Jan 19, 2009
Why Gas cylinders should be kept in sun shade?
I read in Rules for gas cylinders that gas cylinders should be kept under sun shade, should not be exposed to direct sun light, the storage area should have good ventilation, etc. Though the reasons are known, i.e to avoid over pressurization due to the exposure to sun, I saw practically how over pressurization takes place in the cylinder when exposed to sun light directly.
Recently, I was on a visit to one of our sites under construction. After my visit to the construction site, at about 1230 hrs in the noon, I was going back to the office where I normally sit. I don't have permanent table and chair as I visit the site occasionally and there are permanent safety officers already appointed at site. On the way, I saw some argon cylinders stored on the road side under direct sun light, without valve caps. I enquired with the contractor nearby about the cylinders and I was told that they are empty and are to be sent to the supplier. On close observation, I found that the valve discharge nozzle is having some water (there was rain on previous night) and small bubbles were being formed continuously.
From this I understood that though the cylinder is empty, it is not 100% empty and some leftover gas in the cylinder is getting expanded due to rise in ambient temperature. As the valve is not totally closed, the expanded gas is leaking out as bubbles through the water in the discharge nozzle.
This clearly demonstrates that though we assume empty cylinders are safe, they are not actually 100% empty and if the gas is toxic, then the little amount of gas leaking out due to sunlight exposure can harm the persons nearby. If the cylinders are full then they are hazardous and can endanger the persons around.
Similarly, being found on the roadside, any damage to the valve (breakage) can rocket the cylinder like missile and can hurt persons / damage equipment or property nearby or can have a domino effect. For this reason, the rules are specific that the unused cylinder valves should be protected with valve caps so that valves can't be exposed directly.
People talk about safety culture so much, but these small issues like valve caps, cylinder storage under sunshade, chaining the cylinders to prevent their fall, etc are not given due attention. Lip service alone will not improve safety culture. May be, talking about safety will bring admiration from listeners and even some appreciation by way of reward, but this will not help in improving the safety at ground level and all this admiration / appreciation / rewards will be washed off by any single accident and the same persons will admonish the in-charges of the area for not visualizing the hazards and not taking corrective measures for the safety of the people.
Recently, I was on a visit to one of our sites under construction. After my visit to the construction site, at about 1230 hrs in the noon, I was going back to the office where I normally sit. I don't have permanent table and chair as I visit the site occasionally and there are permanent safety officers already appointed at site. On the way, I saw some argon cylinders stored on the road side under direct sun light, without valve caps. I enquired with the contractor nearby about the cylinders and I was told that they are empty and are to be sent to the supplier. On close observation, I found that the valve discharge nozzle is having some water (there was rain on previous night) and small bubbles were being formed continuously.
From this I understood that though the cylinder is empty, it is not 100% empty and some leftover gas in the cylinder is getting expanded due to rise in ambient temperature. As the valve is not totally closed, the expanded gas is leaking out as bubbles through the water in the discharge nozzle.
This clearly demonstrates that though we assume empty cylinders are safe, they are not actually 100% empty and if the gas is toxic, then the little amount of gas leaking out due to sunlight exposure can harm the persons nearby. If the cylinders are full then they are hazardous and can endanger the persons around.
Similarly, being found on the roadside, any damage to the valve (breakage) can rocket the cylinder like missile and can hurt persons / damage equipment or property nearby or can have a domino effect. For this reason, the rules are specific that the unused cylinder valves should be protected with valve caps so that valves can't be exposed directly.
People talk about safety culture so much, but these small issues like valve caps, cylinder storage under sunshade, chaining the cylinders to prevent their fall, etc are not given due attention. Lip service alone will not improve safety culture. May be, talking about safety will bring admiration from listeners and even some appreciation by way of reward, but this will not help in improving the safety at ground level and all this admiration / appreciation / rewards will be washed off by any single accident and the same persons will admonish the in-charges of the area for not visualizing the hazards and not taking corrective measures for the safety of the people.
Jan 17, 2009
Gas cylinder Explosion
Yesterday (16.01.2009 Friday), I read a news items in a local news paper with the title, which is the title of this post. It states that four persons were seriously injured due to burns in this accident. It is reported in the news paper that when gas cylinder in use has become empty, the house owner (a gold smith, may be with both shop and house together) informed and got refil cylinder from the LPG supplier at about 1430 hours. When the family members of the house opened the gas (stove knob ? / cylinder cap ? / regulator knob ?), the gas leaked. Seeing this, the workers in the shop put the cylinder in a water tub. Still the leaked gas (obvious, as LPG does not dissolve in water) spread around and caught fire (there can always be an ignition source for a combustible material). The fire caused burn injuries to four persons who were working in the shop. After extinguishing the fire, the other workers admitted the injured in a private hospital and informed the police. The police went to the spot and shifted the injured to a government hospital for further treatment of the persons whose condition is serious.
