| dc.description.abstract | Over the past decades, there has been enormous increase in the number of disasters in the global petroleum industry. At a continental level, Africa has experienced many disasters in the downstream sector of the industry. Kenya has had its share of disasters in the petroleum industry, with a number of these occurring during transport of petroleum products. These disasters resulted in several fatalities, injuries, suffering to families, loss of assets and damage to the environment. It is of concern that the underlying causes of some of these disasters may not have been fully established, and this has resulted in recurrence of similar disasters. In some countries in Africa, disasters during transportation of petroleum products by road tankers have become a regular phenomenon. The overall objective of this research is to examine factors that contribute to disaster risks reduction (DRR) in the transportation of petroleum products in Kenya, with the aim of designing most effective ways of preventing disasters. The specific objectives include identification of factors influencing disaster risks during transportation of petroleum products in the study area, analysis of root causes of the disasters, and evaluation of strategic options for sustainable management of the industry. Research designs adopted included: descriptive survey for identification of factors influencing disaster risks during transportation; correlation for analysis of the root causes of the disasters, and evaluative design in the analysis of strategic options for sustainable management. The analysis of the root causes of the disasters was anchored on the Tripod Beta methodology, which is an investigation tool that identifies human causal elements of accidents in a structured way, with the aim of improving the working environment, and thereby minimize human errors that lead to disasters. A survey was carried out via questionnaires, using simple random sampling, with a sample size of 391 tanker drivers. Interviews were held with tanker drivers, managers of transporters, staff of petroleum marketing companies, and industry regulators. Analysis of the questionnaires revealed that, whilst tanker drivers play a critical role in prevention of disasters during transport, due consideration was not being given to their suitability prior to employment, as some of them lack experience and understanding of rules associated with industry operations. The drivers have inadequate awareness that disasters can be prevented through compliance with rules. The study revealed that tanker drivers in the 30 – 40 years age group stood out as causing least accidents, lowest oil spills and lowest injury rate. In addition, drivers with experience between 6 to 10 years had the least accident rate, as well as drivers that had secondary education level. This research therefore recommends that minimum age of tanker drivers should be set at 30 years, with minimum driving experience of 6 years, and educational level of secondary school certificate. The transporters need to focus more on competence improvement of their managers, to be able to provide support to drivers to imbibe the mindset that all accidents can be prevented. Managers can contribute to improving the work environment, which will motivate the drivers towards compliance naturally, when they believe it is for their good. It is recommended that an “Adopt-A-School” scheme for tanker drivers be established, enabling the drivers to disseminate awareness about dangers of petroleum products in the society. A public awareness program by government at all levels is also recommended, through use of print and electronic media, to enlighten society about the risks. | en_US |
