An article published in Deccan Chronicle today (24.06.2010 Thursday) states that CII asked government to insert a clause in the Companies Bill 2009 to exclude independent directors from any criminal liability for offences commited by the company, saying that they are not involved in day-to-day running.
Though they are not in operation, but any influence of these independent directors in the decision making process of business towards profits, cost cutting measures, etc will have a direct bearing on the safety measures followed by plant operators and thus they are involved indirectly in day-to-day running of the plant. Therefore, it is not correct to exclude them from liability. If they are like ordinary public shareholders and not consulted or involved in any decision making process (in finance, technical,...), then they can be excluded.
All those who are involved in decision making of financial aspects should be made liable for accidents. The deactivation of safety systems at Bhopal was done to cut business losses with the assumption that a plant not in operation does not require maintenance of safety systems. The decision was made because of lack of technical knowledge on what can go wrong.
Any financial decision on plant operations should be supported by a report from operations in-charge (who should be a technical man) that was discussed by all directors and approved.
Jun 24, 2010
Jun 23, 2010
Road rage
There was a news report on 20.06.2010 in which a promising actor died in a road accident. He was driving a bike. Suddenly a van entered the main road from a side road. The bike driver could not control his vehicle and in the collision, he died.
It is common for people drive vehicles at very high speed. Everyday, people die in road accidents and is common to see a full page of such accident reports in news papers.
Driving the vehicles at speeds which they can't control is wrong in the first place. Then, not following road discipline is another worst factor. People entering main roads do not slow down to see a clear road and instead enter the road at the same speed as they are driving and thus unnerve the drivers on the main road. Most of the accidents are due to entry of vehicles from side roads or vehicles slowing down suddenly in the same lane without indication or taking turns from extreme left to right without watching for vehicles coming behind.
Our roads are not racing tracks. It is proper if the bikes above 100 cc are banned. Similarly, four wheelers of high engine capacity should be banned so that vehicle speed can be limited to 50 kmph. All side roads should have speed breakers before they join the main road. The road dividers should of such height that nobody can use them to cross the road.
As someone suggested in a TV discussion programme, the licence of the vehicle drivers involved in accidents should be cancelled and drivers without licence should be imprisoned to reduce the accidents. Similarly, the pedestrians crossing the roads as they please should be fined heavily. I observed a few times that the pedestrians crossing the road wave their fingers to motorists. These people do not have sense that even if a motorist sees them, he may hit before slowing down the vehicle.
It is common for people drive vehicles at very high speed. Everyday, people die in road accidents and is common to see a full page of such accident reports in news papers.
Driving the vehicles at speeds which they can't control is wrong in the first place. Then, not following road discipline is another worst factor. People entering main roads do not slow down to see a clear road and instead enter the road at the same speed as they are driving and thus unnerve the drivers on the main road. Most of the accidents are due to entry of vehicles from side roads or vehicles slowing down suddenly in the same lane without indication or taking turns from extreme left to right without watching for vehicles coming behind.
Our roads are not racing tracks. It is proper if the bikes above 100 cc are banned. Similarly, four wheelers of high engine capacity should be banned so that vehicle speed can be limited to 50 kmph. All side roads should have speed breakers before they join the main road. The road dividers should of such height that nobody can use them to cross the road.
As someone suggested in a TV discussion programme, the licence of the vehicle drivers involved in accidents should be cancelled and drivers without licence should be imprisoned to reduce the accidents. Similarly, the pedestrians crossing the roads as they please should be fined heavily. I observed a few times that the pedestrians crossing the road wave their fingers to motorists. These people do not have sense that even if a motorist sees them, he may hit before slowing down the vehicle.
Jun 20, 2010
Compensation for victims of industrial accidents
There is discussion on deciding the quantum of compensation for victims of industrial accidents. The compensation amount should be fixed for every person injured / died in an accident instead of fixing the liability to the company for an accident.
