Study for Enhancing Employee Safety for Manufacturing Sector

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This project is a general management project regarding the topic safety in manufacturing
industry/ sector. It was undertaken with the view to study the different safety and health hazards
faced in manufacturing sector and their effects.

Safety in the manufacturing industry is now a part of the entire process. From emphasis on mass
production to emphasis on safety of employees at work, there have been many changes along the
way. It is no longer just a formality, but a necessary and important step in the entire system.

There has been quite some research done on the topic of safety in developed as well as
developing countries. India being a developing nation at a high rate, it is but necessary to give
even greater importance to the safety of workers at work performing their jobs. Nowadays, there
are various ways of educating employees and workers about workplace safety.

For the purpose of this project, previous researches carried out in this field has been reviewed and
laid out. Current status and statistics have been provided. Types of hazards have been explained
as well.

It was found that there are different sources and causes of different hazards at work. Care
should be taken in order to minimize and eliminate potential threats which could otherwise turn
fatal. This project aims to guide workers in ways to enhance safety at workplace.
 Study for enhancing employee safety for manufacturing sector

Introduction

Manufacturing has emerged as one of the high growth sectors in India. Prime Minister of India,
Mr. Narendra Modi, had launched the ‘Make in India’ program to place India on the world map
as a manufacturing hub and give global recognition to the Indian economy. India is expected to
become the fifth largest manufacturing country in the world by the end of year 2020.

Thus a growth and boost in the country’s manufacturing sector is expected. Along with this
growth is the increased responsibility of maintaining occupational health and safety standards.
Larger scale of manufacturing could mean a larger frequency or intensity of hazards Industrial
safety remains a pressing concern in India where 1,660 people died in factory or machine-related
accidents between 2013 and 2016, according to an article from DNA. An additional 4,045 people
reportedly received fatal injuries in Indian factories during the same time period. More recently,
in 2017, the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC)
reported more than 450 fire emergencies, out of which five reported casualties. Hence, it is
necessary to understand the importance of proper safety measures in the industries and adopt
measures to reduce industrial accidents.

Standards like OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001 provide a framework to identify, control and
decrease the risks associated with health and safety within the workplace. However, the degree to
which they are implemented and followed varies from industry to industry. The level of training
of personnel, the safety managers in the organization, the response teams available all make a
difference. This report brings to light the current status of safety in industries across the
manufacturing sector. Impact of proper implementation of the safety measures is also assessed.

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Evolution of safety management

Across the globe, human society has had about 250 years’ experience of accident management
since the beginning of industrialization. The broad pattern of evolution of the safety system
seems to be as follows (MacLaury, J. (undated). Government Regulation of Workers' Safety and
Health, 1877-1917. US Department of Labour (website)):

1. Small beginnings:
Initially, accidents and disasters made some workers think and take action against it. As
the intensity increased, they realized that this could cause a large scale loss and it became
a growing concern.
2. Exposure to public:
Media was used to bring forth the issue of accidents to the public and creating awareness
about it.
3. Government participation:
Inspection and reporting systems were set up in order to get information about the
conditions inform about rules and make sure they were followed. The governments which
did so earlier, served as a model for other following governments.
4. Acceptance of safety as a new norm:
Once some safety laws were introduced, it was thought that workplace safety should be
considered a norm.
5. Pressure generated by united labour force:
Advent and growth of workers’ unions created additional pressure for safety action.
6. Conservative Germany reformed to hold support, but as a result raised the bar:
Germany under the conservative reformer Bismarck, from 1884 began to use welfare state
legislation (health, accident, old age and disability insurance) to win political support
away from the socialists and to use the benefits of the social wage to retain young workers
who might otherwise have migrated to the US where wages were higher but conditions
were worse. The German actions provided an example to other countries and helped to
some extent to establish a bidding-war over safety.

