Construction Site Accidents

 

Analysis Of Industrial Accidents

Records of industrial accidents and steps taken to prevent them must be maintained systematically. Records of accidents will help in identifying areas in which further action is called for to ensure greater safety of employees and in comparing the present records with the past records. Records of accidents are also required to be maintained under the provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation Act. The information to be preserved should cover the following items:

•The total number of employees in the unit who are exposed to different types of accidents •The severity of the accident, whether it resulted in a broken bone, a deep cut and the time that was lost as a result of it. •The kind of work or occupation in which the employee was engaged. •The date, time of day, and the shift during which the accident occurred. •The total number of years during which the employee was engaged on the particular job when the accident occurred. •Personal data, including the age and health of the injured employee. •The immediate cause of the accident, whether it was the result of a malfunctioning of a machine, whether the employee failed to use the safety devices for preventing accidents, etc. The task of accident analysis is entrusted to the safety director in every establishment. The safety director must investigate and report on every accident to top management. He should make an analysis of all injuries suffered by the employees during every quarter and classify them plant-wise, department-wise and shift-wise. The causes & kinds of injuries should also be properly classified to help in devising safety measures.

Effects of industrial accidents

Accidents have disastrous effects on the organization, the

employees and the society. Accidents prove costly for the organization as workers have to be compensated and machinery has to be repaired. Moreover, lost man-days of the affected workers and cost of training of new workers further burden the cost of production. Employees also suffer adversely from accidents. They face mental and psychological shock, more so when they or their colleagues become physically disabled. Accidents have demoralizing effect on the workers. Their morale is lowered. Moreover, the rates of absenteeism and labor turnover go up. The cost of accidents in industry is borne by the society and the consumers. Industrial accidents affect the health of the workers adversely. Sometimes they also affect the public adversely. The Bhopal Gas leak tragedy in 1985 is a case in point. Thousands of people were killed and several thousands became disabled in this accident. Thus, efforts should be made to avoid industrial accidents in the interest of workers, employers and the society.

Safety Education

A safety education program, designed to spread safety consciousness among all including executives, supervisors, and operative employees, is necessary and it must have complete support of top management. Enlisting the cooperation of all in the safety program is a part of safety promotion. Safety education may be imparted via posters, bulletin boards, house organs, displays, cartoons, slogans, signs, and safety films. The employer must not only spend on safety education, but also provide necessary safety equipments and maintain them in good working order. Every new employee must be given safety training in the first week of his joining and the old employee must be provided with retraining. The safety office plays a vital role in promoting safety consciousness through safety education and training. T. O. Armstrong has outlined five elements of a safety-training program, which are as follows: A safe method of performing each job operation or sequence of operations is developed and described in simple but adequate detail. •The various hazard points are brought to light and described together with the relationship between these and the various steps in safety method. •The teaching is systematic and thorough. In the idiomatic English of a successful teacher, it is: 1.Tell him. 2.Show him. 3.Have him do it. 4.Correct him until he has it. 5.Supervise him to see that he keeps it. •The reason for requiring the wearing of personal protective equipment needed, as goggles, safety shoes, hand protectors, and the like is explained and its proper use and care taught in full detail. •Specific safeguards needed for the protection of the worker or his fellows are similarly explained and their correct usage thought.

Role of Government

The Government has set up Factory Advice and Labor Institute, Mumbai, which functions as an integral body to advise government, industry and other interests concerned with matters relating to safety, health and welfare of factory workers. The government has drawn up a “National Program for Coordinated Action Plan” for control of hazards, and protection of occupational health and safety workers in dangerous manufacturing processes. The Action Plan lists out the responsibilities of the government, management and workers’ organizations in the field of safety and health in work environment, and includes model scheme for setting up a ‘Full Safety Control System Cell’ in hazardous industries and ‘Safety and Health Accidents Reduction Action Plan’ (SAHARA) in all industries.

National Safety Council

The National Safety Council was set up in 1966 to promote safety consciousness among workers to prevent accidents; minimize dangers and mitigate human sufferings; conduct programs, lectures and conferences, and conduct safety, educational information and data. On 31 March 1985, the Council’s membership of 1,683 consisted of 1,456 corporate members, 141 individual members, 33 trade union members and 53 life members. The National Safety Day is celebrated on 4th March every year throughout the country to mark the foundation day of the National Safety Council.

National Safety Awards

To give recognition to good safety performance on the part of industrial undertakings and to stimulate and maintain the interest of both the managements and the workers in accident prevention programs, the Government instituted the national Safety Awards in 1965. The award schemes were instituted for factories registered under the Factories Act, 1948. The National Safety Awards for mines were instituted in 1983.