In cases like Chernobyl, Bhopal and Seveso, the impact was immediate and is still continuing. In such cases, we can't decide compensation and cleanup costs immediately. The company has to pay for all victims. If the total compensation is limited to some amount, then in the cases like above, the amount received by the individual victims may become peanuts, whereas companies whose sole aim is to make profits will simply escape. When a company is in the business to make profits, then we can't allow them to make those profits at the cost of human lives, environment and property damages by following unsafe practices and procedures.
In fact, the certifying auditing agencies for quality, environment and safety practices of companies should be made accountable like financial auditors so that certificate can't issued / renewed without compliance with norms.
Now-a-days, the victims of road / rail accidents get Rs 2-10 lakhs from various agencies of the government. Sometimes, jobs are also offered for the next kin of the victims. Similar amount should be paid to the victims of industrial accidents apart from health treatment costs.
When the compensation will be decided for each victim instead of lumpsum per accident, then I am sure, companies will follow international safety practices everywhere and ensure safety of employees and public.
In cases like Chernobyl, Bhopal and Seveso, the impact was immediate and is still continuing. In such cases, we can't decide compensation and cleanup costs immediately. The company has to pay for all victims. If the total compensation is limited to some amount, then in the cases like above, the amount received by the individual victims may become peanuts, whereas companies whose sole aim is to make profits will simply escape. When a company is in the business to make profits, then we can't allow them to make those profits at the cost of human lives, environment and property damages by following unsafe practices and procedures.
In fact, the certifying auditing agencies for quality, environment and safety practices of companies should be made accountable like financial auditors so that certificate can't issued / renewed without compliance with norms.
Now-a-days, the victims of road / rail accidents get Rs 2-10 lakhs from various agencies of the government. Sometimes, jobs are also offered for the next kin of the victims. Similar amount should be paid to the victims of industrial accidents apart from health treatment costs.
When the compensation will be decided for each victim instead of lumpsum per accident, then I am sure, companies will follow international safety practices everywhere and ensure safety of employees and public.
Hazard Communication - One more idea to warn to about dangers
In my earlier post, I mentioned few things to communicate hazards to machine / equipment operators. In addition, it will also be effective to caution about hazards, if photos of persons injured are displayed on every equipment / machine. I feel such reminder will have the desired effect on the minds of operators and shopfloor supervisors so that they will not bypass safety procedures. It is like having photos of our loved ones in the house to remember about their affection. In the shopfloor, it is like remembering the mistakes made by the persons in the photos and the injuries suffered by them.
Jun 19, 2010
A tale of compensation payments by two companies - Union Carbide & BP
Bhopal accident that caused more than 15000 deaths and injuries to thousands of persons lead to payment of US$ 470 million (1997 ?) whereas oil spillage by BP in USA (2010) is leading to demands by President and his team to BP to keep aside of US$ 20 billion for cleanup, compensation, etc over a period of time. Had a Bhopal accident occurred in USA, it would have lead to its closure and go bankrupt. Such compensation awards show why companies earn huge profits at the cost of human beings in developing / underdeveloped countries. Many companies cry foul that countries like India cause lot of environment damage but nobody cares about ethics followed by the companies of advanced countries. It appears rules are different for different countries with least regard to deaths by organizations of advanced countries in other countries.
Jun 14, 2010
Hazard communication - Way to reduce accidents
Accidents recur regularly on same or similar process / machine. A friend of mine said once that operators and supervisors can be reminded about the hazards by displaying on every equipment/machine, the list of persons injured - causes for accidents - protective measures taken subsequently so that people will not forget, do not opt for shortcut methods, do not bypass safety systems.
Further, flowsheet / block diagram, hazards, safe operating procedures (SOPs), dos' and don't's, safety systems and controlling parameters, location of emergency switches, checklist to be used before start of every shift, etc can be displayed on the particular equipment in the languages understood by the concerned persons to ensure safety at the workplace. I am sure, this will definitely help in reducing the accidents, though the information sheets displayed are more. One has to spend time in preparation of these information sheets once and they need to be changed only when they are required and approved by higher authorities.
