Industrial Safety and Security (Subjective Notes) - 1

INDUSTRIAL SAFETY & SECURITY

PART I


Q.1. How do you perceive the concept on Industrial Safety? How are different disciplines responsible for this in an industrial unit.

Ans: - Introduction:

Safety, as a concept and practice has been in transition since its beginning. More recently, it has shifted from what once was little more than a plain sense approach to eliminating agents of injury to what now is quite often a complex approach to the reliable control of harm. Within the boundaries of safety’s emerging abilities exists a capacity for more than simply the detection of causative relationships and the design of practical controls. These have been safety program routines practically since their inception. The skills involved have increased with each succeeding year. However, the current shift occurs in the growing awareness of and ability to meet the need for effecting the wanted hazard controls. Experience reminds us that injurious occurrences are repeated despite knowledge of their causes or availability of recommended controls.

Text:

 In the great civilizations of antiquity, slaves did not predominantly do labour. A popular assumption, therefore, that safety was of no concern because the worker was merely a slave, is probably wrong. As a matter of fact, there may have been more concern for the safety of slaves than for free men. There is good evidence of concern over harmful working conditions at the start of the Christian era, although the reason is obscure as to whether this interest was humanitarian or merely a result of the desire to protect one’s investment.

 Pliny the Elder described a number of occupational maladies, classifying them as “diseases of slaves”. The descriptions of the ancient manufacturing and mining operations match the occupational illness and injury producing conditions that we know and try to control in modern times. Some of the processes and their hazards were not new, although it was believed at that time that some, for example, the metal trades, belonged entirely to the day. Modern archaeological discoveries have traced similar processes through the earliest known Aryan civilizations to prehistoric origins in the East.

 Before the 1900s, industrial accidents were blamed on the workman concerned, with little sharing of responsibility by the Company for correction of deficiency in workplace or procedure. Later, especially with workmen’s compensation laws and occupational health acts, employers were held responsible. Companies began utilizing safety engineers who designed guards and protective devices during the early years of emphasis on industrial safety. This led to sharp decline in accident rates. Safety has since become recognized as an integral part of the normal operating procedure and as a definite responsibility of all supervisory personnel’s along with the employees.

 Irrespective of Institution of checks, controls and training program’s safety shall always be referred to as live problem. Perhaps the one and that has received the greatest safety attention is the workplace. The static as per National Safety Council report states that three out of four deaths and more than half of the injuries suffered by the workers occurred of the job. Loss accruing out of, due to these are paid by employers. The figure probably is conservative and does not attempt to include loss future earnings or productivity due to workers being killed or permanently impaired. Toll from occupational illness is much less than for injuries. It is estimated that new cases of disabling diseases may increase due to exposure at work to toxic materials. There is a clear and extensive evidence that a good safety program can reduce occupational injuries, illness and the attendant operating to a small fraction of what they would be otherwise; thus occupational safety deals with a problem that qualifies eminently on two accounts as one was ranking study and significant constructive action consequences are of great importance trauma probably is the principal cause of human loss today and it may be the most wasteful.

Conclusion:

A number of factors add difficulty to the industrial safety problem. Safety often is viewed largely as a simple matter of applying specific routines. In many cases, the routines are repeated regularly despite obvious signs of their inadequacies. Greatly needed is an understanding that the sources of harm, which the safety specially should be able to control, have basic origins although their consequences will differ in character and severity. This view furnishes the realization that hazards are not simply the agents most closely identified with the injuries. Mere regulating them is not the sure way to milt their effect.


Q.2 What do you understand by Participative Safety? How can this be implemented in a
service company?

Ans: - Introduction:

Participative management is not a new concept either to general management or safety management. However, it often has been adopted only half-heartedly with little systematic though about or commitment to its success. In large part, this has been due to a basic lack of understanding about it, a lack that has frequently contributed to pseudoparticipative approaches hastily and superficially constructed. As a result, lower hierarchical personnel have usually shown a lack of interest in contributing to device that is seen as merely manipulative. Since obtaining employee and supervisory participation is fundamental to the success of any safety programme, it may be worthwhile to explore the basic concept of participative management and strategies to implement employee and supervisory participation in safety matters.

Implementation of participative safety in Service Company:

The technique of participative safety is well known with many companies using one or
another form of them. To some extent most companies allow employees and supervisors to participate in safety activities, but the degree of commitment to or understanding of
concepts varies widely among organization. Methods of implementing participative safety


will be reviewed below:

Commitment to participative action in large part in service company is based upon how managers perceive their subordinates. A person seeking to implement the most advanced form of participation, which is the human resources, approach must have a basic trust and confidence in those subordinates and must be willing to share power and responsibility.

Conclusion:

Motivated participation at all levels is the requirement of the day. The comprehension of participative safety concept and theme is necessary for achieving the ultimate goal and profit of the company. The relationship of goal and the work should be analyzed by all. Flow of information regarding this is considered important. This can be achieved through individual training and collective training. The motivation for safety and training is what we have to plan at managerial level.


