Industrial Accident, Safety and Health

Employment Relations: Team Case Presentation; PGDM HR, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata Page 1

Industrial Accident, Safety and Health

Submitted by

1. Mainak Ghosh Roll No. 17 2. Allen Peter Roll No. 18 3. Zeba Khalid Roll No. 19

Subject : Employment Relations Course : PGDM HR College : St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata Date of Submission: 11.02.2016


Contents

Sl. No Subject Page Number 1 Introduction 3 2 Industrial Accident 4 2.1 Industrial Accident Statistics 5 2.2 Causes of Industrial Accident 6 2.3 Types of Industrial Accident 7 3 Industrial Safety 8 3.1 Effective Safety Management 9 3.2 Legal Provisions Regarding Safety 10 4 Health 13 4.1 Factors Affecting Workers Health 14 4.2 Legal Provisions Under the Factories Act, 1948 15 5 Conclusion 16 6 References 17


1. Introduction Today employees expect their employers to provide work environments that are safe and healthy. Good companies maintain safe working environments by making healthy and safety a top priority throughout the organization. Healthy and safety are important aspects of an organization’s smooth and effective function. Health is a general state of physical, mental and emotional well being.[1] Safety is protection of a person’s physical health. Good health and safety performance ensures an accident free industrial environment. Poor working conditions affect employee performance badly. Employees may find it difficult to concentrate on work. It would be too taxing for them to work for longer hours. Many deaths, injuries and illnesses occur because of safety violations, poor equipment design or gross negligence. The Union Carbide accident in Bhopal, which killed over 4000 people in 1984, is considered by most experts to be the result of equipment design flaws which could have been avoided. Union labour ministry’s records place companies in Maharastra and Gujrat as the most dangerous place to work, with over 218 and 195 fatal accidents respectively in 2008.[2] Awareness of Occupational Health and Safety (OH & S) has improved in India considerably. Government of India believes that without safe and healthy working conditions, social justice can’t be achieved and the attainment of safety and health at work is fundamental to economic growth.[3]

An accident free plant can save on cost, increase productivity, discharge moral commitment towards workers and complies with legal provisions. India has 25 laws relating to health, safety and environment [4]. The Factories Act, 1948 (amended in 1987 and 2001) plays the major role in this context. Table 1: Accidents – Estimated Loss, from 1987 to 1995[5]


2. Industrial Accident

It is defined as a “discrete occurrence in the course of work" leading to physical or mental occupational injury.[6] According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 337 million accidents happen on the job each year, resulting, together with occupational diseases, in more than 2.3 million deaths annually.[7] “Every 20 seconds of every working minute of every hour throughout the world, someone dies as a result of an industrial accident”. This is how the seriousness of industrial accidents was described by the Director General of the British Council in his message of good wishes to the 7th National Conference on Industrial Safety and Health organized by the National Safety Council, India.[8] Thousands of employees throughout the world lose their fingers, eyes, limbs, and their lives, everyday. Much blood flows in the sewers of industrial establishments. The perils (dangers) inherent in industrial work have made the life of the worker very cheap.[9] Major industrial accidents in India: 1. Bhopal, December 1984: world’s worst chemical disaster, a MethylIsoCyanate gas

leak from the Union Carbide plant in the city killed over 4000 people, thousands suffered irreversible health damage.

2. Rourkela, December 1985: Blast furnace accident in Rourkela Steel Plant, 18 workers affected.

3. Durgapur, June 1987: Chlorine leak at Durgapur Chemicals Factory created panic all round, long distance trains were halted, over 100 were affected.

4. Bombay, November 1988: Fire at Bharat Petroleum Refinery at Mahul, North East Mumbai, Killed 32.

5. Nagothane, November 1990: Explosion at the Indian Petrochemicals, Nagothane complex, 35 persons killed, over 50 suffered, 70% burns.

6. Gwalior, December 1991; Blast at the dyeing department of GRASIM unit at Gwalior, 14 killed and 22 severely injured.

7. Panipat, August 1992: Ammonia leak at the National Fertilizers plant, Panipat killed 11, many injured.

8. Kahalgaon, October 1992: Boiler explosion in NTPC, 11 killed and several injured. 9. Mumbai, August 11, 2003: 23 employees were killed in a helicopter crash in the

offshore Heera Panna Oilfield’s Neelam area. 10. Bangalore, May 2009: Two were killed and more than 8 were injured when a fire

broke out in an agarbatti factory. 11. Shivakasi, September 5, 2012: A cracker explosion killed 38 people.


