Safety awareness of practitioners in the Cypriot manufacturing sector

Purpose: In the last few years a number of industrial catastrophes in the Cypriot manufacturing sector have taken place, resulting in losses of millions of Euro and disrupting the industrial production for days and, in a few cases, weeks and months. In the absence of official (or unofficial) statistics regarding the fire preparedness of small and medium enterprises in terms of policy, training and equipment, the purpose of this paper is to gather information and opinions about the current safety situation in the Cypriot manufacturing sector. Design/methodology/approach: Results from a nationwide survey in Nicosia are presented in this paper. A closed questionnaire concentrating on industrial (manufacturing) premises affected and non-affected by a previous fire incident was devised and used in a weighted sample of companies. An open questionnaire was employed for interviewing the managers of fire-stricken companies. Four industrial areas in Nicosia are under investigation in this study and results are presented. Findings: The findings of this paper suggest that although, in general, the safety situation is at a relatively good level, there is room for improvement. Originality/value: This paper discusses the beliefs of the safety managers in relation to safety in their premises and attempts to create a comparison between their opinion and the existing safety cultures in the Cypriot manufacturing sector.