A place for my personal thoughts/views on safety, with focus on industrial safety.
We are nothing after our death. Let us donate our body organs for the poor.
Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvelous work The moment you fear, you are nobody - Swamy Vivekananda
If you think safety is expensive, try an accident... - O.P.Kharbanda
Preventable accidents, if they are not prevented due to our negligence, it is nothing short of a murder - Dr. Sarvepalli Radha Krishna, 2nd President of India
Zero accidents through zero unsafe behaviors. Do not be complacent that there are no accidents. There may be near miss accidents (NMAs). With luck/chance, somebody escaped knowingly or unknown to the person. But, we can't be safe, if we depend upon the luck.
Safety culture is how the organization behaves when no one is watching.
We make No compromise with respect to Morality, Ethics, or Safety. If a design or work practice is perceived to be unsafe, we do not proceed until the issue is resolved. - Mission statement by S&B Engineers & Consultants Ltd. http://www.sbec.com/safety/
Human meat gets least priority - A doctor's comment on accidents
CSB video excerpts from Dr.Trevor Kletz, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQn5fL62KL8
Jan 2, 2015
Fire damages MAACO car paint shop in Lancaster - LancasterOnline: Local News
While doing gas cutting on a car was not in use for more than 20 years, for salvaging some parts, presuming that the car tank would have been empty, led to vapor explosion. Property worth 25000 USD is damaged and there were no injuries.
The incident tells us that we should not take anything for granted and we should ensure before start of work that there are no hazards.
Apr 26, 2014
Effectiveness of safety programme - management support
It really shows the commitment of the management and this should motivate to do more. Doing routine inspections is one of the jobs. But, updating one's knowledge and foreseeing the hazards ahead and able to explain and convince the plant personnel is really the challenge for a safety officer. And, imagine if you can delegate routine inspections and is able to get time to study the processes in detail and analyze for hazards, what else is required. Definitely, this will give job satisfaction because your job is different from day-to-day jobs and you are doing special work. It will also make you an expert over a period of time and you can make your company a role model in the industry.
I always feel that the factories rules specifying one safety officer for every 1000 workers or so is insufficient even to do routine inspections for safety unless everybody in the shopfloor is committed to work safely. Otherwise, it will be like, catch me if you can, situation.
After certain age, even health will not permit a person to walk around throughout the day and his effectiveness in implementing safety will diminish.
Apart from safety inspections and pep talks in some companies, safety officer will also look after fire and environment duties, procure personal protective equipment, buy instruments, coordinate with different agencies like local authorities, factories department, pollution control board, explosives department, etc which will be taxing as he has to go their offices which can be far off and such works will reduce his attention on safety implementation.
I feel that there should be separate department for each of safety, environment, fire and welfare activities. And, one safety supervisor/officer should be available for every 10,000 square meters of shopfloor area or 250 employees (including contractors), whichever is less.
No person should be allowed to enter shopfloor for any new work without safety briefing and work related training. Retraining should be provided atleast once in a year if the job is same. Class room training away from work area is preferable. Else, they will be called in between the training programme for any of the so called urgent works. Training programme should not pack many topics and should have one or two topics per day with theory, case studies, videos and evaluation/assessment. Participants too should be given sometime, say 45-60 minutes to speak on their experiences. Audience should be limited to 25-30. More participants means reduced attention from the faculty, less time available for the participants to interact and occasional arguments spoiling the course proceedings.
Nov 15, 2013
Cockroach chase leads to factory fire - how to eliminate cockroaches in your place?
Husband of the lady who tried to extinguish flames is still in the hospital due to burns.
I too had similar experience, though without injury, which I posted earlier. http://safetychat.blogspot.in/2010/09/safety-of-cockroach-killing-sprays.html
Then, when I searched internet for similar incidents, following links were found.
1. Man sets his factory on fire to kill cockroaches.
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2010/11/15/no-factory-smoke-without-roach-fire/
2. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-06-27/cockroach-spray-sparks-house-fire/2772730
http://www.mfb.vic.gov.au/News/Killing-cockroaches-with-aerosol-spray-starts-house-fire-.html
Best solution I found to get rid off the cockroaches is to use the latest HIT GEL and I am not finding any cockroach in my flat for the last few months (more than three months). Occasionally, when I find something, I use it and my house is free. Otherwise, there were hundreds of cockroaches, hidden behind tiles / corners / books / papers, etc and being in apartment complex, I thought no amount of treatment will solve my problem as they can come from other flats, even if I eliminate in my house.