The above news items and similar such news items earlier always raised so many questions in me. A few of them are,
Whether the cylinder exploded (as per the title of the news item)
However, as per the news item mentioned below the title, it is understood that the cylinder did not explode but it is the leaked gas that exploded.
- Similarly, sometimes reports appear as gas stove explosion. This also gives impression that the stove (burners) exploded. But mostly it is the leaked gas explosion.
The reaction of the persons for arresting the leak is another question in my mind.
We can't blame the persons who have put the cylinder in a water tub in this case because of their knowledge / awareness. However, it is better if the gas cylinder suppliers put stickers on the cylinder containing information like, what to do in case of gas leak / leak and fire; whom to contact; the emergency contact numbers, what checks are to be done by the receiver i) when the cylinder is received (this is normally done by the supplier / delivery boy in some occasions) and also ii) during regular use; the cylinder test date and due date for next testing by the company; instructions for the user to inform with contact numbers if receives a cylinder after expiry date / damaged condition of the cylinder,etc. Normally, this type of information is provided on the industrial gas cylinders and similar information with more details should be made available to the domestic users.
Eariler a few years ago, when I was in my office, I received a call that outside our organization a lorry (truck) with gas cylinders was stopped because of gas leak. My self with a colleague visited the spot and found that all gas cylinders were unloaded onto the road side and also observed some white powder on a few cylinders. On enquiry with the driver of the lorry, we found that as a precautionary measure, he used the portable fire extinguisher in the lorry. This also shows the poor knowledge of the drivers of hazardous chemicals. Though he will get licence for hazardous chemical transportation and will be renewed every year, the employers should ensure that all their staff get required training and retrained again and again. Without training, they should not be engaged in transportation at all. Sometimes, the material brought by the driver will be different from what is mentioned on HAZCHEM information on the containers. The trained driver will ensure that correct HAZCHEM stickers are displayed on the container and this will help the others on the road also, if the driver is not in a position to take proper measures. In the drivers cabin also, the tools and personal protective equipment list and location should be displayed prominently for the same reason.
Normally, the procedure in case of gas leak is take the lorry to a less inhabitated / less crowded place atleast and cordon the area by atleast 300 m around, simulatneously inform the police and their employer and wait for instructions. In case of gas leak of a domestic cylinder in a house, inform the supplier, take the cylinder outside in to a open area (not through lift), remove ignition sources in the nearby area to the extent possible and wait for the supplier to do the needful. In the news item reported above, it appears the cylinder was put in the water tub inside the house and may the confinement of the house lead to accumulation of gas and it is not able to disperse. The ignition source is obvious as it happened in the house that belongs to a goldsmith with shop in it. Goldsmith will have fire kiln or of such arranagement for making the ornaments. Moreover, the refill was delivered at about 1430 hours and the cylinder was handled soon for replacement as per the news item. This shows that it happened during the working hours of the gold smith shop.
Had the cylinder was put in a water tub or covered with wet blanket / cloth outside, the leaked gas could have dispersed easily and cylinder will have cooling to prevent overpressurization in case of fire nearby.
The incident of gas leak happened in my house also once a few months ago. When I replaced the empty cylinder with a full cylinder and opened the regulator knob, I found gas leaking from the cylinder nozzle. I removed the knob and placed cylinder cap and it arrested the gas leak. I opened all windows ( I stay in an apartment) informed the supplier immediately about the leak. I could not get connection to the supplier as the phone line was busy (obvious as he will be getting calls for refill bookings). My wife went to the supplier's office located at about 3 - 4 km from my house. It took about 15 - 20 minutes to reach the office as the traffic was more on the roads and by the time we tried by phone and then informed personally, more than 45 minutes time elapsed. Then, the person came about 2 hours later, checked the cylinder nozzle and replaced the rubber gasket in it.
It may be routine call for the gas suppliers but the users will be under tremendous tension. In my case gas leaked only when connected and regulator knob is opened. If it is leaking even when the cylinder cap is not removed then imagine the plight of the people. Similarly if the leak occurs on a weekend or non-working hours of the gas supplier, then getting help is also very difficult.
Though emergency numbers are listed in the telephone directory, in emergency people will be panicky and may not remember what to do. Also, the the numbers in the directory may be old. Further, telephone directories are not published by all telephone companies. If the users are having only mobile phones, then they don't have any directory. Fortunately, now phone number 108 is available to contact in case help required when there is an emergency (fire/police/ambulance). But, how many people know this information is questionable. Only learned people with an eye on what is happening in their surroundings will know. Otherwise, there are many people who don't read news papers or look around billboards / stickers pasted at important places.
