Safety Rules and Regulations - there will be blood stains behind

It is quite common for safety professionals to be at receiving end, bombarded with questions, when suggestion / advice is given based on rules and regulations. Leave apart general advice when given, safety professionals are questioned for the basis. 

But, everybody should remember that nobody is interested in slowing down the work pace. Nobody is interested in doing additional work. Nobody wants to take blame, knowing fully well that any safety advice communicated will have questions directed back to them. Still, it is rendered for the reasons of doing their mandated job. A safety professional is not a namesake fellow  to be shown to factory inspectors during their visits. There are some good organizations, national and multinational, who follow safety in toto. And, they proved that in the end, safety aids in increased production. 

But, to realize this, we have to sweat initially, should have thinking and application in the conceptual and design stage itself. Okay, it is not there initially. Then, let us struggle for some extra time, to implement during operational stage. 

But, during this stage, if incharge sees this work of implementing safety retards production during his period and he will not be recognized, then it should be made known to this incharge by top management that goals will be set considering all factors. Give, sometime for seeing the results of implementation of safety procedures (if implemented late, not required if implemented during design stage itself). Do not encourage the ideas of shopfloor employees to bypass safety systems for achieving higher production in a short time. This will be shortsightedness. One will get higher production initially for some time, as there may not be deterioration of culture quickly. However, with time, with changing mindset and taking roots, joining of new recruits who learn such bad practices from first day, one can see the signs of near misses and later accidents resulting in injuries and property damage.

Study of such accidents leads to internal regulations which when published and / or goes to the notice of regulators, will turn into legislations. Slowly, one forgets the reasons for a rule or regulation and then questioning of basis for such rule begins (wheel needs to reinvented).

This becomes like one chanting mantras and then getting involved in all acts against the meaning of these great mantras (pseudoism).

Fire damages MAACO car paint shop in Lancaster - LancasterOnline: Local News

UPDATE: 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.

Responsibility for property damage in a fire

It is common to read in news papers about fire incidents, property damage and accusations of fire services for delay in reaching the incident. But, the main culprit is the owner/tenant of the premises. One should check what measures are taken by the owner/tenant of the premises. There would not have been any fire incident, had all precautions like storing of the materials properly, using proper electrical wiring, avoiding ignition sources, etc are followed and maintained. Similarly, fire detection, warning and protection system should be in place so that even in case of fire, the damage can be minimum. However, hardly any of these measures are taken or followed.
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.

New year resolutions - Incident reporting culture

Wish you all a healthy, happy and safe new year.

Everybody will be cheerful and resolve to do so many to have a good year. At the end of the year, when we review, there may be some misses and some are forgotten. Everybody wishes for zero accident status in every sphere of work. But, this is possible only when there is a good system of reporting each and every incident whether it involves or not, of injury, property damage and environment damage.
It is reported widely and is also observed that many incidents do not come to the notice of  colleagues, supervisors and managers. This can be due to the fear of rebuke, chiding and becoming a fool in the eyes of others. Sometimes, an enthusiastic employee is dissuaded from reporting. If the employee reporting the incident is issued notice for occurrence of incidents, then he will try to cover from next time. Or, if warned, to ensure that there are no incidents, then also he will not report, though he may try to take some measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents, or he will take care that it will not go to the notice of superiors.
I feel that unless the problem of not reporting all incidents, however minor in nature they are, is not addressed, there will not be any improvement in shop floor safety. And, this is possible and can be done only with the whole hearted commitment and support from the top man of the organization. Though, critics question getting results from the action of one person (i.e top man), being in-charge of all affairs and with his powers, he is the only person who can influence the thought process of all persons down below for a safe production.
One can ask why incidents should be reported? When an incident is reported, it will be investigated by a team comprising production, maintenance, safety and other experts and analyzed for root cause and suggest measures to be taken. If it is not reported, then it may not be investigated, and even if investigated, it will be the individual or his friends which may not lead to effective investigation. Then, each work place should have a mechanism for periodical review on action taken on  recommendations. There should not be any delay in implementing the recommendations. Otherwise, improvement can't be achieved and we will see repetition of incidents again and again.
Sometimes, it appears so simple to take action but will find inordinate delay in implementation. This reflects lack of concern for safety of persons and generally reflects organization's poor safety culture.
When performance of individuals is reviewed, inputs on number of incidents occurred, number of incidents reported, measures taken to prevent incidents at the work place, extra work done to ensure safe place in areas not of his concern also should be obtained along with production figures by the assessor, which will send strong signals to all employees about the intention of the management for a safe work place.
Else, employees will be bothered about reaching production targets without caring for preventive measures to ensure safety of persons and environment.
Jobs done routinely i.e accident investigation after occurrence will yield only limited results whereas a paradigm shift in thinking of the decision makers will help in achieving good results in improving safety culture and ensuring a safe work place.

