Introduction to Industrial Safety and Accident Prevention

Accident
The American National Safety Council has defined accident as: that occurrence in sequence of events which usually produces unintended injury, death or property damage.

Causes of Accidents
The causes may be human or mechanical failures. The two broad sources of the accidents may be classified in to: Unsafe conditions and Unsafe actions

Factors contributing to accidents

Mechanical

Environment
Human Human

mechanical causes

Mechanical causes
In

adequately guarded Unguarded Unsafe design or construction Hazardous arrangement

Environmental Causes
Illumination

Ventilation
Temperature Speed

of work Hours of Work Spread over work period Workload

Human causes
Individual factors Age Marriage Education Health Length of Service Work performance Psychological Factors Attitude towards Job Interest & difficulties Machine habits Attention Fatigue

Personality factors Intellectual level Emotional maturity Adjustment Anxiety level

Sociological factors Size of family Number of dependents Financial position Social Status Interpersonal relations Home Environment

Classification of accidents
Fall

from height Striking against Struck by falling objects Fall at same level Overexertion Inhalation or absorption Contact with electricity / Electric flash Others

Accident Prevention
Three

Es of Safety - Engineering - Education - Enforcement

Controlling Accidents
Discover

the causes Control environmental causes Control behaviorist causes Supplementary activities

Discovering Accident Causes

The

Causes of previous accidents The existing hazards that will cause accidents unless corrected

Introduction
Occupational

Safety and Health Management in India is guided by the broad policies of the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Industry & Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India.

 Factories

Act, 1948 Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989 Dangerous Machines (Regulation) Act, 1983

Legal Provisions & Enforcement

 Overview

: Basically, major number of industries are statutorily governed by the Factories Act, 1948, besides other statutes which cover other specific aspects of safety in the industrial activities, e.g. treatment of effluents, pollution control, hazardous

Legal Provisions & Enforcement

Factories Act, 1948

Objective

The Factories Act has been existing in India since 1881. The Act provides for the health, safety, welfare and other aspects of workers in factories. In 1987 major amendments in the Act were incorporated which covered three major areas i) basic approach ii) health protection & control of accidents and iii) emergency planning in the factories engaged in hazardous processes.

Major Provisions
Approval,

factories Duties of occupier, manufacturers etc. Safety and Health policy and organization Health and hygiene standards Safeguards for Dangerous machines, material handling, pressure plant, floors, stairs, access and covering to pits, sumps opening, etc. Precautions against dangerous fumes, gases and explosive dust and precautions in case of fire

licensing and registration of

Provisions for Hazardous Process Industry

Site

Appraisal Committee Disclosure of information to Chief Inspector of Factories Local Authority Workers and general public, On-site emergency plan, Medical examinations and records Permissible limits of exposures of chemicals/ substances Right to workers to know

Section 7-A:

General Duties of the Occupier

1

Every occupier shall ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all workers while they are at work in the factory. Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-s. (1), the matters to which such duty extends, shall include:The provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work in the

General Duties of the occupier

b

The arrangements in the factory for ensuring safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances; The provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as are necessary to ensure the health and safety of all workers at work;

The maintenance of all places of work in the factory in a condition that is safe and without risks to health and the provision and maintenance of such means of access to, and egress from, such places as are safe and without such risks; The provision, maintenance or monitoring of such working environment in the factory for the workers that is safe, without risks

General Duties of the occupier

General Duties of the occupier

3

Except in such cases as may be prescribed, every occupier shall prepare, and, as often as may be appropriate, revise, a written statement of his general policy with respect to the health and safety of the workers at work and the organisation and arrangements for the time being in force for carrying out that policy, and to bring the statement and any revision thereof to the notice of all the workers in such manner as may be prescribed.

The Appointment of Safety Officer:

Provisions for OHS Management essential requirements for

the

i. Wherein one thousand or more workers are ordinarily employed, or ii. Wherein any manufacturing process or operation is carried out involving risk of bodily injury, poisoning or disease or any other hazard to health to the persons employed in the factory, the occupier shall appoint Safety Officer. The no. of Safety Officers is specified by State Government notification.