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7. “Safety First”:
One of the earliest slogans of the safety movement was “safety first” picked up in 1910
and popularised by the managements of US railway companies. The role of the slogan at
the time was to indicate that ensuring safety should be the first priority - for employees.
8. Speed breaker:
It was expected that the top management should lead an effective safety drive in the
organization since they had more power than the employees. However, lack of a strong
governmental structure and additional financial constraints led to only a few organizations
going forward in this aspect.
9. Internalization of safety cost for the management by the government:
Employer paid ‘no-fault’ workers; compensation schemes were introduced which
attached a certain cost to the absence of safety in ht organization. As a result, majority of
the companies started to engage the safety issue, with larger ones putting in more efforts.
10. Leveling the playing field:
It was thought by managements that the safety issue was putting additional cost pressure
and increasing competition amongst all players. However, once the government laid down
regulations which were followed by all the firms, the impact of such a competition was
reduced. Once safety issues were addressed at a modest cost, the cost savings were
increased.
11. As firms went up the learning curve, down came the costs:
As firms gained experience in safety management, they began to invest more and more in
safety measures. Managements took direct responsibility for safety and direct costs began
to fall.
12. As society got richer, the costs of safety became a given of civilization:
While safety improvements were taking place, incomes were rising. As a result, safety
became affordable irrespective of its absolute cost.

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Problem Statement:

With newer initiatives by the government, there is progress in the manufacturing sector. We all
want our country to progress as a result of this.

However, a boost in the manufacturing sector will also increase chances of industrial hazards.
Different factors are responsible for causing industrial health and safety hazards. To prevent
losses to lives and property, it is important to make and follow a plan which reduces and/or
eliminates those factors.

We will look at an overview of the prevalent safety standards, their implementation and
impact on the manufacturing sector

Objectives:

1. Present an overview of the manufacturing sector

2. Identify hazards faced by industries
3. Understand ways to prevent further industrial hazards

This study focuses on the various occupational health and safety issues and emphasizes on the
major ones faced by various industries. It gives an overview of the manufacturing sector and
provides information about safety standards and problems. Finally, safety measures adopted by
the industries and their impact have been discussed. The manufacturing plants in question are
those based in India.

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Literature review

(Ms.P.Vinotha, Ms.R.Suriya and Ms. S.Valarmathi, April 2015)

In order to keep employees producing at least at the level indicated by their potential at the time
of their employment, it is essential to prevent anything from happening to them that might result
in a temporary or permanent reduction in output because of sources such as accident or injuries
and illness due to ill health. Accident and illness not only disturb output but also carry with them
sizeable monetary costs. It becomes extremely important for industrial organizations to take all
possible steps to prevent or reduce accident and severity as well as to eliminate anything that
might contribute to the onset or prolongation of an illness.
Industrial health

According to joint I.L.O/ W.H.O committee on organization health, industrial health is

 The prevention and maintenance of physical, mental and social well being of workers in
all occupations.

 Prevention among workers in their employment from risks resulting from the factors
adverse to health

 Placing and maintenance of the workers in an occupational environment adapted to his
physical psychological equipment.

Thus, it can be seen that industrial health has a much deeper meaning beyond just physical and/
or outward safety. A worker’s mental and social well being are of importance. A sound state of
health goes a long way towards improving his or her output.

A worker is exposed to various potential risks while performing his job. These risks if not
checked in time could affect the worker’s health and lead to serious consequences both to him as
well as the organization.

Thus, it is necessary and important that a worker’s environment is as per his requirement or at
least such that the worker is able to maintain good physical and psychological health while
working.

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(Algera, 2006).Occupational health and safety (OHS) is generally defined as the science of the
anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of hazards arising in or from the workplace that
could impair the health and well-being of workers, taking into account the possible impact on the
surrounding communities and the general environment. This domain is necessarily vast,
encompassing a large number of disciplines and numerous workplace and environmental hazards

(Ergonomic strategies for improving working conditions in some developing countries in

Asia. Kawakami T, Batino JM, Khai TT Ind Health. April 1999).Health and safety
innovations in the workplace, with low-cost and locally relevant solutions, have been initiated in
several developing countries.It was studied that many countries in world have adopted various
health and safety measures for their employess such OHAS to prevent accident and provide the
worker with a good safe working environment

(The scope of occupational health in developing countries. Mendes R Am J Public Health.

