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
Apr 10, 2013
Near miss management from SafetySmart
http://compliance.safetysmart.com/search-by-topic/recordkeeping-search-by-topic/8-steps-for-effective-near-miss-management?utm_source=pardot&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Bongarde
Apr 8, 2013
Actions speak the truth
Audience, particularly those who are not from the same organization, feel and think great about the speaker by listening to the tall claims. But, insiders will have pessimism about talk by such leaders.
When some lower level employee speaks, nobody cares. But, when same of even lower level employee of some other organization speaks, people will be attentive and give respect. This leads to heart burn among the employees of the organization to which this leader belongs.
Sometimes, when talks are given by employees of same organization in which the show is conducted, higher level people go out to do their business, but this is not the case with talks from employees of other organizations. This leads to wrong impression among employees as participants that boss does not care about the speaker (and his work) and thus they too need not bother in future. This is particularly harmful to the organization when the speaker is from safety department. Similarly, questioning (or ragging) safety department employees in front of others for whatever reason it is, leads to wrong projection of importance to safety and this will only spoil safety culture.
Apr 2, 2013
Accountability for safety
- Create written safety policies and procedures
- Train employees on the safety policies and procedures
- Provide all the necessary equipment to do the assigned work
- Hold everyone accountable for compliance
- Both supervisors and employees provide feedback as to how work is being done Corrective action is taken as necessary
Accountability means, in his words, praising when correct things done and correcting when things are done the improperly. It should not be like knee jerk reaction to punish people when something goes wrong.
While writing safety policy and safety procedures, I feel, it should be written by involving all concerned employees. If it is written by manager or consultant in his office without interaction and active participation of employees, the ownership for the document will not exist with the concerned shopfloor employees and it is likely that they may not like to read and follow.
Apr 1, 2013
Safety: Can You Have Too Much of a Good Thing? » SafetySmart
The article is about the experience of Australian psychologist during his interaction with employees of a corporation. Some opined that too much safety (directives, guidelines, procedures, initiatives, etc) will lead to safety saturation and employees may try to take short cuts like those in traffic jams where motorists try to ignore signals out of frustration of feeling obstructed, that they are unable to make move, and so on.
How much is too much is a debatable point and requires efforts of all heads in important positions along and CEO of the organization, I feel, should be biased towards safety rules and regulations, while taking a final call for implementation of safety systems, so arrived.
Being a safety professional, I am unable to agree with the statement that too much safety (is there really such a thing) works against safety culture. But, I should be open to ideas and lack of knowledge or understanding should not make me not to listen to ideas.
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
Mar 26, 2013
Wrongly labelled bottle - causes fatality (from SafetySmart)
Two workers drink from a bottle labelled as beer, but actually it is a wind shield washer fluid containing methanol. One worker who consumed good amount died whereas the other survived.
Wrong labelling in this case caused death. In some incidents, reagent bottles after use are reused for storing chemicals. If the bottle after use is not emptied and washed thoroughly before reuse, pouring some other chemical may lead to runaway reactions / explosions, etc and can injure the workers. Proper labelling is a requirement under various legislations and compliance will only help us.
Pushing up the cable roll on the stairs - fall and breaking of glass doors down below
Picture This! Gravity 1, Workers 0 » SafetySmart
The link above takes us to a video wherein two persons unsuccessfully try to move a cable roll by rolling it up over stairs, leading to its roll down to the ground, shatter the glass panes of the entrance, speeding past to the street road. Though it is funny by watching the video, it is most dangerous act that could have endangered many lives in the building and on the road.
Mar 25, 2013
Unruly behavior of employees with safety officers
We have ignore the unruly behavior of others as it is not in our control and we should not get disappointed and stop doing our job. We have to collect case studies of other organizations that resemble situations in our work place and keep circulating to all employees including top management for information.
We have to be bold and if required we have to take up to the notice of higher authorities when junior level people do not listen. Most of the time, people will sit straight when issues are put in writing with a copy marked to group heads and CEO or MD. I am sure this will help over a period of time in controlling unruly managers.
Mar 24, 2013
Long hours on computer - impact on health
Some tips on ergonomics issues are provided in the article including taking breaks for every 30-60 minutes for five minutes, looking at distance for every 10 seconds, closing the eyes for 5 minutes for every hour work, etc.
http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/boot-up-your-health/article4541693.ece
Mar 22, 2013
From Yahoo - Stress contributors
http://in.lifestyle.yahoo.com/10-habits-contribute-stress-071639766.html
Amont them are lack of sleep, irregular meals, long hours of work, family/work place problems, no exercise, not giving time to self, etc.
In the name of getting in the eyes of bosses, some spend long hours at work place, sometimes even when there is no work. This reduces the time available to family members, affects the health in sitting idle for long hours without exercise, may be leading to commuting back to house in busy hours, no relaxation (spending time at office is definitely as good as spending the same at home), missing friends/relatives, etc. Similarly not having time for self like for leisure reading, entertainment, spending time in happy surroundings, etc will lead to stress buildup. Piling up of personal jobs due to more office work also increase the stress levels.
