Accident Investigation 101: What to Do and What Not to Do » SafetySmart

Do's and Dont's for accident investigation, appeared in Safety Smart, 18.07.2012 Wednesday.
Accident Investigation 101: What to Do and What Not to Do » SafetySmart

LINK

Odd and extra working hours - some facilities to staff

It is common for persons to work extra hours for various reasons. May be some shopfloor problems are to be attended, a report is to be made urgently, production schedules are to be met, breakdown maintenance is to be done, somebody did not report and person doing the work has to continue next shift, and so on. These persons need to be taken care properly by allowing them to have break for some rest, some snacks/food, proper sitting/rest place, etc. Though Factories Act requires these issues to be attended, in many factories, there are no change rooms / canteen facilities, particularly for daily wage earners / contract workers. They have to settle under a tree or shed for rest and to have their food. 

So called canteens supply tea/coffee and food at fixed timings and those who have to take meals/food at intervals find it difficult and their health and performance is affected over a time period. One can't bring food prepared at home to meet his/her requirement for extended working hours. And cakes/biscuits can't replace the regular food. 

Managements should ensure availability of fresh, energetic and hygienic food at all times to their employees so that they too can have their break and refreshment and resume the work with renewed vigor. 

Accident alert - Don't leave the child in the car

In an incident, a child was left in the car and by the time father returned, the child was found dead in a tragic way. The accident alert appeared in Cite Digest can be read in the following link.
http://www.citehr.com/418712-accident-alert.html

Protect Yourself From Respiratory Hazards » SafetySmart

Good article from Safety Smart on the subject.
Protect Yourself From Respiratory Hazards » SafetySmart

Many times, persons actually doing the job also ignore the advice and try to do the job saying that it is a 2 minute job. And, they would never see the light again. Before carrying out any job, particularly in closed spaces, one should measure the concentration of all possible pollutants and also oxygen in the work atmosphere, particularly at the actual place of the work. Pollutants should be exhausted by proper ventilation so that oxygen levels are within permissible range. If it is suitable, one should enter the space by following all precautions. Else, they will become victims of dangerous work place. Though, people say 19.5% of oxygen is sufficient to enter a confined space, but still it is below 21% level in atmosphere. We should find out which are the pollutants in the work place that caused reduction in oxygen level to 19.5%. We know that carbon monoxide at 5000 ppm (0.5%) is fatal.
It is better to ensure oxygen levels nearer to atmospheric levels of 21%, else one should use self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) so that one can work safely.
Apart from confined space jobs, respiratory protection is also required in jobs where fumes, mists, dust, etc are likely to be generated / present in the work place. Engineering measures should be taken and then as a last line of protection, one can go for personal protective equipment, in this case, use of respiratory protection.
LINK

Demolition Job Explodes in Workers’ Face » SafetySmart

A person while cutting a line with angle grinder, the gas inside the line exploded on the face causing burn injuries on the face and forearms. Wearing goggles and hand gloves saved the person from more injuries. We heard earlier, hot work i.e welding on  the pipe lines / tanks caused explosion (due to heating of contents inside and building up the pressure). In this case, possibly, after the line is cut, the escaping gas would have ignited from the sparks of grinding job.
Demolition Job Explodes in Workers’ Face » SafetySmart

LINK

Fire safety of the buildings

In the aftermath of the fire in Maharashtra's Secretariat building Mantralaya last week, an article appeared in Times of India on 24.06.2012 stating the review of fire safety in all buildings and maintaining the minimum requirements (as per National Building Code) to fight fire. They are,

1. maintaining atleast 6 m radius around the buildings free space to enable fire tender movement (this is also to be maintained free from trees and vegetation so that any fire involving them will not lead to fire in the building)
2. have fire detection and alarm system
3. have fire hydrants, wet riser, hose reel and automatic sprinkler system
4. have atleast 75,000 liter underground water tank and atleast 10,000 liter terrace tank exclusively for fire fighting
5. maintain atleast minimum number of (portable) fire extinguishers
6. have emergency lighting in and around the building
7. have one single switch in every building (at an easily identifiable and accessible location) to cut off power supply in case of short circuits (obviously this should be located in the main corridor, preferably at the entrance of the building)
8. have radiant (self luminescent) emergency exit direction markings along the corridor to the nearest exits
9. not blocking / locking the emergency exits / stairs with unwanted materials
10. test electrical systems also regularly to avoid overload/short circuit (as for any fire, people immediately show short circuit as the reason)
11. have CCTV surveillance system
12. display cautionary boards like do not smoke
13. remove the waste/scrap every day
14. test the systems regularly to see and ensure functioning of all fire protection system
15. have nodal officer in every building responsible for fire safety
16. conduct drills to all occupants to prepare them in case of any fire mishap
17. etc

The above guidelines will help in protecting the persons and property from fire mishaps.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-24/hyderabad/32392807_1_wet-riser-fire-mishap-detection-and-alarm-system

A case for adopting inherently safer technologies - Message from Chairman, US Chemical Safety Board