May 1990).The traditional workplace-oriented occupational health has proven to be insufficient
in the developing world, and tangible progress in occupational health can be achieved only by
linking occupational health to the broader context of social justice and national development.

A hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or
someone. In the context of a workplace, a hazard is a potential source of harm to a worker or
employee. Hazards inherent in a job cause accidents to take place. OHS makes sure that such
incidents are avoided by anticipating them after studying past records as well as the likelihoods
and risks of any hazard in the present. OHS management comprehensively includes various
streams of work, since different work is carried out in different places.

(Figlio, 2014).Occupational accident can be defined as accident that occurs in the course of a
person’s employment and is caused by the hazards that are inherent in, or are related to, it. A
feature common to different definitions of an occupational accident is the unexpected and
unintentional nature of the incident. When physical injury is added, an occupational accident can
be defined as an unexpected and unintentional series of events leading to the physical injury of a
person at

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work. The other precondition for an occupational accident is a contractual relationship between
the employer and the employee

Women and Work

In addition to their domestic responsibilities of childbearing, child rearing, and family care,
women in the developing world have worked in the agricultural and informal sectors for
millennia. However, because their work is usually not valued monetarily in these sectors, it is
often discounted and rendered invisible. In the formal sector as well, gender inequalities are
commonplace in such areas as limited job opportunities, limited tracks for promotion and
leadership responsibilities, and discrimination based on work hazards. Women’s work,
particularly in the developing world, is not adequately protected by national policies and is
generally restricted by traditional social norms and such misperceptions that women’s work is
less significant, is merely supplementary, or is unskilled. Hence, there is an urgency to “examine
the wider impact of women’s different productive and reproductive roles on their occupational
health.” (Women's occupational health in globalization and development. Loewenson RH Am J
Ind Med. July 1999)

Again, this challenge to occupational health transcends the boundaries of the workplace and
requires a multi-disciplinary approach in which occupational health researchers partner with
other social scientists and advocates.

Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs)

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are impairment of bodily structures such as muscles,

joints, ligaments, tendons, nerves, bones and localised blood circulation, that affect or aggravated
primarily by work and/or by the work environment.The causes of work-related MSDs are multi-
factorial in origin and cumulative, including physical, ergonomic, psychosocial and other factors
with repeated exposure over a long period of time. However, MSDs can also be acute traumas,
such as fractures, dislocations of joints etc. as well as chronic exposure related problems like
tenosynovitis, epicondylitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, DeQuervain's disease, tension neck

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syndrome etc. MSDs are also known as repetitive stress injury, repetitive motion disorder,
cumulative trauma disorder etc. The risk factors for the development of MSDs are: repetitive
work, awkward postures, painful/tiring positions, carrying or moving heavy loads, exposure to
vibrations and prolonged standing or walking. Some workers at risk of MSD include construction
workers, agricultural workers, machine operators, drivers, loaders and unloaders, etc. (EU-
OSHA, 2007; CCOHS, 2014 ).

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Methodology

In this report, secondary research has been used.

This is a type of research where information gathered by others through primary research, is used.
This technique is also known as Desk Research.

There are two types of Secondary Research hence two types of data collected from this
technique:

 Internal Secondary Data consists of information gathered within researcher’s firm (i.e.
customers databases and reports from past primary research)

 External Secondary Data consists of information gathered outside of researcher’s firm

(i.e. government statistics and information from media sources)

The sources were as follows:

1. Government sources – Several government sources has been used to collect a lot of
useful information about multiple subjects.
2. Universities and colleges – Several colleges student’s and researcher’s file
information has been referred.
3. The internet – The internet was the most used secondary research source and a prior
attention was given to avoid several non-credible sources with incomplete
information.