Spending time on internet without purpose also causes stress and after spending for few hours, we might have felt that we wasted our time without any gain. Further, sitting for long hours for surfing will also cause health problems due to sitting in same posture.
As recommended by experts, observing no phone / no internet / etc will bring some peace of mind. We should also take our leaves to be away from routine office works so that we can concentrate better rather than working continuously without even consuming our eligible leaves. This will also help the organization for which we are working. May be some shortsighted bosses think that the person on leave is not committed, but we have to take care of our health also.
Mar 21, 2013
Cheaper ammonia detectors from IGCAR scientists
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/cheaper-way-to-detect-ammonia/article4530105.ece
It works in the range 0-525 ppm.
Mar 17, 2013
Safety goes off the rails - The Hindu
The above link is about safety issues related to Indian Rail system. There were 4999 rail and weld fractures during April 2012-January 2013 over 64000 km rail network. Alert gang men identified these problems and thus could prevent rail accidents. Government requires 1.4 lakh rupees over next five years and expressed its inability provide this money to address safety issues. There are about 90000 vacancies related checking of safety issues which the railway minister promises to fill up.
There will be huge cry whenever fares are increased. However, one should realize that there will be compromise mostly with safety when we try to cut costs. Those who raise voice when fares are increased also should not raise voice when their wages are not raised or allowances are not raised. Where from anybody gets money to meet the costs without raising the income. Corruption should be fought and one should ensure and be vigilant that we do not get cheap quality product or service for the money spent.
But, we should understand and help the authorities also when charges are increased and cooperate so that our own safety during travel can be taken care.
Else, the bleeding companies (in road, rail, air, sea transport related) will only risk our lives.
Feb 27, 2013
Ego - obstacle to safe practices
However, when some incident happens, safety professional of the company will become the first target of these production managers, saying that they were not sufficiently warned about the hazard, that the safety professional slept without doing his job, and so on. This will be the case even if there were some incidents in the work place.
Surprisingly, sometimes, even regulators too question safety professionals of the company instead of engaging the production managers for safety related lapses in the work place.
The ego in the minds of production managers (and down below) is an obstacle to listen to the voice of safety professional and this endangers safety of employees in the work place. They do not accept the fact that there is something (mindset to see the dangers and to learn lessons from events) missing on their part leading to occurrence of nearmisses, incidents and accidents. Any occurrence is taken as onetime affair and is not acknowledged for system deficiencies. Even efforts will be made to cover up the issues or not to bring to the notice of safety professional for investigation and thus do not want to learn lessons.
The case studies, lessons from occurrence that are freely available in the internet are taken as too theoretical or that these are not applicable to their work place. Nobody can help such managers and those working under them will only become easy prey to the hidden dangers.
Vitamin D deficiency - exposure to sun helps
One can have sufficient vitamin D simply by exposure to sun without paying extra money.It is reported that fair skin people need about 20 min/day exposure to sun 3-4 times a week, whereas for dark skin people, it is 30-40 min exposure a day for 3-4 times a week. The ultraviolet-B radiation from sun which is intense during mid day helps to make this vitamin. One should keep moving while having sun exposure and stationary people will receive sun burns.
From the above, for working people who have to put long hours (forced/voluntary) by going to office early and coming out in the late evenings; spending the day in cubicles; not venturing out, etc are more prone to side effects of this vitamin D deficiency. Thus, though we may be in the good books of the boss for EXTRA hard work by spending more hours in the work place, after few years when we become sick due to vitamin D deficiency, we will be sick and also fall from the grace (of the boss).
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/diet-and-nutrition/soak-up-some-sun/article4455404.ece
Feb 14, 2013
The Hindu : Sci-Tech / Science : Raising the bogey of radiation from cell phone towers
The Hindu : Sci-Tech / Science : Raising the bogey of radiation
LINK
Feb 11, 2013
Approach to life - attitude issues
Feb 10, 2013
Fatal prank
Such pranks or horse play anywhere are dangerous, particularly in shop floor areas and shop floor in-charges have to warn all employees particularly those who are fresh from school/college as their awareness about workplace hazards is poor.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Man-plays-deadly-prank-on-friend/articleshow/18424161.cms
Feb 9, 2013
Human error-power supply failure to air traffic controller radar screen at IGI, New Delhi
From various reports in the internet about the incident, there seems to be failure of, or no uninterrupted power supply (UPS) / inverter backup directly connected to ATC radar system, as the screens went blank. That it took sometime for standby power to come into line, indicates that this is a diesel generator (DG) set power supply. This takes about 30 seconds as we experience in apartment complexes or cinema halls. Generally, people use UPS even for domestic computers, because of fear of losing data. Also, because of power cuts, people use inverter widely at home and business houses. For critical systems, normal power supply should be through inverter/UPS so that any failure of power supply on upstream side will not affect the operations. Now-a-days, solar powered inverters are also available in the market. This should be in addition to the other backups for use. MCB/any other switch should be located on upstream side of these UPS/inverter, rather than on the downstream end so that mistakes like these will not happen. May be the authorities were confident of their backup systems.
