
There is also a requirement for a factory to undertake fire safety audits and carry out risk assessments failure to which one can be slapped with fines.
Where an accident occurs the occupier is supposed to report it to the area DOSHS officer. Whereas reporting is free, failure to report can attract a penalty of up to Kshs 200, 000. There are other provisions like how to manage pressure vessels, lifting equipment, pressure vessels, and staff training requirements that factories and other workplaces need to get familiar with.
A non-compliant factory may be given improvement or prohibition orders. This may range from orders to improve some processes or closing down the factory until there is total compliance.
The coffee factory management needs to put up safety systems. This should not to avoid penalties but for moral reasons as human beings because the vocation of a human being, unlike a beastly animal, is to do and be good.
Dr Irungu Maina
Coffee specialist offering services in the industry
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