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Results

The Manufacturing sector in India

In recent years the manufacturing sector has been the major focus for the government of India.
Realizing the importance of manufacturing sector and the amount of employment it can generate,
many initiatives are being taken up by the current government to foster the growth of this sector.
Having the benefit of a high amount of educated population & skilled labour, there is enough
scope for the manufacturing sector to further develop in the country. The ‘Make in India’
campaign started by the current government is one of the biggest initiatives taken by any
government in order to attract foreign investors to invest and start manufacturing in India. The
government is providing adequate infrastructure like electricity and strong network of roads and
railways for easy transportation of goods and services. Many laws favouring the labours and land
acquisition are being implemented so that it is easier for the foreign investors to start their
business in India. Their main motive is to manufacture goods with zero defects so that none of the
exported goods are returned back to India. With ‘Make in India’ campaign, the government
doesn’t want to compromise on the environmental standards. They want to follow a sustainable
and environmentally sensitive path to prosperity. Some of the major industries which are on a
high rise are the automobile industry, electronic & semiconductor industries, machinery,
chemical, pharmaceutical industries and aviation industries. Many foreign investors are looking
to invest in the defense sector of the country as well. Along with foreign investors, domestic
companies having good leadership and manufacturing technology are also encouraged to invest,
so that they can compete with the global leaders.

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Sector-wise contribution to GDP (2016 Global Congress on Manufacturing and Management)

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Sub-sectors in manufacturing (udyogaadhaar.gov.in)

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Population: rural- urban distribution

About 833 million people live in rural area, which is more than two-third of total population of
the country. Rural-urban distribution is 68.84% and 31.16%. Level of urbanization has increased
from 27.8% in 2001to31.2% in 2011.

Levels of literacy

Literacy is defined as the person with age of 15 years and above who can read and write. As per
2011 census, the overall literacy rate in India was 74.04%. Among male and female, the literacy
rate was 82.14% and 65.46% respectively. However, the difference between male and female in
the literacy rate has been declining fast during last decade.

Labour force

A person who has participated in any productive activity with and without compensation or profit
is defined as a worker. As per 2011 census, a total of about 482 million labour work forces are
available in the country. It is the second largest labour workforce in the whole world after China.
About 94% labour workforces are employed in unorganized sectors and rest are employed in
organized sectors in India.

Investments

With the help of Make in India drive, India is on the path of becoming the hub for hi-tech
manufacturing as global giants such as GE, Siemens, HTC, Toshiba, and Boeing have either set
up or are in process of setting up manufacturing plants in India, attracted by India's market of
more than a billion consumers and increasing purchasing power.
Cumulative Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India’s manufacturing sector reached US$ 72.31
billion during April 2000-September 2017.
India has become one of the most attractive destinations for investments in the manufacturing
sector. Some of the major investments and developments in this sector in the recent past are:

 Mahindra and Mahindra is planning to start operating a fleet of electric cabs and
supplying parts to Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturers.
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Workforce (Percentage)

24.60%

41.60%
Cultivators

Agricultural Labourers

Household industrial
Workers
Other Workers

30%

3.80%

Workforce (percentage)

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 Grasim Industries has received clearance for expansion of its plant at Vilayat. The
expansion will entail an investment of Rs 2,560 crore (US$ 396.8 million)

 Over 350 mobile charger factories are expected to be set up in India by 2025, on the back
of the government’s push to encourage production of battery chargers. Setting up of these
factories is expected to lead to production of 1.46 billion chargers and generation of 0.8
million jobs.

 Government of India is planning to invite bids for setting up of 20 Gigawatts (GW) of
solar power capacity with the objective of boosting domestic manufacturing of solar
power equipment.

 JSW Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of
Gujarat, for setting up an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing unit in Gujarat at an
estimated cost of Rs 4,000 crore (US$ 608.88 million).

 With an aim to increase its presence in India, Denmark-based heating ventilation and air-
conditioning (HVAC) giant, Danfoss, is planning to take its manufacturing localisation to
50 per cent as well as double its supplier base in India by 2020.

Government Initiatives
The Government of India has taken several initiatives to promote a healthy environment for the
growth of manufacturing sector in the country. Some of the notable initiatives and developments
are:

 In Union Budget 2018-19, the Government of India reduced the income tax rate to 25 per
cent for all companies having a turnover of up to Rs 250 crore (US$ 38.75 million).