Concerned operators and supervisors should be involved in preparing these information sheets so that they are relevant and are understood. Further, they feel that they are part of the system and are therefore responsible for ensuring safety.
LINK
Further, flowsheet / block diagram, hazards, safe operating procedures (SOPs), dos' and don't's, safety systems and controlling parameters, location of emergency switches, checklist to be used before start of every shift, etc can be displayed on the particular equipment in the languages understood by the concerned persons to ensure safety at the workplace. I am sure, this will definitely help in reducing the accidents, though the information sheets displayed are more. One has to spend time in preparation of these information sheets once and they need to be changed only when they are required and approved by higher authorities.
Concerned operators and supervisors should be involved in preparing these information sheets so that they are relevant and are understood. Further, they feel that they are part of the system and are therefore responsible for ensuring safety.
LINK
There are NO instant solutions for achieving safety - You can't see results immediately
If there is an accident in the workplace, immediately investigation committee is constituted, some report is produced with recommendations and people will forget about implementation or followup. They tell that they investigated and found the root cause.
Similarly, people will appoint safety professionals or somebody as safety officer and expect accidentfree workplace from the next moment.
Someothers reduce their alertness on safety and say that they contributed to profits (by reducing the expenditure on safety), as there were no accidents in the last few months.
In all above situations, expectations are to see immediate results. People forget that for any good or bad to happen, it will take some time for the system to develop in the direction of increase or deterioration levels. Normally, the time will be about five years, though this time can vary depending upon the commitment levels of the management and employees.
That's why when some company gets a safety reward or recognition, the CEO at that time thinks that its all because of his efforts after assuming the charge, though this is due to the efforts by the earlier CEO(s) for last few years. One may get certicate of ISO/OHSAS or something after one year effort, but the certification for the first time is mainly because of documentation (normally by consultants and therefore employees do not know anything) and management programmes listed in the manuals and resources allocated. By the time, the certificate comes for revalidation, if the CEO puts his heart into it and looks back, the improvements achieved would have been negligible and he chides his MR or safety manager for not followingup properly with the departments.
If at all there are any instant results, they will fall under corrective actions and not preventive actions. Therefore, similar incidents / accidents occur again and again and companies will get NC from auditors for not seeing any efforts for preventing the incidents.
Therefore, there are no immediate solutions and results for achieving safety, but efforts are required for permanent solutions and to be sustained.
LINK
Similarly, people will appoint safety professionals or somebody as safety officer and expect accidentfree workplace from the next moment.
Someothers reduce their alertness on safety and say that they contributed to profits (by reducing the expenditure on safety), as there were no accidents in the last few months.
In all above situations, expectations are to see immediate results. People forget that for any good or bad to happen, it will take some time for the system to develop in the direction of increase or deterioration levels. Normally, the time will be about five years, though this time can vary depending upon the commitment levels of the management and employees.
That's why when some company gets a safety reward or recognition, the CEO at that time thinks that its all because of his efforts after assuming the charge, though this is due to the efforts by the earlier CEO(s) for last few years. One may get certicate of ISO/OHSAS or something after one year effort, but the certification for the first time is mainly because of documentation (normally by consultants and therefore employees do not know anything) and management programmes listed in the manuals and resources allocated. By the time, the certificate comes for revalidation, if the CEO puts his heart into it and looks back, the improvements achieved would have been negligible and he chides his MR or safety manager for not followingup properly with the departments.
If at all there are any instant results, they will fall under corrective actions and not preventive actions. Therefore, similar incidents / accidents occur again and again and companies will get NC from auditors for not seeing any efforts for preventing the incidents.
Therefore, there are no immediate solutions and results for achieving safety, but efforts are required for permanent solutions and to be sustained.
LINK
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