House Keeping in waste yards

Today I read about a fire incident in a thermal plant storage yard where wild grass caught fire. This fire spread to nearby combustibles with flames reaching very high and in the process damaged two HT cables.
Such incidents or conditions can be seen in every factory. With good intentions, areas will be cleaned. Then, someone else in the evening hours dumps scrap and other unwanted material. Over a period of time the area becomes a big dumping yard along with growth of wild vegetation and the area is prone to fire hazard. All types of wastes can be seen like domestic waste, plastic scrap, metallic scrap, civil debris, etc. Because no one attends, creepers will go up on the HT structures and become source for spreading fire in the event of any fire at ground level.
Good house keeping not only keeps hazards away but also gives ambience and affects positively the persons in the area.
Few months back, a wild grass fire in railway wagon yard lead to complete damage to the wagon. It may be noted that oil soaked cotton waste can catch fire because bacterial action. This bacterial action is exothermic and over a period of time the heat buildup causes sudden fire of the material.
Compared to earlier years, in this year 2010, many fires were reported in different cities of our country and because of courageous efforts by firemen who get peanuts for their efforts, huge properties are saved. All we do for their efforts is to observe two minutes silence on every 14th April, give speeches and forget Fire Services Day and the firemen.
There is a dialogue in Telugu movie, "tinnama, padukunnama, tellarinda". This is what we do with respect many issues including safety.
It has become a fashion to blame regulators for each and every incident. If we are not prompt in what is happending in our house or our own backyard, who can do what.

My outdoor trip - skin burns

Yesterday, I went outside in a bike at about 1000 hrs to city outskirts to see someone. As it was very hot and also the distance is about 50 km and it took totally about 3 hrs to complete our trip, by the time we reached home, we were totally exhausted. I wore a half shirt and both fore arms as well as exposed portions of toes are burning / itching. At about 15 km from my house, we started taking different types of fluids, like pudina water, water melon, lemon soda, ice cream, coold drink, etc. However, by the time we reached, we were totally exhausted and there was no power at home due to scheduled power cut.
After lunch, I slept for about two hours and when I woke up and washed my face, I could see my red face, red forearms, red skin below the neck in the front side. This is like 1st degree burns. Even after 24 hours now also I am having skin burning sensation in the calf area and fore arm. Like any skin burn, it may take a week to return to normal skin.

Though, I wore a hat and covered my eyes with spectacles (photo sensitive), still I am suffereing from the travel under the hot sun. If this is the case with me who travel only very rarely, what about the workers who work for livelihood. What are the minimum measures to be provided to them to protect them hot sun and in this country, how many are really providing these facilities like sun shade, water, etc is a big question mark.

Thigh cramps - some analysis from physician

Last Saturday, at about 0230 hrs I got up from my mat and immediately I felt severe pain in both thighs at same point. The pain was so severe and for 1st time in my life my mind was totally blank and was unable to do or think any think. Just I walked here and there for 15 minutes in the house by which time it started subsiding. Next day being Sunday, I could not contact any of our official doctors. On Monday, I met my physician with the problem which was still persisting to some extent. He told me that this called cramp and not pain as there was muscle contraction like where as pain means it is present continuously. Then the reason for the cramp could be loss of salts (Na, K chlorides; hormone change, thyroid problem, sugar levels). As per his advise I underwent some tests also. It appears to be TSH which is above permissible levels. I am yet to contact the doctor with the report but a search in the internet shows that failure of thyroid can cause such levels of TSH released by pitutory gland.
In this entire episode, one thing I noticed is that for last few weeks because of higher temperatures outside, I am drinking more water 4-5 lit a day and this also brought down my food intake by more than 50%. More water means more urine and this might have caused loss of salts also as it is mentioned in some articles that excessive water drinking can lead to water addiction with the resulrt of loss of salts. I might have been subjected to such loss. But, medical tests show electrolytes in normal levels.
The doctor advised me to take glass of water with electrolytes once in two hours or tender coconut and whenever I go out he advised me to take water with atleast some sugar and salt added instead of plain water.
Summer safety tips are therefore useful and we can understand only when are subjected to the consequences.
I thought my experiences will be useful to some body and therefore this POST.

LPG GAS leak, explosion and burns

Many times it is reported in news papers that there was LPG stove explosion leading to burns / deaths. Not many people are clear whether it is the explosion of stove or cylinder or gas. Normally, the leaking gas creates flammable atmospheres and when someone tries to switch on the light in the morning or uses lighter, the leaking gas in flammable range ignites and explodes. Bursting of cylinder is a rare case which can happen only when the cylinder is exposed to external fire and contents inside are pressurised and then the cylinder explodes with fragments flying all around.

Few years back, it is reported that a fragment from such explosion killed a person on the road. Otherwise, the gas explosion causes burn injuries and deaths to occupants of the building, causes collapse of the roof, shatters window panes, doors, etc.

Simple precautions like closing the regulator after use every time, keeping constant vigil / observation when milk or other items are kept on the stove, changing the hose once in two years or as recommended by the hose manufacturer will keep safe our homes and save us from consequences.

Similar to the above, auto rikshaw drivers check the level of petrol / diesel in the tank in the darkness with the help of a lighted match stick and the vapour in the tank catches fire leading severe burns. Such news reports also appear now and then in the news papers.

Such incidents as above show that people lack even common sense and it is a big question mark about how governments, regulators, society can protect them. Because such acts not only injure these silly people but also affect nearby persons and may cause destruction to persons / property located even 50-100 m away.