Infrared thermography - use it to know about impending electrical fire in your place

Yesterday (14.12.2012) there was an article in The Hindu, about infrared thermography and its use to detect  heating of electrical systems at the point of electrical cable input joints due to over load, loose contacts, improper wiring, etc. The heat emitted is read by the portable device and temperature is displayed to decide about whether it is within or above the limits. I also heard earlier from my colleagues that wall mounted thermography devices are also available to monitor continuously about critical electrical systems.
As most of the fire mishaps are attributed to electrical short circuit (more than 40%) that led to loss of lives, property damage, use of infrared thermography for electrical safety inspections in residential buildings, shops, public places, etc will help in saving us from the perils of fire.
For a long time, I had this question in mind about knowing the health of electrical wiring in my apartment. Fires in apartments, multi storey buildings endanger human lives of all and one should check about electrical safety aspects in the building.
From my electrician, I found that generally, the wiring lasts for 15-20 years, though industrial wiring lasts for more than 30 years as per information from colleagues in power supply department. However, these are theoretical and based on experience limited to specific conditions.
As the author in his article mentioned, over loading is a reason for electrical fires. Wiring gets deteriorated quickly  under excess loads and the general information about life of electrical cable can't be applied universally. And, it is human tendency to add electrical loads with or without knowledge about electrical safety. At least at home front, it is the lack of knowledge on electrical safety that keeps people to add electrically operated kitchenware, electronics, etc. Tripping of MCBs will not lead to thinking by the residents for reasons, and instead, they just put it back and resume with the work.
And, in factories, it is the greed to prolong till it breaks without understanding or may be underestimating the costs to be incurred in case of fire. It is good that insurance companies are giving a thought to electrical safety audits. In many of my posts in this blog and in my comments in newspaper websites, I stressed upon the role of government agencies, regulators and insurance companies for enforcing electrical safety audit without which heavy premiums, penalties and punishments should be the order of the day. Only then, everybody will become aware of electrical safety and other issues and save themselves from fire mishaps and its consequences.
As mentioned in the article, there is company called CSR Impex Private Limited (C.Vidyasagar Reddy, Ph: 040-65212780, 9440066907)  which is involved in use of this technology for the past ten years to inspect electrical panels of various establishments, especially software companies. (I did not check with the company but as I believe in electrical safety audits to know the healthiness of electrical systems, I thought that I can reproduce this information appeared in the newspaper for use by all).

About Leadership - excerpts from the book by Robin Sharma

Excerpts from, “The Leader Who had NO TITLE” by Robin Sharma, which I liked the most. I read this book sometime back and made the notes which I reproduced below. After reading, I felt that by following the tips, we can improve our personal life and have peace of mind with satisfaction. This is true for improving safety also at work place which will give satisfaction of saving lives, avoiding property damage and protecting the environment.

