Contents
Functions of Plant Safety Committees are:
- To review accident records
- To investigate accidents and to implement corrective actions.
- To implement directives of the Central Safety Committee.
- Enforcement of safety rules, procedures, and accepted safe practices.
- To encourage and enforce the use of personal protective equipment. 6. Safety inspection rounds of various shops and sections.
- To encourage safety suggestions from workers and to forward them to the Central Safety Committee;
Workers’ and Unions Participation:
The equal number of safety representative from workers (or their union) and management should constitute their joint safety committee. This may be a central one or different in different plants. All must be sincere in their desire to co-operate in the masters of safety. Scope of the activities and agreement should be limited to Safety Union representatives should be selected from the basis of their safety know edge interest and experience and should be co-opera ye and sincere.
They should not bring other union demands like bargaining, grievance setting, etc. in the meeting of the safety committee. The union must recognize management’s right to leadership in a joint safety program. Accident prevention is an area of mutual interest and not of dispute or quarrel. Therefore “the workers or union must participate to show their abilities in this area and thus strengthening their relationship with the management and saving their own lives from accidents.
Central Board for Workers’ Education, Ministry of Labor, Govt. of India runs many schemes for workers’ education and training such as
- Tripartite scheme
- A Worker to worker training scheme
- Voluntary scheme
- Need ‘based education
- Education Officer’s training program
- Worker Teacher’s training program
- Workers’ training program etc.
In Gujarat, the first workers’ education center was established in 1967 with the co-Operation of the State Govt. employers and trade unions.
The Central Labor Institute at Bombay Gandhi labor Institute at Ahmadabad and some trade unions also run such education and training classes for workers. All such efforts should increase workers’ participation in safety.
of the supervisors is explained at length By their key position between workers and management and by their constant contact with workers they can easily and effectively promote workers’ participation in safety. The supervisor should always try to get such participation. is based on such safety contacts of plant people. Safety contact by safety manager, safety engineer/officer is also useful.
Safety Suggestion Scheme:
This is an old practice to invite safety for improvement in process, method, equipment, safety meetings, contests, inspection procedure, etc, Criticisms should be replied in the plant magazine or on the notice board to provoke further suggestions and ideas.
For suggestion scheme to be successful it is advisable that the employees’ effort must be acknowledged, even if the suggestion is not adopted It must be given careful consideration. Good suggestions should b rewarded among others to encourage them to participate. Written suggestions are the -best, but, the oral or telephonic should also be allowed. Sometimes a contest of submitting good suggestions provides useful information arid stimulates such effort. This system is effectively accepted by Japanese management. Boxes and forms can also be used to collect suggestions.
Safety Competitions:
This is another method of workers’ participation in safety. Competitions (contests) are of two types: (1) Individual comparison where individual worker takes part in competition and award 18 given by comparing individual performance Examples are safety speech or quiz, essay, poem or slogan writing, posters or cartoons, etc (2) Group comparison ~ where groups take part in competition and award 15 given by comparing group versus group. Examples are department wise housekeeping competition.
Safety Incentive Schemes:
(i) Financial Incentive:
Financial reward to the most useful suggestion or activity in safety is the commonest method. Other financial incentives should also be given for suggestion to solve a particular
safety problem of plant or process, machine or equipment, etc. The suggestion of the good design for a guard or safety device should always be rewarded by a handsome amount.
(ii) Non-Financial Incentives:
Award for safety performance, trophy, memento, certificate of merit, public honor, praise or pride, awarding special safety hat or kit or symbol of recognition, awarding special status and duties of safety work, giving Special position such as honorary member of safety committee, raising the cadre or post, giving extra designation for any remarkable safety contribution are all examples of non-financial incentives.
These non-financial incentives are self-preservation, personal and material gain, loyalty, responsibility, pride, conformity, rivalry, leadership, logic and humanity. If these incentives are properly utilized they help much in accident prevention work.
Safety performance (frequency and severity rates) of different groups can be compared for the same period. Here groups are motivated for competition. Similarly, factories can be invited for the contest if the district, state or nation-wide competition is arranged State and National Safety Councils do this. Every year safety competitions are held among the similar class of factories to boost up safety activities and group motivation.