Injury to a worker while cleaning concrete mixer - on a HOLIDAY

A new item came today in a Telugu daily that one worker died while cleaning a concrete mixer. As per the news item, Wednesday is a weekend holiday for the company. Therefore, the worker went to the machine to clean the mixer. Not knowing this, another worker switched ON the mixer leading to injuries.
Though the intentions can't be questioned about cleaning on a holiday, it is not clear why different jobs are taken up on the same machine on the same day, by different teams. If such jobs are to be done, then LOTO systems has to be followed. Atleast, one supervisor should stand near the machine so that activities can be coordianted.
Similar incidents happened a few months ago as reported in a news paper that lead to death.
Normally, when someone opens the mixer chamber, a power trip mechanism gets actuated to trip the power supply to the machine, even if he does not switch OFF initially. Just to save few minutes, safety systems are bypassed leading to loss of many days of work. The persons responsible for bypassing the systems should be held guilty and punished severely. The punishment should not be worker level people but to supervisors or higherups who fail to see functionality of safety systems.
Such safety systems should not be located outside where they are easily accessible and can be bypassed. They should be located deep inside the machine so that one has to open entire machine to bypass. May be such designs can prevent persons from bypassing the safety systems.
Again, permit system should be enforced for works on all days irrespective of whether it is holiday or not. Persons should not be allowed to work on machines even if he is over enthusiastic to do the work. They should get permission from Manager of the plant to work on holidays or at period other than normal working hours and it should be logged and intimated to concerned supervisors and safety people. The equipment should have a sort of locking system with keys deposited in Security so that when some one draws the key of the equipment for some work, it will be recorded and the next person who wants to work will be aware of existence of persons.

Such injuries and deaths are total loss and painful to the families, organization and to the society and should be dealt with all seriousness.

Safety for whom - safety officer or plant

Some plant people think that safety officer gives advise / points out unsafe conditions only to show his existence or to protect his job. Protecting job may be correct but it applies to all. We are not here to do some social service. Obliging safety officer is again not to satisfy him or his ego but to protect the people, property and environment in the plant and surroundings and creat a safe work place. This also protects themselves from hassles of occupier and/or regulator from possible penal actions. Because of such thinking by plant people, appointment of safety officer was made mandatory and those organizations which listened to safety officer have shown improvement in working conditions and seen visible and invisible returns in financial terms. Even in these organizations, when there are no accidents for some reasonable period, the memory fades and finance people think that investment on safety is waste till some accident occurs.

It must be remembered that when accident occurs, it occurs after giving sufficient warnings in the form of nearmisses. Thus accidents, though do not assume any human form are like persons with good heart that they warn us sufficiently. And, we the real human beings do not want to see and take corrective actions leave alone preventive actions.

Finally, when accident occurs, it happens with a BANG and everbody questions everybody. Some drama also can be seen. We pretend to have woken up from slumber and soon slip into sleep again.

Though, it has become common to question regulators for their failure to inspect, it impossible task for any regulator to inspect a factory, understand the systems and find hazards or violations. If the sufferer in case of an accident do not want to learn, then nobody can can correct the system. These organizations are destined to suffer and regulators only have to listen some unpleasant things for sometime in the media, because the samething repeats.
Only self control will save the organizations and all other controls are helpful to improve the system, not to correct the system.

If strict regulation is to be done, then governments have to appoint one inspector for every industrial zone containing say 10-15 factories and any violations are to be dealt with strictly by penalties and other forms. When such appointment of regulators is done, financial outgo will be very high and therefore, government has to collect monthly fees from these factories to pay for the regulators and running the regulator's office. Then, may be, safe conditions can be created in the work place.

Safety - headache now or later?

I heard someone saying that following safety principles is a headache but had to be lived with. If such a statement comes from a factory manager, it got more serious repurcussions i.e there will not be any wholehearted commitment and involvement by plant persons. Only lip service will be paid by the shopfloor supervisors and workers. Those who do not understand the evils of not following safety and only live under threat of being questioned by regulators can have such opinions and nobody can help organizations with such people. Not even GOD.

Learning from others-blogs or accidents whatever it is!

I used to write a lot in my earlier posts. However, it's my feeling that these are lengthy. I also saw posts of some bloggers which are brief. So I decided to write only to the point. If I want to explain, I can do it in different posts. This is what I learned from others. Similar thing we can do in learning mistakes done by others when they had accidents or near misses and avoid the same.

Safety legislations - management support

Sometimes, it becomes very difficult when production people question the safety officer about the basis for particular requirement mentioned in legislations or good practices. For example, 15 meter distance between hot work area and combustibles, or 1.05 m extension of ladder above landing, or 4:1 for vertical to horizontal of a ladder, etc. Though one can explain about flying of sparks / proper support for the person to walk on to the landing / prevent fall of persons as reason for these requirements, still one questions in meeting the requirements exactly. Similarly, testing of equipment in the specified period, say once in four years for pressure vessels. Questions will be like, whether pressure vessel will fail, if not tested after 4 years. Such questions look silly and safety professional will loose control of his patience. Further with his role as advisor, he can't reply authoritatively unless top management supports safety officer. If such support is extended, then whatever safety officer says will be obliged, though production people will be unhappy internally. So, legislations alone will not help in improving safety culture in an organization. Legislations or not,what is required is top management support expressed in public and supported to the core.

Don't Relax after peak production in March - examine all your systems for safety

Normally, the month of March is peak production period for meeting the targets of production for manufacturers, financial expenditure for those who ordered various machinery, etc so that they will not receive any flak from Board Directors or Finance Department.

The month of April will be somewhat a lean period, having met the targets and waiting for good news of bonus / pay increase, etc. However, it is good if all establishments plan their annual shutdowns for maintenance in April, test their equipment / vessels / material handling equipment / earthpits, etc as per statutory requirements in this month so that there will not be any question of non-availability of particular system for testing. Production department will be reluctant to release the system for examination in the second half of the year. Thus, April-May is the best period for statutory examinations and annual mainatenance.