CSB Chairman urged the industry to adopt inherently safer technologies in their processes, by substitution, reduction in inventory, operating at lesser temperatures and pressures and finally going for simpler instead of complex processes.
The main reason why industry is reluctant to change from existing conditions is that it costs money. Further, it requires lot of research and development and again it requires money. Governments too can do their bit in this regard to help the industry financially also by offering tax benefits to those who change their processes for achieving more safety.
The processes which are dangerous now, are approved by the government, when they were setup. These manufacturing facilities paid their taxes over the years to the government. Once, we are aware of the dangers, it is the responsibility of all stake holders, mainly, the industry and government, to contribute for a common cause i.e going for inherently safer technologies. As governments dole out subsidies and tax benefits to newly set up facilities, they can do the same to help the ailing industry (w.r.t safety).
Rafael Moure-Eraso: It's time for government and industry to adopt inherently safer technology  - Op-Ed Commentaries - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -

LINK

Character and culture

I was going through a book titled 'Turning Point - Enlightening Essays on Life Part 1' published by Swaminarayan Aksharpith, Ahmedabad. In this book, there is a chapter on Character in which the quotation of Dwight L Mody is stated as 'Character is what you are in the dark'. 

National Petroleum Offshore Authority in its information booklet (A98443, Revision 1, Oct 2009) defined safety culture as 'Safety culture is how the organisation behaves when no one is watching'. From these two statements we can say that safety culture of an organization is the outcome of character of the individuals responsible for running the organization. Individuals makeup the organization and thus organization's culture is defined.

What we are doing in our day to day activities is not new to us. It is routine and we know how to do it safely. Still, we don't for various reasons. Nobody needs to supervise/watch us and tell us how to do a work in a safe manner. One need not tell us to read the established procedure, know the hazards, wear personal protective equipment, and so on. We know. Some of the tasks were known to us by our intuition / common sense. Still we ignore  for quick gains. We may complete a job without getting hurt ourselves or others. But, a day will come when we become victims of our own actions and that day we repent for our actions. 

Two sewage workers die in a sump of 6 feet depth

A worker engaged in routine maintenance of a pump located six feet below in a sump inhaled poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas and collapsed. Another person who tried to rescue the exposed  was overcome, collapsed and died. Shift supervisor who tried to rescue the persons also lost his life. Four others who tried to rescue were also exposed to the poisonous gas.

This incident shows lack of use of self contained breathing apparatus by the workers involved in such jobs and supervision. Whether the work atmosphere is monitored for toxic gases and sufficient ventilation is provided is to be ascertained.  Even if the work is required to be done only for few minutes, people involved should use necessary safety gear, as many think it is a short job and thus don't need self contained breathing apparatus. Rescue procedures in such incidents also need to be planned before start of work so that there will not be any delay to save the lives. It should form part of procedure to inform fire service crew and doctors before taking up any such work that help can be rendered in shortest time possible during any eventuality. 

Though, these procedures are made and followed in industrial establishments, similar procedures should be made compulsory in departments where persons are likely to be exposed to hazardous environment, where person have to work in confined spaces and so on. If somebody has to work at a place which is not meant for regular use, it should be treated as confined space and safety procedures for confined space should be followed.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Toxic-gas-kills-2-Delhi-Jal-Board-men-safety-suspect/articleshow/14190479.cms

Blast and fire in Vizag Steel Plant

In an incident of explosion and resultant fire in Vizag Steel Plant, 16 persons died and  property worth crores of rupees is damaged. It is reported that the incident happened in oxygen plant of the recently commissioned steel melting shop-II during trials. The hot metal from blast furnace will be sent into a mixer where oxygen will be blown at 17 kg/cm2 pressure to remove impurities and then convert into blooms. It is reported that the back pressure caused the explosion.

As per the reports, following are my observations:

1. Impurities from hot metal will be burnt in the mixer with oxygen.
2. Operators could not get the oxygen pressure of 17 kg/cm2 and instead they got about 14 kg/cm2.
3. They tried to admit oxygen at this lower pressure 2-3 times.
4. While people went closer to the unit to see reasons for low pressure, explosion occurred.
5. The pipeline for oxygen is of 5 mm thick instead of 10 mm
6. The oxygen container and associated piping got burst
7. The fire after explosion led to fire causing injuries/fatalities and property damage
8. Vehicles flew of about 50 m from the incident site

The above indicate nonavailability or failure of check valve / non-return valve in the connecting line; non-availability or failure of safety relief valve in the oxygen container and or mixer. The back pressure could be due to sudden reaction of impurities like carbon, etc with more oxygen supplied (2-3 times as low pressure was there) and the reaction product gases could have builtup pressure and non-venting of these gases as they are formed could have led to pressure buildup and back pressure.

As the plant is being commissioned/started for trial runs, many people including top level management was present and so many people thus got exposed.

Why so many vehicles including autorikshaws and scooters were available near the site is not known.

http://www.rediff.com/news/report/eight-killed-in-explosion-at-vizag-steel-plant/20120614.htm

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-13/hyderabad/32214943_1_oxygen-plant-sms-wing-blast-furnace