The website link is here: http://www.robinsharma.com/

1. Learning is the daughter of repetition. Repetition is a powerful teaching tactic. Through repetition, a new idea can quickly become integrated as a new belief.
2. Success is easy for anyone, if they do right things consistently. And these little things and behavior buildup over time lead to reaching the impossible, which appeared in the beginning. Seeds do not give fruits overnight. They have to be planted, watered, weeded and fertilized before we get fruits.
3. Small insignificant daily acts of excellence buildup success. Neglect of small daily acts over a period of time lead to no point of return and failure.
4. Success is achieved only when we practice and experience. Listening or speaking alone will not help. When we practice the idea that we listened, it becomes a truth and we experience it. Unless the idea gets into us and we practice, listening/reading fails to crate lasting results.
5. There is nothing impossible in this world. Only it is a matter of time, after we put our sincere efforts.

Process Safety Management - for whom?

Everybody says process safety management (PSM) without knowing or having commitment. Many may be thinking it as day-to-day plant operation. In this regard, to identify, evaluate and control hazards in chemical plants, OSHA has given guidelines and can be read here.
It must be understood that by doing PSM, we are doing favour to ourselves and not to others. Even, production cost can be brought down, if we do PSM sincerely and follow it. If we do not care to spillages/leakages of chemicals, air, steam; do not care to study in detail before going for a new process / chemical / modification; do not make checklists for operations, then it means that enough attention is not paid for plant operations and it adds to cost of production by way of wastage, inefficient operation, accidents, and so on.
We should not feel like Alice in the wonder land when the unidentified hazards manifest into incidents/ accidents. One may feel stressed to follow the safety principles all the while. But, the stress will be more and can also lead to penalties and punishments when there is loss of life/damage to environment/property.
Many times when we land into simple accidents outside factory, we vow not to repeat such mistakes. But, when we commit such mistakes in a factory, the consequences will be very high and at that time we can move the time back to correct our mistakes. There is no time machine yet available to correct ourselves otherthan following safety principles in toto.

Most cited reason for fires - Short Circuit

Most of the times I read news papers on fire incidents, the reason told by the owner of the premises or security or fire service department or some one on the road is that it is SHORT CIRCUIT.
Every time I read such a statement and learned people say short circuit is the cause for fire and resultant loss of lives and property, following questions come to my mind.
1. Why not people have a look at electrical wiring / cabling in their building.
2. Why not authorities make it compulsory by way of legislations that electrical audits of buildings by authorized people shall be mandatory? After such audit, the certificate shall be filed along with property tax payment?
3. Such authorized persons must be held responsible once they certify that the building under audit, if declared safety from electrical short circuit hazard is safe, is subjected to fire by short circuit.
4. If the electrical cabling during audit is found to be not satisfactory, then, it should be repaired / replaced within specified period by the auditor (say one or two months). If not, then local town authorities should impose penalty and if not paid, then services like water, electricity, etc shall be disconnected.
5. The vendors of such poor quality cables, switches, etc should be punished by penalties and if repeated, then be imprisoned.
6. Similarly, those who do cabling works should be held responsible, if the fires are due to poor workmanship of such people.
7. Like in industries where it is mandatory to display line diagrams of cabling, same should be made mandatory even for all residential and commercial buildings.

What I feel sometimes is that the short circuit reason is only for showing some reason and claim insurance. Claims should not be settled until the cause is found after due investigation by certified agencies.

The fires caused not only damage the property under fire but also that of others nearby and these buidlings residents have to face hardship because of others, let it be intentional or unintentional.

Sometimes, when a fire incident is reported, it is also brought out that the same building was involved in fire a few years ago. This makes us to think that
i) either the person has learned from earlier incident or
ii) he is doing intentionally to coverup something.

It is therefore made it mandatory that all buildings shall be subjected to electrical and fire safety audits once in every 5 years or so and certificates shall be submitted to town authorities while paying property tax. Else, the property tax shall be increased to such an extent that people should go for audit rather than paying enormous amounts of property tax with penalties for not doing elctrical and fire safety audits.