Pakistan Society

of Industrial
Engineers

The OHS Consultants

Ltd

HEALTH and SAFETY

A Brief Session on Awareness and Pakistans scenario

A brief intro
Name
Qualification

Professional Experience

Memberships

Usman Dawood Barry

Industrial Engineer from IoBM, Karachi
Professional Diploma in HSE from Skill Development
Council
Assistant Manager @ S.K. Industries
Founder/CEO and Lead Trainer @ The OHS Consultants
Guest Speaker on Safety at different Forums
Associate Member @ Fire Protection Association of
Pakistan (FPAP)
Member of Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE)

About this session

Create awareness about safety
Promote safety attitude and culture
An insight to Pakistans scenario

Occupational health & safety

The practice of making the working environment as free as possible
from conditions that can cause harm to personnel and property

Occupational health & safety

Why it is important?
A safe environment is productive and efficient
Keeps all secured from unwanted mishaps
Moral and ethical requirement

It is your Constitutional Right

under article Article 37(e)

Some basic OHS terminologies

Accident
Hazard
Incident/Mishap
Risk

Causes of incidents
Unsafe conditions
Unsafe acts
Act of Nature

If you are unconcerned about safety, you

are contributing to the risk

Fire & Fire Safety

Fire
What it is?
An energy releasing (exothermic) chemical reaction which is initiated only
when appropriate amount of temperature, fuel and oxygen are present at the
same instant

Why fire safety is important

Fires cause 1% of the global burden of disease and 300,000 deaths
per year
At the beginning of the 21st century, there were reported 7,000,000
to 8,000,000 fires annually with 70,000 to 80,000 fire deaths and
500,000 to 800,000 fire injuries
Centre of Fire Statistics of CTIF, 2006

 Other than life losses/injuries, there are economic damages also

In U.S. alone, fire incidents cost $170 billion each year
OSHA statistics

Equivalent to PKR 18,000 billion

Indirect losses include

Psychological/traumas/emotional
Insurance/repair
Time lost
Reputation/Legal

General distribution of fire deaths globally

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Forests

Vehicle

Other transport

Dwellings

Other Buildings

Uncategorized

Pakistans scenario
The fire incidents kill 16,500 people and leave 164,000 injured or
disabled every year across the country but the government is yet to
adopt a National Fire Safety Policy to control the situation.
The Nation newspaper, Sep 24 2012

The country suffers an estimated loss of Rs400 billion every year

Fire Services
Long neglected under the municipalities
No fire law in the country
there was a fire service law of 1949 for the West Punjab, which was abolished
by the basic democracy ordinances and the subsequent local government
ordinances have reduced it to a few words

The first professionally trained and modern fire service was finally
launched from Lahore on 5th June 2007 by the name of Rescue 1122
Expanded to Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Sialkot and Murree.

Rescue 1122 some achievements

Launched Community Awareness Programme in all districts of the
Punjab, to educate the common citizens regarding fire safety, First aid
training and basic life support skills
Have responded to thousands of fire calls and saved lives & losses
worth billions of rupees

Emergency Response #

16/1216
http://karachi.local.pk/important-phone-numbers/?id=firefighting_service_numbers

Fire Incidents between Year 2007 to June

2010

http://www.hemmingfire.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/1213/Causes_of_Fire_Emergencies_managed_by_Rescue_1122_in_Punjab,_Pakistan.html

Causes of Fire
Many fires are caused by old and faulty electrical wiring.
Older homes and commercial settings are particularly susceptible because of
aluminum wiring that increases the chances of fire

An ongoing Energy Crisis in the country and unscheduled power

failure is also a contributing factor in short circuiting
Children playing with matches are a major source of home
fires/kitchen fires
Fire and burn injuries are the second leading cause of accidental deaths in
children ages 1-4, and the third leading cause of injury and death for ages 118

Other common causes of Fires

Careless cooking
Use of ordinary extension cords
Placement of electric heaters and open flame heaters too close to
combustibles etc.

Leading causes of the reported fire

incidents
60%

50%

50%

40%

30%
25%

20%

10%
10%
5%

5%
2%

1%

1%

0.82%

0.18%

Forest Fires

Fire Works

LPG/Cylinder Blast

Kitchen Fire

0%
Short Circuiting

Careless Smoking

Gas Leakage

Candle/Heater

Unknown

others

Classes of Fires
Class A
Caused by combustible solids like wood, paper & plastics

Class B
Caused by flammable liquids and gases
Flammable liquids like petrol, kerosene, alcohols, etc
Flammable gases natural gas (methane), propane, butane, etc

Classes of Fires [contd]

Class C/E
Electrical Fires

Class D
Metal fire caused by combustible metals such as magnesium, potassium
Not much common

Classes of Fires [contd]

Class K
Kitchen Fires
Caused by cooking oils left unattended on burning stoves
NEVER use Water to extinguish

Also caused by natural gas leakage

Smoke
Smoke occurs when there is incomplete combustion (not
enough oxygen to burn the fuel completely)
When incomplete combustion occurs, not everything is burned
Smoke is a collection of these tiny unburned particles
Each particle is too small to see with your eyes, but when they come together,
you see them as smoke.

Dangers of Smoke
Smoke inhalation is the primary cause of death in victims of indoor
fires
Nearly 75% of home fire victims die because of the effects of the smoke
rather than the fire.

Another danger is that smoke contains flammable compounds

With increased oxygen, these can ignite either through open flames or by
their own temperature. This leads to a backdraught or flashover effect.

Smoke also obscures visibility

Many deaths occur because people (including firefighters) become
disorientated in smoke and cant find their way out of a building.

How to Escape when there is Smoke

How to Escape when there is Smoke

Fire Extinguishers
Work on the principle of removing/reducing one of the fire elements
Reducing the temperature
Cutting off oxygen
Neutralizing the fuel

For different classes of fires, there are different types of fire

extinguishers

Electrical Safety

Respect Electricity
Electricity is the scariest and most dangerous hazard within the home,
moving at record defying speeds, not making a sound, and completely
odorless.
Overlooking basic electrical safety practices can lead to accidents,
injuries, fires, and even deaths.

Some Common Electrical Incidents

Electrical Safety Tips

Maintain proper pest control to avoid rodent damage to electric
wiring and equipment
Ensure that your electrical appliance is first switched off, before
unplugging it from the mains.
When connecting or disconnecting the electrical appliance, hold the
plug instead of the cord to prevent damage to the cord, which could
expose you to live wires
Do not Use a plug with cracks or signs of overheating (e.g.
discoloration or charring)
NEVER put out electrical fires with WATER

Electrical shock consequences

Typical symptoms include

Unconsciousness
Difficulties in breathing or no breathing at all
A weak, erratic pulse or no pulse at all
Burns, particularly entrance and exit burns (where the electricity entered and
left the body)
Sudden onset of cardiac arrest.

What to do when someone gets electrical

shock
If a person is not able to remove himself/herself from the electrical
source, NEVER touch that person directly. Human body is good
conductor of electricity and electricity will flow through the body of
2nd person
Firstly attempt to turn off the source of the electricity (disconnect)
switch off, manually set off circuit breaker or mains, etc.
If the electrical source can not readily and safely be turned off, use a
non-conducting object, such as a fibre glass object or a wooden pole,
to remove the person from the electrical source

Obsolete safety laws in Pakistan

Factories Act 1934
Factories Rule

Hazardous Occupations Rule 1963

Mines Act, 1923
Workmen Compensation Act, 1923
Boilers and Pressure Vessels Ordinance, 2002

Contact info
the.ohs.consultants@gmail.com
/OHSConsultants
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