 Under the Mid-Term Review of Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20), the Government of India
increased export incentives available to labour intensive MSME sectors by 2 per cent.

 The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is in the process of formulation
of a new electronics manufacturing policy. The aim of the new policy will be to create an
ecosystem of manufacturing in the country, enable India to become a significant global
player in some of these categories.

 Ministry of Home Affairs liberalised Arms Rules to boost ‘Make in India’ manufacturing
policy of the government. The liberalisation of the policy is expected to encourage
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investment in the manufacturing of arms and ammunition and weapon systems and
promote employment generation.

 The Government of India has launched a phased manufacturing programme (PMP) aimed
at adding more smartphone components under the Make in India initiative thereby giving
a push to the domestic manufacturing of mobile handsets.

 The Government of India is in talks with stakeholders to further ease foreign direct
investment (FDI) in defence under the automatic route to 51 per cent from the current 49
per cent, in order to give a boost to the Make in India initiative and to generate
employment.

 The Ministry of Defence, Government of India, approved the “Strategic Partnership”
model which will enable private companies to tie up with foreign players for
manufacturing submarines, fighter jets, helicopters and armoured vehicles.

 The Union Cabinet has approved the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-
SIPS) in which, proposals will be accepted till December 2018 or up to an incentive
commitment limit of Rs 10,000 crore (US$ 1.5 billion).

Major Investments and Expansion into New Markets

As per India Manufacturing Barometer 2017, more than 50 per cent of respondents in the
industry are planning major investments and 62 per cent are planning to expand into foreign
markets. Along with major investments consolidation is happening in sectors like cement.

Additive Manufacturing
Popularly known as 3D printing, this new manufacturing technology uses digital models to create
products by printing layers of materials. This has huge potential in India with the rise of mega
projects. IT major Wipro in collaboration with EOS manufactured India’s first additive
manufacturing engineering component for ISRO’s GSAT19 communications satellite launch in
June 2017.

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Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) and Industry 4.0

With the rise of IoT in consumer tech, manufacturing sector has also started implementing this
new network of sensors and actuators for data collection, monitoring, decision making and
process optimization over internet infrastructure. Data is a huge component of this whole setup
and Indian companies have a lot of potential in this area with many large companies already
betting on big data and analytics. As an example, Indian Railways will be rolling out locomotives
with solutions like remote diagnostics and proactive predictive maintenance and these trains will
be part of a wider ecosystem connected to industrial internet.

Advanced Robotics
While standalone robotic workstations are already common place even in Indian companies,
advanced robotics use enhanced senses, dexterity, and intelligence to automate tasks or work
alongside humans.

Road Ahead
India is an attractive hub for foreign investments in the manufacturing sector. Several mobile
phone, luxury and automobile brands, among others, have set up or are looking to establish their
manufacturing bases in the country. The manufacturing sector of India has the potential to reach
US$ 1 trillion by 2025 and India is expected to rank amongst the top three growth economies and
manufacturing destination of the world by the year 2020. The implementation of the GST will
make India a common market with a GDP of US$ 2.5 trillion along with a population of 1.32
billion people, which will be a big attraction for investors. With impetus on developing industrial
corridors and smart cities, the government aims to ensure holistic development of the nation. The
corridors would further assist in integrating, monitoring and developing a conducive environment
for the industrial development and will promote advance practices in manufacturing.

However, there is a negative side as well. At a time when creating non-farm jobs remains a huge
problem, the government's latest quarterly survey on employment in eight key sectors revealed
that there's been a net addition of just 64,000 jobs across these sectors between April and June
last year. Even more worryingly, the manufacturing sector lost 87,000 jobs over this period,

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indicating that Make in India remains a distant dream. The labour bureau's quarterly survey
shows that the education and health sectors between them added 1.3 lakh jobs in April-June
2017, while the other six sectors - manufacturing, construction, trade, transport, accommodation
& restaurants, and the IT/BPO industry - put together saw a net loss of 66,000 jobs.