The youtube video of the company can be seen in the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z9kv40SNpk
Some solutions given below:
1. http://housewifehowtos.com/clean/how-to-get-rid-of-cockroaches/
2. http://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/nr/2000/sp0007.pdf
Aug 17, 2013
Fire while working on a gas line
It is reported that the crew searched for nearby shutoff valve to stop the fire. It appears that the crew did not do their job hazard analysis properly. Whether any safety permit is taken also is not clear.
This work, ie. working on a gas line that too in a pit is nothing but a confined space work and also working on line filled with gas.
One should have stopped gas flow and evacuated the line with inert gas before start of work. For safety, slip plate also should be inserted on either ends of the gas line to avoid passing or accidental flow. Emergency plan also should be in place which prepares the persons involved what to do in real emergency situation.
Searching for shutoff valve only indicates poor planning.
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/north/10011420876346/gas-main-break-leads-to-manhole-fire-in-bedford/
May 10, 2013
Apr 29, 2013
Investigators: Rail car, ammonia tank did not explode at West plant - WacoTrib.com: Fire
LINK
At the end of the article in the above link, it is stated that there is no water in the hydrant.
Mar 27, 2013
Domestic LPG cylinder leak - lights ON - explosion - deaths and injuries
In a housing complex, sensing gas leak in the opposite house, neighbors opened the house by getting the keys from the house owner and when switched ON the lights, the sparks caused gas explosion.
Gas detectors are the need of the hour and any gas leak detection should lead to display of warning sign of "DO NOT USE ELECTRIC SWITCHES-DO NOT USE MOBILES-SPARKS CAN CAUSE EXPLOSION" prominently so that even in panic condition one will not try to use electric switches.
Gas cylinder / piped gas distribution agencies can distribute do's and don'ts along with the cylinders by printing behind the bill or if somebody is paying online, these instructions should be displayed on the billing page and only after checking the boxes on each of the instructions, should lead to payment page. Further, distribution agencies and community centers may take up periodical training of residents and those who fail to attend the training programmes should be penalized by way of higher billing or in the worst case, cutting off of gas supply.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Entire-family-wiped-out-in-Vikarabad-gas-leak-blast/articleshow/19233935.cms
Jan 23, 2013
Safety officer - not a replacement for plant jobs
Jan 20, 2013
Responsibility for property damage in a fire
Every building should have sufficient ground storage water and sufficient distance around the building free from obstructions. However, greediness overtakes fire safety measures and all available space is used for creating some more commercial space. Having water for fire safety is not thought at all. All these failures are overlooked and fire department is accused for not reaching the fire incident place quickly.
Booze + smoking = death
Lessons:
- Do not take liquor.
- If you have to, do it with others
- Limit your intake to your capacity, in worst case.
- Keep the company of a friend/relation who will not consume liquor at all.
- Do not smoke.
- If you have to do it in the presence of a person/relation, who will not take liquor.
Jan 7, 2013
Loss from IOC Hazira fire - Rs 45 crores
The depot did not have any fire tender and its fire pump hose did not function at the time of fire incident.
Questions were raised about the reason for welding on the tank that contained diesel.
Earlier a fire in Jaipur depot on 29 Oct 2009 leading to 11 deaths and Rs 280 crore loss was attributed to not following normal safety procedures.
As per established safety procedures any where in the world, hot work will not be permitted unless the tank is emptied, washed to remove flammable material, tested for absence of flammables, tank is opened to avoid pressure buildup during hot work and safety work permit system is followed. Work will be carried out only under expert supervision.
As it is seen from the news reports, welding on diesel tank, absence/non-working of fire fighting system once again prove that Murphy's law holds good.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/3-killed-in-Indian-Oil-Corporation-Hazira-depot-fire/articleshow/17918547.cms
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/surat-fire-at-ioc-storage-tank-contained-2-killed-2-missing/314206-3-238.html
Oct 10, 2012
Fire in a pharma company - same short circuit reason
Experts say that the cost of preventing an accident is nominal compared to the loss arising out of accidents and still we allow accidents to occur.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Series-of-blasts-rock-Pharma-City/articleshow/16745498.cms
Aug 18, 2012
Who is responsible for regulating the factories?
From the above, it is really surprising how safety of the employees, public and environment can be ensured and this can be the reason for existence of illegal units in industrial areas.
This calls for changes in the Acts such that however small and whatever be the nature of operation, permissions should be obtained from departments of factories, pollution control, explosives, electricity, municipality, fire, health, police, etc and then only the local revenue or some identified department permits setting up of the plant.