If this information and other important details as mentioned in the beginning of this article are displayed on the cylinder itself, it will be help for all the users. The information should be available in English, Hindi and the local language. Pasting of the sticker by the gas cylinder delivery agency should be made mandatory. If the agency is made responsible, then the sticker with instructions in local language along with English and Hindi can be ensured. The sticker may cost 2-3 rupees. But, this will definitely help the users. If stickers are not used and only pamphlets are distributed, users may lose them and utility can'g be guaranteed.
I will put some more information on this subject in my future posts.
Jan 11, 2009
Experience in Safety implementation
There is a saying that "Experience makes a man wise". Yes, this is true, but not in all respects. Sometimes, it is good if we do not get experience, for example, tasting a food item that is made by a first timer, or, learning 2-wheeler driving where there is every possibility of fall of person.
I like to taste a mango once again rather than getting injured first time or next time also.
The greatest safety professional, Mr. Kletz said in one of his books on industrial safety that, it is better to learn from others mistakes rather than experiencing all those by ourselves. By this, we can ensure a safe work for ourselves and our colleagues and public.
Information on accidents is available in various books, news papers, journals, websites. We should be interested in searching and getting all those information and then applying the lessons learnt to our work place.
Still, it is surprising to see that we do not learn from the accidents, leave those at other places, even from our own work place accidents, we refuse to learn. We are so lethargic and self centered that we do not want even to inform the people in our work place about accidents that are likely to occur. Every thing we leave it the wisdom of the shopfloor workers or Know Your Self way.
However, when an injury occurs, it is likely that the injured apart from pain has also be ready to receive admonishing from superiors by way of a memo / advise letter / explanation seeking letter for the injury. What the works manager or his supervisor does during regular plant visits is known only to the GOD, I suppose.
It is to be noted by all that apart from penalties (financial as well as sitting in a jail) listed in the Factories Act, there are provision listed even in the Constitution where by way of negligence, when failure to take protective measures is established, concerned in-charges are likely to be punished under constitution also.
Hence, one should not be relaxed that their work place does not come under Factories Act. Constitution contains all to see that persons are protected.
Sometimes, when safety supervisor / officer gives advise on safe acts / practices or stops an activity that is carried out in an unsafe manner, then the production in-charge asks the safety person to do the work or he will try to shift the safety person to that production activity or sees that he is removed. Of course, removal is not possible in a government organization, but it is always possible to shift safety person to production line as a punishment or teach a lesson for advising on safety.
The production fails to see why a safety person advises so. It is production in-charge who has to face questions, in case of an accident and he may have to be prepared even for a possible arrest by police. Instead of seeing or visualizing the situation, production in-charge questions safety department like, are you not belonging to the organization, don't you want a good name for the General Manger, etc.
Chief Executive / General Manger who is designated as Occupier should be careful against people like the above who want to get production somehow and want to claim for the production but not about the injuries. Such people should be thrown out of the organization or they should be sent to training programmes compulsorily on the statutory requirements with stress on penalties so that they MAY be able to see the implications. Even then if they do not learnt, better they are removed from the job itself so that workers will be protected and organization's name is not spoiled.
Mr Om P Kharbanda in one of his writings mentioned that SAFETY IS NOT ONLY FREE, BUT IT ALSO PAYS. Like quality brings down the cost of production, similarly safety also is cost reducing proposition. However, safety brings more tangible benefits when it is thought and implemented during the design stage itself. If it is implemented later as an ADD ON feature, then people may resist to follow unless until they see the reason clearly.
Though people say penalties do not have much effect in safety, I feel strongly that safety department should be given the authority to impose cash penalties where safety advisor can caution once and if the problem persists, then he can take evidence by photograph or other means and also impose penalty straight away. The penalty amount should be deducted from the concerned production department / agency Head of the Account to Safety Department which can be used as fund for safety promotion. Again, the facility in-charge should seek explanation from the concerned production department where penalty is recovered for the safety lapse.
When managers are questioned on penalties and is shown as a negative aspect, then only production mangers will realize the importance of safety.
Stopping the work by safety person will not have impact, because once the safety person leaves the shopfloor after advise / instruction, the work will be resumed in the same manner. This is true in most of the cases.
Sometimes, when shopfloor persons are questioned about unsafe practices, like doing maintenance on a running machine, or not wearing PPE, etc, they start complaining about the knowledge of the safety person or quality of PPE or need for getting an item of a particular brand, etc without justification so that safety person can be undermined and will be made to leave the place. It should be known that PPE of good quality meeting standards only will be recommended by safety person but not of brands. If there are more suppliers meeting the required standards, then supplier of the item meeting standards at lowest cost only will be recommended for purchase.
Sometimes, when workmen face problem with overtime, they they call safety persons on the pretext of unsafe conditions in the shopfloor. Once the manager agrees for giving overtime, then workmen forget about safety aspects and everybody disappears. At the end, you may see shopfloor in-charge and safety person arguing on the unsafe conditions, that may not be existing at all which were complained by workmen.