In any type of safety contest, the rules of contest and comparison must be well defined, declared beforehand and fair and reasonable to all participants. Scoring system should be simple or easy to understand. Winners may get shield, certificate or good prize but non winning participants should also be compensated for encouragement. The competition movement whole should be encouraged as this effort itself is a most important Care should be taken to avoid any (1 Cheating or malpractice like compelling a worker to continue work to show less man-days shall be disregarded Similarly false reporting figures should also be avoided. Competition should be fair and fine and fitting to its noble cause.
Safety Quiz is one type of safety competition contest. It can be conducted by asking quest participants or by giving them an objective q paper containing quiz questions to be answer stipulated time. It touches wide area of safety i time and participation looks live.
Audio‘Visual Publicity:
A trainee tends to remember 50% of sees and hears and 70% of what he sees ant this is possible by audio-visual aid only. Tel and video effectively reproduce actual help Therefore safety education and training by a safety on TV is the most powerful method Only difficulty in getting safety films or safety video cassette as frequently This Should be made possible if w to utilize its full role in increasing safety
Slides, filmstrips and transparencies an available or prepared and therefore they should used to the extent possible to hold the picture to and understand it in details which is not
possible a moving film. Modem media is a closed circuit television Traveling units are complete television studio themselves and have up-to-date equipment w control room housed in a single vehicle. There a and moving cameras, technical equipment, a video recorder and monitor screens which can be ii up to 500 meters away from the studio. Using inside and outside cameras, extensive programmer can be broadcast through the network. Such a unit can be hired also.
Other Promotional Methods:
Other promotional teaching method employees’ participation is safety posters, ca signs and slogans, publications, booklets, boards, safety contests and rewards, council education and training, demonstration, safety in safety campaigns and stunts, first-aid training brigades, safety inventory or questionnaire, an investigation, inspection, job safety analysis etc.
APPROACHES TO COMPLIANCE & VIOLATIONS
All rules are for compliance. Rules on paper are no rules. Rules in effect are real rules. Strict and quick compliance of safety rules is most desirable. Poor no compliance goes against safety. No compliance statutory provisions may bring dire consequences. Los of various types results in decreasing productivity Therefore measures for compliance of safety rules must be adopted whole-heartedly. Responsibility for compliance should be fixed and so divided that the compliance is achieved ant reported within the stipulated time. Action for compliance should be started at ‘ once ~and interim reply should b given if the” action is Still Continued. Probable time for completion should also be reported. Defending delay or avoiding compliance is of 11 use. Effective measures for speedy compliance should be determined and applied. Preventive and corrective maintenance, trained team, sufficient spares and tools, ready procedure, drawing, charts, tables, extra equipment, and safety devices are good measures for quick compliance. The measures may vary according to the matters to be compiled. Quick decision for selection of measure for compliance is equally important. When some rules are not compiled their reasons must be considered. The reason may be a fault with rules employees or supervisors. Such fault should hi detected, studied and removed to achieve compliance
Approaches to Violations:
Violation of safety rules must first be detected and removed. Violation may result in an accident and economic losses. It must be prevented Rules are made for non-violation. Therefore no violation should take place.However, if it takes place, it should be studied and its reason should be removed. Violation of nonstatutory rules may result in prosecution anti compensation.
Despite this legal proceeding ii adversely affects health and safety of work people a violation of non-statutory internal rules calls for disciplinary action. If such corrective action is not taken, the rule ceases to exist. The first correction is to teach the requisite measure for compliance so that the mistake is realized and action is soon taken for non-recurrence.
If the repeated violation is noticed some appropriate punishment may be necessary. Only punishment will not serve the purpose, as the solution of unsafe behavior is not any admonition or penalty. Anyhow, requisite safe behavior must be reflected and that IS the resolution. Normally -the approach to violation of a safety rule should be to detect and remove the cause and not to find & punish a wrongdoer are to find and punish a wrongdoer.
Mast hai