For Factories carrying out Hazardous Process* (*Hazardous Process means any process or activity in relation to an Industry where unless special case is taken, raw materials used therein or the intermediate or finished products, bye-products, wastes or effluents thereof would: Cause material impairment to the health of the persons engaged in or connected therewith or

Appointment of Factory Medical Officer

For Factories employing above 200 workers:

There shall be a full time Factory Medical Officer for factories employing up to 500 workers and one more Medical Officer for every additional 1,000workers or Part thereof. He should posses a Certificate of Training in Industrial Health of minimum three months duration recognized by the State Government, or He should posses a diploma in Industrial Health.

Safety Committee
Is

a must in every factory

wherein

250 or more workers are ordinarily employed, or which carries on any process or operation declared to be dangerous under Section 87 of the Act; or which carries on Hazardous Process as defined in

Committee Composition

Management Representatives :
A senior official, who by his position in the organisation can contribute effectively to the functioning of the Committee, shall be the Chairman; A Safety Officer, and a Factory Medical Officer wherever available and the Safety Officer in such a case shall be Secretary of the Committee; A representative each from the production, maintenance and purchase departments.

Function and Duties of Safety Committee

Assisting and co-operating with the management in achieving the aims and objectives outlined in the Health and Safety Policy of the occupier; Dealing with all matters concerning health, safety and environment and to arrive at practicable solution to problems encountered; Creating safety awareness amongst all workers; Undertaking educational, training and promotional activities

 Discussing reports on safety, environmental and occupational health surveys, safety audits, risk assessment, Emergency and Disaster Management plans and implementation of the recommendations made in the reports; Carrying out health and safety surveys and identifying causes of accidents; Looking into any complaint made on the likelihood of an imminent danger to the safety and health of the workers and suggesting corrective measures; and Reviewing the implementation of the recommendations made by it.

Chemicals Rules, 1989

Objective:
To ensure prevention of accidents involving hazardous chemicals in various categories

Major Provisions

Enforced by factory inspectorate along with SPCBs/ CPCB Identification of major hazards and take preventive steps for identified hazards Demonstrate safe operation / emergency preparedness. Prepare MSDS, ensure proper lebeling of containers. Preparation of Safety Reports, in case of exceeding threshold quantities of hazardous chemicals storage. Notification of sites, in case of use of hazardous chemicals storage exceeding

OSH Organisations
Government

Organisations Directorate General Factory Advice Service & Labour Institutes (Founded in 1954) Central Labour Institute and 4 Regional Labour Institutes (Founded in 1959) State Inspectorate of Factories and

OSH

Autonomous OSH Organsations

National Safety Council of India (Founded in 1966) Loss Prevention Association of India (Founded in 1978) National Environmental and Engineering Research Institute National Institute of Occupational Health Disaster Management Institute

DISASTER MANAGEMENT & RISK ASSESSMENT

The

Ministry of Environment & forests under Environment Protection Act has constituted 4-Tier Crisis Groups for Disaster Management of Chemical Accidents in the country. The Crisis Groups will work under the purview of the Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning,

The Groups are constituted at:

Country

Group State level : State Crisis Group District level : District Crisis Group Industry Pocket Level : Local Crisis Group

level

: Central Crisis

Penalty for Offences:

Any

contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or of any rules made thereunder or of any order in writing given thereunder, the occupier and manager of the factory shall each be guilty of an offence and punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to (two years) or

Penalty for Offences:

Provided

that where contravention of any of the provisions under S 87 has resulted in an accident causing death or serious bodily injury, the fine shall not be less than (twenty five thousand rupees) in the case of an accident causing death, and (five thousand rupees) in the case of an

Penalty for Contravention of the Provisions of SS 41-B, 41-C & 41-H

(1) Whoever fails to comply with or contravenes any of the provision of SS41-B, 41-C and 41-H or the rules made thereunder, shall, in respect of such failure or contravention, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees, and in case the failure or contravention continues, with additional fine which may extend to five thousand rupees for every day during which such failure or contravention continues after the conviction for the first such failure or contravention.

Penalty for Contravention of the Provisions of SS 41-B, 41-C & 41-H

(2)

If the failure or contravention referred to in sub-S (1) continues beyond a period of one year after the date of conviction, the offender shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years.

Statutory regulations on Construction Safety

The

Building and Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Act, 1996 The Building and Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Rules, 1998. The Central Labour Commissioner has been designated as the Director General of Inspections for

Industrial Accident Statistics in India

Year
1998 1999 2000

Non-fatal Fatal 96,232 1,026 81,815 974 28585 660

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