2.1 Industrial Accident Statistics Table 2: State wise accidents, from 2005 to 2008, including Fatal and Non-Fatal accidents.[10]

State 2005 2006 2007 2008 Delhi 50 64 52 42 Bihar 134 114 39 54 Haryana 272 257 215 186 UP 271 353 260 222 Punjab 202 187 171 189 Kerala 395 590 194 173 Orissa 571 553 549 518 Rajasthan 1336 1190 1205 1042 Karnataka 1293 1435 1332 1143 Tamil Nadu 1602 1246 1149 1319 Andhra Pradesh 1760 1510 1779 1574 Madhya Pradesh 1317 2134 1642 1459 Gujrat 5774 5027 3373 2920 Maharastra 4310 4398 3548 3306 West Bengal 28352 24836 17164 18701 Though the total number of accidents in West Bengal is much more than the other states, the number of Fatal accidents in WB is much less than them. (64, 75, 68, 86 respectively in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)

Diagram: Total accidents (Fatal Non-fatal wise) in 2005-2008


2.2 Causes of Industrial Accidents

There are three basic causes of workplace accidents: (a) Chance occurrences, (b) Unsafe conditions, (c) Unsafe acts on the part of employees. Chance occurrences contribute to accidents but are more or less beyond management’s control.[11] Unsafe conditions include such factors as: Improperly guarded equipment, defective equipment, dangerous procedures in or around machines or equipments, congestion and overloading, improper illumination and ventilation. In addition to these, other work related factors may also cause accidents. The job itself might be quite dangerous (e.g. crane operator), long work schedules might lead to fatigue and cause accidents. Accidents may the results of unsafe acts such as: Throwing materials, operating machines at unsafe speed, making safety devices inoperative by removing, adjusting, disconnecting them; using unsafe equipment or employing equipment improperly, using unsafe procedures in loading, placing, mixing, combining, lifting improperly, taking unsafe positions under suspended loads; distracting, testing, abusing, quarrelling, horseplay etc. Workers’ personality traits may complicate the issue further especially if they have a tendency to take high risks, suffer from poor vision and emotional instability etc.[12] Table 3: Causes of Industrial Accidents[13]


2.3 Types of Industrial Accidents

Accidents are of different types. They may be classified as major and minor ones, depending upon the severity of the injury. An accident which ends in a death, or which results in a prolonged disability to the injured is a major one. A scratch or a cut which does not seriously disable him/her is a minor accident, but an accident nevertheless. A mere incision or a deep scratch, say, on the leg or the shoulder, may or may not immediately disable the worker, but he or she may develop disability later. An accident may be internal or external. If a worker falls, or an object falls on him or her, it is possible he or she may show no external signs of injury, but he or she may have fractured a bone or strained a muscle or nerve- which is an internal injury. A worker may be disabled by an injury for an hour, half a day, a day, a week, a month or a few months. If he or she recovers from such a disability, his or her disability is temporary. If the injury is such that he or she will never recover fully, his or her disability is permanent. Again a disability may be partial or total. Accidents may be fatal or nonfatal.

Diagram: Types of Accidents [14]


3. Industrial Safety An accident free plant enjoys certain benefits. Major ones are substantial savings in costs, increased productivity and meeting legal and moral requirements. When an injured worker returns (if he / she is lucky to do so) he/she may operate at less than his / her normal efficiency for sometimes. Co workers, too may become emotionally upset for some time and consequently turnout fewer and inferior goods. Finally, customers may be lost because of the non-execution of orders on time. That’s why ILO observes April 28 every year as World Day for Safety and Health at Work. The Supreme Court held: “An enterprise which is engaged in a hazardous or inherently dangerous industry which posses a potential threat to the health and safety of the persons working in the factory and industry in the surrounding areas, owes an absolute and non-delegable duty to the community to ensure that no harm results to anyone on account of the hazardous or inherently dangerous nature.” [15] Safety programme deals with the prevention of accidents and with minimizing the resulting loss and damage to persons and property. Five basic principles must govern the safety programme of an organization:

1. Trace out the root cause of Accident. 2. Identify the potential hazards. 3. Continuous monitoring the safety performance. 4. Assuring the accountability of employee and employer for safety performance in the

working areas. 5. Assuring the continuous training and education on eliminating safety hazards and

prevention of accidents A safety programme generally contains 6 Elements:

1. Making strategic choice 2. Development of safety policy, procedures and training system 3. Organization for safety 4. Analysis of causes and occurrence for accidents 6. Implementation of the programme 7. Evaluation of effectiveness by safety inspection and safety audit.[16]

Diagram: Safety Process[17]


3.1 Effective Safety Management

Effective safety management considers the type of safety problems, accidents, employees and technology in the organizational setting. The role of human beings in safety related problems should also be looked into. Safety efforts will not be successful if we try to engineer machines without paying attention to behavioral reactions of employees. A comprehensive approach includes the following steps:[18]

Safety Policy: Every factory must formulate and implement a safety policy. The objective of such policy should be to eliminate or reduce accidents and injuries in the workplace.