Q.3. By motivating people highest degree of involvement can be achieved. How is it
Possible in an Industry. How is it achieved?

Ans: - Introduction:

Management in essence seeks to optimize performance. The desired results are obtained through the use of a number of tactics and methods. Most, in one way or another are intended to modify the behaviour of people. In as much as in even the most technologically oriented companies personnel performance inevitably influences the work that is done. Behavior is a significant consideration. It is also a highly elusive quality that is pursued usually with the best of intentions and by means of a variety of strategies. Reward and disciplinary applications are two that are well theme of motivating workers for safety of self, other and equipment.

By motivating employees, companies achieve many things. They are:

 Motivation for safe attitude of the employees
 Self preservation by the employees
 Personal and material gain for the Organisation
 Loyalty towards the company
 Responsibility increases
 Conformity towards maintenance of any well ordered civilization.
 Rivalry – it may be appealed to by way of safety contest.
 Good leadership with outstanding traits.
 Good level of Discipline.

Conclusion:

Although individuals may be sensitive to the practical losses associated with accidents, society is not so materialistic. Practically without exception a dreadful event for example,


Bhopal gas leak. Until the public is sufficiently aroused, safety always seems to have a low priority among the national necessities for human well being. The cost of injuries and property damage curiously enough does not by itself seem to stir the popular interest to effect safety. However, the question of safety expense versus effectiveness often arises after the safety programs have been instituted. An analogue approach appraisal the performance of educational methods in following safety norms. It is of interest when considering the development of a safety engineering effectiveness measures because the familiar industrial safety programs are notably concerned with improving through education and training programs toward safety.


Q.4. Training and retraining make people safety concious. Suggest guidelines to organise
thisType of training.

Ans: - Introduction:

Training and retraining of employees in safety has been traditionally recommended as a means for improving safety performance. Investigation into most of the accidents which take place on the shop floor, irrespective of whether they arise out of unsafe physical working prevailing conditions or actions of person – reveal underlying causes which relate to inadequacy of lack of training. In sharp contrast, success stories of industrial unit with good safety performance give evidence of planned training efforts.

Need for safety training programme:

a) Training activities indirectly demonstrate company’s interest in employees. This leads to good human relations at work.
b) Gaining knowledge and skill helps to improve perceptions and hence improves safety performance.
c) Training saves the time spent by the supervisor to instruct and correct.
d) Training process results in close contact between participants of the faculty, in a congenial atmosphere away from work. This fosters better inter-personal relations.
e) Training helps personalize the attitudes of persons, and is one of the best practical means available to the managers for effective communication with groups.

Guidelines for organizing the training:

Level Training needs

Helper Need of safety at work, hazards connected with his work, way to
safeguard .

Operator Need for safety, safety requirements of his job, his responsibilities.

Supervisor Hazards in the operations supervised and the technical skills to
Identify and prevent them.


A broad knowledge of company’s safety policy, systems and
Procedure and responsibility for safety.
Techniques of supervision.
Human relations and communications skills.

Managers Responsibility for safety:
a) Company’s policy and direction.
b) Techniques to identify and control hazards.
c) Safety engineering and management.


Q.5. Detail out safety measures to be ensured as per law on the subject.

Ans: - Safety measures to ensure as per Law:

In the Factories Act, 1948, there are specific provisions for providing the personal protective equipment to the workers who are exposed to unsafe and unhealthy environment. The provisions of law relating to use of personal protective equipment in different operations and processes are
Framed in such a spirit that the workers working on operations and in the processes are protected against possible hazards. It is also the intention of the Law that that personal protective equipment shall be of such type and made of such materials that it withstands to such specific hazards for which it is actually being used.

Requirements of personal protective equipment:

Requirements of suitable personal protective equipment can be listed as sunder:

a) Nature of the hazard
b) Severity of the hazard
c) Type of contaminant
d) Concentration of the contaminants.
e) Duration or work.
f) Location of the contaminated area with respect to a source of respirable air.
g) Expected activity of the wearer.
h) Operating characteristic and limitations of the equipment.
i) Reliability of the equipment.
j) Acceptance of the wearer.
k) Cost of the equipment.

Type of personal protective equipment:

Personal protective equipment maybe divided into two broad groups:

a) Non-respiratory protective equipment.

b) Respiratory protective equipment.




i) Non-respiratory protective equipment:

Personal protective equipment for various parts of the body can be divided into 5 broad groups.

ii) Head protection:

Head protection may be hard hats and caps made of aluminium, PVC fibre glass, laminated plastic or vulcanized fibre. They maybe fitted with brackets for fixing welding masks, protective face cream, or a lamp. The hats and caps are provided with replaceable harmless which provides sufficient clearance between the top of head and shell.