Generally, risk assessment is same for aviation and nuclear industries. The risk assessment should be reviewed and measures should be taken to reduce risk levels. It is horrible to think of so many planes in the air without guidance for landing.
To avoid such mistakes as in this case, there is a need for safety work permit system as practiced in all industrial facilities, for carrying out any job having impact on human lives, property and or environment. Also, that this important MCB could be switched off by mistake indicates that critical safety systems are not protected or its importance is not recognized. Authorities have to review entire safety practices, identify critical systems having impact on persons/property/environment and prepare documented procedure for implementation. Suitable caution boards/warning signs/names and contact numbers of authorities to be contacted in case of need should be displayed near these critical items. A nodal authority (safety officer) should be identified for entire ATC under whom, permission/approval should be given for various works so that there will not be any lapse. If more than an authority is identified, there may be a situation that one will not know about permission/approval given by the other. Also, lockout/tagout (LOTO) system, if feasible needs to be put in place.
Apart from power failure like above, it is possible that due to hardware or software glitch or even entry of insects/lizards, the screens can go blank or computer system can hang and for such a situation also, one has to plan for diverse redundant systems to avoid surprise/panic. Whenever, there is no communication between computers or computer and signal receiving/emitting towers or no change in data for a specified time (may be a second or milli second or some other duration depending upon the criticality), audio-visual alarms should be incorporated to alert the concerned personnel for immediate action.
Feb 6, 2013
Design changes - no compromise for safety
Jan 30, 2013
Emotions - health effects
- Brain contracts with increase in age and leads to forgetfulness. However, physical exercise compared to metal exercise and social activities will help to keep the brain active.
- Happiness and heart are linked. More happiness increases heart beats and one will not get sleep. I experience this, when I got good marks (beyond my expectations) in my XII standard, engineering final year, receipt of appointment letter (25 years ago) in the organization of my choice where I am continuing still and my first promotion. Similar is my experience, I was under pressure.
- Anger affects liver which leads to generation of bile juices and headache. Blood pressure too raises.
- Tension, stress affects lungs and one feels suffocation.
- Depression/sorrow reduces energy levels which affects lungs and leads to associated respiratory problems.
- Fear affects kidneys and one looses control over urination.
- Threat affects heart and at higher levels it can affect kidneys also.
Jan 24, 2013
Problems of touch screen operations on desktop/laptop
Jan 23, 2013
Hi-Tec - by how much?
In all these, what we understand is that they use some software or some techniques that run on computers. However, unless rigorous checks are not made to the software before its use, hi-tec can lead to complex problems, which we can't understand. For this, the programmer should understand fully the requirement, which should be specified by the engaging agency in clear terms. If there is no clarity in specifications and the understanding of the same by programmer is not checked, glitches may come later, which may develop in to unimaginable proportions.
What we start with hi-tec, also can become low-tec after sometime, when changes are made but not tested fully.
Management of change, i.e checking the modifications in an existing procedure for achieving the desired output, if not done properly can manage us later.
Some plant facilities started on PLC based operations initially will be suspended and reverted to manual mode because of the glitches. This is because of lack of clarity in what we want, what we conveyed to the developers/suppliers, and what we got. Hardware problems also can lead to similar situation. Sometimes, because of the complex operations involved in operating PLC based plants and poor training, managers revert to manual operations.
If we are overconfident that nothing will happen because a plant is hi-tec and leave the caution to the air, then also we may find surprises.
Hi-tec will be safe only when we address above issues.
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.
Who is responsible for safety for works in your plant?
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 9, 2013
Attrocities on females - action needed
Jan 8, 2013
Safe driving measures - a record achieved
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Better-drive-safe-wifes-watching/articleshow/17935143.cms
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
Jan 5, 2013
Do not permit permissible pollution
Jan 4, 2013
Manage Change before it manages you
Many changes take place everywhere and we carry out those changes most of the times to meet immediate requirement rather than analyzing for hidden dangers (or side effects). My colleague's brother who was a scientist during his government service used to say, 'what is temporary today is permanent'.
Safety professionals will be facing problems in convincing the shop floor managers to carryout proper hazard analysis and many times, the reply will be that they need clearance to execute so and so job and later it will be removed or it will be taken up for study.
There were a number of examples listed by reputed safety professional Trevor Kletz in his books like, What Went Wrong, Still Going Wrong, Learning from Disasters, etc, where many incidents took place because of improper or no evaluation of hazards. Management of change is an important aspect in industries without which, we may end up with unforeseen events.
Sometimes, even shop floor workers too will find safety department an obstacle to their production job because of questions raised on safety, though, if something wrong occurs, it is the safety professional who will be questioned for not being authoritative or not active.
Hence, whatever be the nature of change or modification proposed, let it be process parameters, raw materials, equipment, or its accessories, auxiliary services, supports, or even operators, one should carry out a detailed analysis for hazards, impact on operation due to lack of knowledge/training/behavior, etc and then only proceed if satisfied with the results.
Jan 1, 2013
New year resolutions - Incident reporting culture
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.
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