Top Management Support: The safety policy must be supported by top management firmly. Safety commitment should begin with top management. The commitment manifests itself in top managements’ being personally involved in safety activities in a routine way; giving safety matters top priority in company meetings and production scheduling, giving company safety officer high rank and status and including safety training in new workers’ training.

Safety Committee: To promote safety consciousness among employees, safety committees could be constituted under the chairmanship of a safety officer. It must meet regularly to conduct safety reviews.

Safety Discipline Motivation: Safety rules must be enforced strictly. Violations should not be tolerated. To promote employee involvement and motivation, safety contests could be held followed by incentives for safe work behaviour.

Safety Engineering: To minimize workplace accidents, proper engineering procedures could be followed.

Safety Training and Communication: Safety training can also reduce accidents. It is especially useful in case of new recruits. Posters, newsletters, displays, slogans and signs could be used to promote consciousness.

Accident Investigation and Research: When accident takes place, they should be thoroughly investigated to find the actual reason. The injured employees or the supervisors should be interviewed to find out what happened and how the accident occurred.

Evaluation of Safety Effort: Organizations should monitor and evaluate safety efforts by conducting safety audits at regular intervals. This analysis should be designed to measure progress in safety management.

Governmental Support: To extend support to safety related activities the Government of India established the National Safety Council in 1966. National Safety day is celebrated every year and National Safety awards are given every year to industrial units for ensuring accident-free environments.


3.2 Legal Provisions Regarding Safety The Factories Act, 1948, puts emphasis on the following safety provisions:[19]

1. Fencing of machinery (Sec. 21): In every factory dangerous parts of any machinery shall be securely fenced.

2. Work on or near machinery in motion (Sec 22): For examining and lubricating machines while in motion, specially trained worker wearing tight clothes to be sent. Women and young children should be prohibited from handling such dangerous machines.

3. Employment of young persons (Sec 23): No young person shall be required or allowed to work at any machine to which this section applies, unless he has been fully instructed as to the dangers arising in connection with the machine and the precautions to be observed.

4. Striking gear and devices for cutting off power (Sec 24): In every factory suitable striking gear or other efficient mechanical appliance shall be provided and maintained and used to move driving belts to and from fast and loose pulleys which form part of the transmission machinery, such gear or appliances shall be so constructed, placed and maintained as to prevent the belt from creeping back on to the fast pulley.

5. Self acting machines (Sec 25): No traversing part of a self-acting machine in any factory and no material carried thereon shall, if the space over which it runs is a space over which any person is liable to pass, whether in the course of his employment or otherwise, be allowed to run on its outward or inward traverse within a distance of forty-five centimetres from any fixed structure which is not part of the machine.

6. Casing of new machinery (Sec 26): In all machinery driven by power and installed in any factory after the commencement of this Act must be encased or otherwise effectively guarded as to prevent danger.

7. Employment of women, children near cotton openers (Sec 27): No woman or child shall be employed in any part of a factory for pressing cotton in which a cotton-opener is at work.

8. Hoists and lifts (Sec 28): In every factory, every hoist and lift shall be of good mechanical construction, sound material and adequate strength; properly maintained, and shall be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least once in every period of six months, and a register shall be kept containing the prescribed particulars of every such examination.

9. Lifting machines, chains, ropes (Sec 29): The lifting machines, tackles, chains, ropes used in every factory should be of good construction, sound material and strong enough to carry the necessary loads.


10. Revolving machinery (Sec 30): In every factory in which the process of grinding is carried on there shall be permanently affixed to or placed near each machine in use a notice indicating the maximum safe working peripheral speed of every grindstone or abrasive wheel, the speed of the shaft or spindle upon which the wheel is mounted, and the diameter of the pulley upon such shaft or spindle necessary to secure such safe working peripheral speed.

11. Pressure plant (Sec 31): If in any factory, any plant or machinery or any part thereof is operated at a pressure above atmospheric pressure, effective measures shall be taken to ensure that the safe working pressure of such plant or machinery or part is not exceeded.