It is mandatory even for shops to register with local municipality and pay taxes as required. Hence, the ambiguity in safety during industrial activity must be removed by proper legislation.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Factory-fire-Govt-departments-pass-the-buck/articleshow/15523227.cms
Aug 16, 2012
Fire in a chemical godown
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3778402.ece
Jun 1, 2012
Location of transformers closer to buildings, walkways - a hazard
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Transformers-buildings-too-close-for-comfort/articleshow/13678673.cms
May 13, 2012
Hydrogen balloon fireball injures 140 in Armenia
"The balloons exploded and caught fire after people holding the bunches released them from their hands into the air," a witness told AFP.
From the witness statement, it can be said that the friction between balloons in the bunch while going up could have caused this. As hydrogen can easily diffuse through rubber, it could have caught fire from the friction as the ignition energy for hydrogen is as low as 0.0017 mJ and this could have resulted in bursting of balloons and fireball. One may recall the famous Hindenburg disaster in 1937. Only the quantity of flammable substance differs but reason can be same, that of static charge generated due to friction.
Such incidents were also reported at several places. In an incident, the hydrogen balloons burst in the hands of children who suffered burn injuries.
LINK
Feb 26, 2012
Fire from weld sparks causes 6 injuries, Rs 10 crore property damage
Any hazardous work in a factory requires following safety permit systems which helps in hazard assessment and taking suitable safety measures for the work. Weld sparks can fly off about 15 m distance and hence the area within this should be free from combustibles. It is better to spray water in this area before hot work. If it is not possible to remove combustibles within this area, they should be covered with fire resistant cloth.
In this incident, sparks fell on the combustible material in the floor below. As the extent of damage is huge and fire extinguishing took about 5 hours, it indicates lack of supervision.
There should be a program to check fire extinguishers at regular intervals, say, once in a quarter. In extinguishers containing CO2 cartridge, the quality of these should be checked as it is likely that any defect renders fire extinguisher useless.
Regular training of all employees or identified employees and ensuring their availability atleast in minimum number in every shift also must be ensured.
Jan 22, 2012
No emergency doors - 2 die in a pharma fire
As per Factory Rules, there should be atleast an emergency exit for every 22.5 m (75 feet) distance and the exit doors should open outward. There should not be any stairs immediately outside the emergency doors. These doors should not be locked and the escape routes should be free from any obstruction. The exit routes should be clearly identified and marked. The routes should be illuminated sufficiently.
Generally, we see the fire hydrants, fire extinguishers, emergency escape routes locked or blocked or covered thus making it a life and death question in times of emergency.
http://www.andhrawishesh.com/movies/Hyderabad/22542:two-killed-in-fire-at-rantus-pharma-factory.html
Fire in under-construction hotel
http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/20/stories/2010112064960700.htm (with photo)
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-29/hyderabad/30454315_1_fire-safety-major-fire-short-circuit
http://expressbuzz.com/topic/fire-mishap-in-fivestar-hotel/338176.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P64aZ1i6y1I
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraj_Al_Bait (a fire incident involving construction wood)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bally's_Las_Vegas (85 deaths in the fire incident that caused improvements in hotel fire safety worldwide)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Salle_Hotel (61 deaths in the fire leading to development of new codes for hotels in Chicago)
Blast during cleaning of dryer unit in a bulk drugs company
A fire resulting after the explosion spread quickly due to chemicals and solvents in the area. The reason could for the incident could not be ascertained.
As it happened during dryer cleaning, the reason could be the static electricity and dust explosion. As solvents in the area caught fire, it is presumed that the workers might have used some solvent to clean the dryer. It is likely that the static electricity produced during cleaning might have discharged in the form of a spark. The dryer unit might have lot of loose particles in the form of dust and any disturbance during cleaning might have caused the dust airborne and to catch fire from the discharge of static electricity leading to dust explosion. Or, if they used large quanity of solvent inside the dryer, the vapors also might have caught fire leading to explosion in the confined space.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIqbwSmd_LY
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-11-28/news/30450554_1_blast-three-persons-facility
A report on explosion in West Pharmaceutical Services can be read here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Pharmaceutical_Services_explosion
Featured Post
Reduced my weight from 96 to 76 kg and tummy from 38-40 to 34-35 inches in about 9 months
I am working in the safety department of a government organization. As a part of the job, I used to go around and interact with person...
-
I was not clear about what is a danger sign, what is a warning sign and what is a caution sign, till I read this article in Safety Daily Ad...
-
A woman consumes cow dung powder and dies on the way to the hospital. She did this as her husband found that she had drawn Rs 50,000/- from ...
-
Bank employee takes a nap on keyboard, transfers millions | The Hindu 293 million US dollars were transferred by a bank employee who was a...