Investigating Safety Standards and Occupational Hazards in the Timber Sector: An Assessment of Timber Market in Multan, Pakistan

The timber industry is associated with extremely hazardous working conditions that threaten human health or even life. In Pakistan, little or almost no data is available on safety standards or occupational hazards related to this industry. This study was designed to assess the current scenario of occupational hazards and safety standards in the timber market of Multan and the impact of personal protective equipment (PPE) at the workplace. A standardized questionnaire method was used to interview the individual stakeholders and timber market workers. A total of 150 respondents were included in the interview, with 3 different age groups. The analysis examined the impact of PPE use on various health problems and injury rates, considering differences by work hours and experience. Our findings showed that the use of PPE reduced the occurrence of serious injuries such as fractures. However, injury rates are also associated with work experience (increasing with decreasing experience). The investigation showed that middle-career workers worked significantly longer shifts. Based on our findings, it is strongly recommended that timber industry stakeholders enforce the consistent use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to mitigate serious injuries and targeted safety training programs should be mandated for all employees. Future work should focus on the long-term impact of adjusting working hours alongside PPE usage. This can be used to design practical measures for reducing injury and sustainable work conditions in the timber industry.

Keywords: Timber market; Occupational hazards; Safety standards; personal protective equipment.