12. Floors, stairs and means of access (Sec 32): In every factory –all floors, steps, stairs, passages and gangways shall be of sound construction and properly maintained and shall be kept free from obstructions and substances likely to cause persons to slip, and where it is necessary to ensure safety, steps, stairs, passages and gangways shall be provided with substantial handrails.

13. Pits, sumps, openings in floors (Sec 33): In every factory fixed vessel, sump, tank, pit or opening in the ground or in a floor which, by reasons of its depth, situation, construction or contents, is or may be a source of danger, shall be either securely covered or securely fenced.

14. Excessive weights (Sec 34): No person shall be employed in any factory to lift, carry or move any load so heavy as to be likely to cause him injury.

15. Protection of eyes (Sec 35): Effective screens or suitable goggles be given to workers while scrutinising a manufacturing process involving risk of injury to eyes.

16. Dangerous fumes and gases (Sec 36): No person shall be required or allowed to enter any chamber, tank, vat, pit, pipe, flue or other confined space in any factory in which any gas, fume, vapour or dust is likely to be present to such an extent as to involve risk to persons being overcome thereby, unless it is provided with a manhole of adequate size or other effective means of egress.

17. Precautions with regard to portable electrical light (Sec 36A): No portable electric light or any other electric appliance of voltage exceeding twenty-four volts shall be permitted for use inside any chamber, tank, vat, pit, pipe, flue or other confined space.

18. Explosive or inflammable gas or dust (Sec 37): Where in any factory any manufacturing process produces dust, gas, fume or vapour of such character and to such extent as to be likely to explode to ignition, all practicable measures shall be taken to prevent any such explosion by – effective enclosure of the plant or machinery used in the process; removal or prevention of the accumulation of such dust, gas, fume or vapour; exclusion or effective enclosure of all possible sources of ignition.


19. Precaution in case of fire (Sec 38): In every factory, all practicable measures shall be taken to prevent outbreak of fire and its spread, both internally and externally, and to provide and maintain – safe means of escape for all persons in the event of a fire, and the necessary equipment and facilities for extinguishing fire.

20. Safety of building and machinery (Sec 40): If it appears to the Inspector that any building or part of a building or any part of the ways, machinery or plant in a factory is in such a condition that it is dangerous to human life or safety, he may serve on the occupier or manager or both of the factory an order in writing specifying the measures which in his opinion should be adopted, and requiring them to be carried out before a specified date.

21. Safety officer (Sec 40B): In every factory, wherein one thousand or more workers are ordinarily employed, or wherein, in the opinion of the State Government, any manufacturing process or operation is carried on, which process or operation involves any risk of bodily injury, poisoning or disease, or any other hazard to health, to the persons employed in the factory, the occupier shall, if so required by the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette, employ such number of Safety Officers as may be specified in that notification.

Employee Safety Responsibility Checklist:[20]


4. Health The term “health” is a positive and dynamic concept and implies more than an absence of illness. The world health organization (WHO) has defined health as: “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” According to the joint ILO / WHO Committee: “Industrial health” is: • The prevention and maintenance of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations. • The prevention among workers of ill-health caused by the working conditions; • The protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health and • Placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physical and psychological equipments. Industrial health is essential to:

Promote and maintain the highest degree of physical, social and mental well being of workers.

Improve productivity and quality of work. Reduce accidents, injuries, absenteeism and labour turnover. Protect workers against any health hazard arising out of work or conditions in which it

is carried on. Table 4: Primary Health and Safety Responsibility[21]


4.1 Factors Affecting Workers Health Employees in an industrial establishment are often subject to certain health hazards and occupational diseases. According to Roland Black, the normal occupational health hazards may be classified into:

1. Chemical Hazard 2. Biological Hazard 3. Physical Hazard 4. Mechanical Hazard 5. Psychological Hazard

Table 5: Health Hazards and Diseases [22].

Table 6: Permissible Exposure (Noise level)

Noise induced hearing loss has been included as a notifiable disease under the Factories Act, 1948. It is also compensable under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923.


