Occupational health and safety assessment of forestry workers (case study: Shafaroud forest company)

Due to lack of scientific information regarding to health and safety and in spite of the accidents and health problems of forest workers, this study was carried out on forestry workers of Shafaroud forest company in the west forest of Guilan province. Occupational health and safety, job satisfaction and cumulative fatigue symptoms of forest worker and effective factors on them were analysed by questionnaire. For this purpose, 100 workers were randomly selected and their response were gathered by interview method. 54 percent of workers were hurt on the job and the majority of them were felling and skidding workers. Although the use of safety devices are necessary to prevent the accidents, 20% of workers did not have the personal protective equipment. The employee job satisfaction in working groups were compared using Friedman test. The results showed that the felling and skidding workers had the highest dissatisfaction index compared with others. The most important reasons for worker dissatisfaction were the low wages and heavy work. Age, work experience, and type of work were the most important factors having a negative impact on job satisfaction. The study result for cumulative fatigue symptoms index showed that the value of feelings of anxiety and depression of psychological aspects and physical disorders, general fatigue from the physical point of view, were more than the standard values.