Workmen also should realize that if they do not follow safety, they can be punished under various provisions.
Finally, safety implementation requires commitment by shopfloor people and the production department. If they follow advise by Safety Department, then they can get benefited more. Else, it is they who have suffer the pain, not the safety persons.
I like to taste a mango once again rather than getting injured first time or next time also.
The greatest safety professional, Mr. Kletz said in one of his books on industrial safety that, it is better to learn from others mistakes rather than experiencing all those by ourselves. By this, we can ensure a safe work for ourselves and our colleagues and public.
Information on accidents is available in various books, news papers, journals, websites. We should be interested in searching and getting all those information and then applying the lessons learnt to our work place.
Still, it is surprising to see that we do not learn from the accidents, leave those at other places, even from our own work place accidents, we refuse to learn. We are so lethargic and self centered that we do not want even to inform the people in our work place about accidents that are likely to occur. Every thing we leave it the wisdom of the shopfloor workers or Know Your Self way.
However, when an injury occurs, it is likely that the injured apart from pain has also be ready to receive admonishing from superiors by way of a memo / advise letter / explanation seeking letter for the injury. What the works manager or his supervisor does during regular plant visits is known only to the GOD, I suppose.
It is to be noted by all that apart from penalties (financial as well as sitting in a jail) listed in the Factories Act, there are provision listed even in the Constitution where by way of negligence, when failure to take protective measures is established, concerned in-charges are likely to be punished under constitution also.
Hence, one should not be relaxed that their work place does not come under Factories Act. Constitution contains all to see that persons are protected.
Sometimes, when safety supervisor / officer gives advise on safe acts / practices or stops an activity that is carried out in an unsafe manner, then the production in-charge asks the safety person to do the work or he will try to shift the safety person to that production activity or sees that he is removed. Of course, removal is not possible in a government organization, but it is always possible to shift safety person to production line as a punishment or teach a lesson for advising on safety.
The production fails to see why a safety person advises so. It is production in-charge who has to face questions, in case of an accident and he may have to be prepared even for a possible arrest by police. Instead of seeing or visualizing the situation, production in-charge questions safety department like, are you not belonging to the organization, don't you want a good name for the General Manger, etc.
Chief Executive / General Manger who is designated as Occupier should be careful against people like the above who want to get production somehow and want to claim for the production but not about the injuries. Such people should be thrown out of the organization or they should be sent to training programmes compulsorily on the statutory requirements with stress on penalties so that they MAY be able to see the implications. Even then if they do not learnt, better they are removed from the job itself so that workers will be protected and organization's name is not spoiled.
Mr Om P Kharbanda in one of his writings mentioned that SAFETY IS NOT ONLY FREE, BUT IT ALSO PAYS. Like quality brings down the cost of production, similarly safety also is cost reducing proposition. However, safety brings more tangible benefits when it is thought and implemented during the design stage itself. If it is implemented later as an ADD ON feature, then people may resist to follow unless until they see the reason clearly.
Though people say penalties do not have much effect in safety, I feel strongly that safety department should be given the authority to impose cash penalties where safety advisor can caution once and if the problem persists, then he can take evidence by photograph or other means and also impose penalty straight away. The penalty amount should be deducted from the concerned production department / agency Head of the Account to Safety Department which can be used as fund for safety promotion. Again, the facility in-charge should seek explanation from the concerned production department where penalty is recovered for the safety lapse.
When managers are questioned on penalties and is shown as a negative aspect, then only production mangers will realize the importance of safety.
Stopping the work by safety person will not have impact, because once the safety person leaves the shopfloor after advise / instruction, the work will be resumed in the same manner. This is true in most of the cases.
Sometimes, when shopfloor persons are questioned about unsafe practices, like doing maintenance on a running machine, or not wearing PPE, etc, they start complaining about the knowledge of the safety person or quality of PPE or need for getting an item of a particular brand, etc without justification so that safety person can be undermined and will be made to leave the place. It should be known that PPE of good quality meeting standards only will be recommended by safety person but not of brands. If there are more suppliers meeting the required standards, then supplier of the item meeting standards at lowest cost only will be recommended for purchase.
Sometimes, when workmen face problem with overtime, they they call safety persons on the pretext of unsafe conditions in the shopfloor. Once the manager agrees for giving overtime, then workmen forget about safety aspects and everybody disappears. At the end, you may see shopfloor in-charge and safety person arguing on the unsafe conditions, that may not be existing at all which were complained by workmen.
Workmen also should realize that if they do not follow safety, they can be punished under various provisions.
Finally, safety implementation requires commitment by shopfloor people and the production department. If they follow advise by Safety Department, then they can get benefited more. Else, it is they who have suffer the pain, not the safety persons.
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