4.2 Legal Provisions Under the Factories Act, 1948[23] Factory to be kept clean and free from effluvia (GASEOUS WASTE) and dirt ( S. 11) Arrangement to be made for disposal of wastes and events (S.12) Adequate Ventilation and Temperature to be provided (S.13) Measures to be taken for prevention of inhalation or accumulation of dust and fumes

(S.14). Standards for artificial humidification to be fixed (S.15) Overcrowding related injuries to health of workers to be avoided. 9.9 /14.2 cubic

meters of space must be provided for each worker ( S.16) Sufficient and suitable lighting must be provided in every part of the factory (S.17) Glazed windows to be kept clean, measures need to be taken for prevention of glare

and formation of shadows. ( S.17) Suitable points for wholesome drinking water must be provided. Drinking points to be

legibly marked and located away from urinals. Water needs to be cooled if the number of workers is 250 or more ( S. 18)

Latrines and urinals to be separately provided for male and female workers. They should be well lighted and ventilated. (S.19)

Sufficient number of spittoons must be provided. Wherever, spits outside the spittoons shall be punishable (S.20)

Therefore, today the organization renders the following health services: Pre-hiring medical checkup for all employees. Periodic medical checkup of all employees and regular medical checkup of executives

to detect early signs of tension, ulcers, diabetes and the like. First – aid treatment following an accident. Training in first aid is compulsory for

everyone. Treatment of minor complaints, such as cold, cough, fever and headaches. Rehabilitation and job placement of seriously injured workers who have been cured

but suffer from some disability. Control of occupational health hazards. Provision of healthy sanitary facilities, such as supply of potable water, disposal of

waste and effluents, good housekeeping etc.. Special examination of eyes, teeth and ears, when needed. Facilities for local hospital, clinics, as well as specialists. Special care of employees working in painting, welding and foundry sections where

the risk of their health is greater. Maternity and child care welfare, including family planning. Adequate ventilation, good lighting, tree plantation and good residential quarters.


5. Conclusion The general goal of providing a safe and healthy workplace is reached by operating managers and HR staff members working together. However supervisors play key role in maintaining safe working conditions and a healthy workforce. Companies should develop common health and safety philosophies, strategies and processes. To ensure health and safety consistency and promote an overall health and safety culture, leading benchmark companies have to coordinate key strategies and activities through a centralized oversight department, such as corporate health and safety. The problem of safety must begin with the management. The management should believe in, and have a commitment to safety and safety rules. The mere constitution of safety committee or the appointment of a safety officer serves no great purpose. Nor is it enough merely to show concern for safety after an emergency. The management must view safety as an integral part of the management process. Strong Trade unions can force unwilling managers to undertake sufficient safety measures. Awareness programmes, Employee Assitance Programmes (EAP) should be organized frequently. Strong willingness of employees and cooperation with management is also crucial. Therefore, Industrial safety and Health is a collective approach of employer – management and employees.


6. References [1] V.S.P. Rao, Health and Safety, Human Resource Management, p. 432 [2] K.Aswathappa, A Safe and Healthy Environment, Human Resource Management, p. 529 [3] IGNOU study material, Human Resource Management, p. 276 [4] K.Aswathappa, A Safe and Healthy Environment, Human Resource Management, p. 524 [5] K.Aswathappa, A Safe and Healthy Environment, Human Resource Management, p. 520 [6] European Commission, European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW), Methodology, 2001 [7] ILO Safety and Health at Work report, 2011 [8] K.Aswathappa, A Safe and Healthy Environment, Human Resource Management, p. 515 [9] Shyamal Gomes, Industrial Accident and Industrial Safety, Labour Welfare and Industrial Health, c. 4 [10] K.Aswathappa, A Safe and Healthy Environment, Human Resource Management, p. 529 [11] IGNOU study material, Human Resource Management, p. 285 [12] V.S.P. Rao, Health and Safety, Human Resource Management, p. 436 [13] K.Aswathappa, A Safe and Healthy Environment, Human Resource Management, p. 523 [14] K.Aswathappa, A Safe and Healthy Environment, Human Resource Management, p. 517 [15] K.Aswathappa, A Safe and Healthy Environment, Human Resource Management, p. 518 [16] Shyamal Gomes, Industrial Accident and Industrial Safety, Labour Welfare and Industrial Health, c. 4 [17] K.Aswathappa, A Safe and Healthy Environment, Human Resource Management, p. 521 [18] S G MINTER, Safety training that sticks, Occupational hazards, p.58, June 1996 [19] V.S.P. Rao, Health and Safety, Human Resource Management, p. 439 [20] Garry Dessler, op. cit., p.658 [21] V.S.P. Rao, Health and Safety, Human Resource Management, p. 432 [22] K.Aswathappa, A Safe and Healthy Environment, Human Resource Management, p. 536 [23] Shyamal Gomes, Industrial Health, Labour Welfare and Industrial Health, c. 5 And A. www.vakilno1.com/bareacts/factoriesact/factoriesact.html

and a case study of TATA STEEL Jamshedpur.

Recruiting & HR

Industrial Accident, Safety and Health