Occupational injuries, accidents and diseases

The statistics of the country with regards to incidence/prevalence pattern of occupational injuries
and disease is not accessible in simple presentation. In India, the annual incidence of
occupational disease was reported between 9,24,00 and 19,02,300 resulted in 1,21,000 deaths.

Occupational injuries are a major public health problem among the workers. Severe consequences
also do occur as after-effect such as social and economic loss. In India, every year almost one
thousand workers die and one-fourth of a million workers are injured in industries in organized
sectors only. Thousands of others are crippled due to occupational injuries in unorganized sectors.
Numbers of insured persons in the pay roll of permanent disablement benefit reached up to
113,500 with addition of about 15,000 fresh cases of disablement due to injury during a single
year in India. The frequency rates of fatal occupational accidents show a marked upward trend in
those sectors of economic activity which have undergone a rapid growth in the country. ILO
estimated work related fatal and non-fatal accidents were 47,000 and 44.1 million respectively
based on the extrapolation of 179 fatal accidents reported for the year 2003 (ILO, 2008).

The total number of fatal and non-fatal injuries in India during 2008-2014 is depicted in the
figure. The data reveals that both fatal and non-fatal injuries decline during these years, i.e. 2008
to 2014. The decline was more evident in non-fatal injuries.

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Fatal and non-fatal injuries in factories

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Statistics on occupational accidents

The statistics of factories is collected and compiled by the Labour Bureau on the basis of the
Annual Returns/Reports in respect of the Factories Act 1948, provided by various States and
Union Territories. Under the Factories Act, 1948, injuries resulting from industrial accidents, by
reasons of which the person injured is prevented from attending to work for a period of 48 hours
or more immediately following the accident, are recorded.

The important indices on injuries are Frequency Rate (FR) and Incidence Rate (IR). The
Frequency Rate is defined as number of total injuries per 1, 00,000 man-days worked. The
Incidence Rate is the number of injuries per 1000 workers employed in the factories.

The statistics include only manufacturing factories in the formal sector. Injuries and diseases in
smaller manufacturing factories in the unorganized sector are not covered. Numbers of industrial
injuries in factories are 5972 in 2008, 6651 in 2009, 11175 in 2010, and 10441 in 2011. The
numbers of fatalities are 478 in 2008, 668 in 2009, 1064 in 2010, and 1083 in 2011.

(http://www.dgfasli.nic.in)

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Registered Factories vs Fatal Injuries

Total Injuries vs Fatal Injuries

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Diseases

The current statistics for overall incidence and prevalence of work-related disease and injuries is
not available for the country. An annual incidence of occupational disease between 9,24,700 and
19,02,300 resulted in 1,21,000 deaths due to occupational diseases in India. As per WHO, there
are about 100 million occupational injuries which leads to 0.1 million deaths all over the world.

Further, based upon Mohan and Patel (1992) data, it was estimated annual incidence of 17
million injuries (2 million moderate to serious) and 53,000 deaths yearly in agriculture alone in a
survey carried out in Northern India In addition, another estimate of occupational fatality rates in
India has been made by Takala and Obadia (1997) and reported a mean of 45,000 deaths and 17
million injuries per year.

In India, silicosis, coal worker's pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, byssinosis, chronic obstructive lung
diseases, musculoskeletal injuries, pesticide and metal poisoning and noise induced hearing loss
are the main occupational diseases/morbidities. The prevalence of some of the occupational
diseases in India with respect to lung disease is shown in table. Now contemporary & soft
occupational health problems are also emerging among the workers of Information technology
and related industries in India as substantial number of workers are engaged in these occupations.

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Prevalence of some occupational diseases in India

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Women in Industry: Health and safety

According to 2011 census, nearly half (48.5%) of the Indian population is contributed by women.
In the rural sector, female's workforce has a participation rate of 30.0% as compared to 53.0% for
males. Whereas in urban sector, females are 15.44% and male's participation rate 53.76%. A
major share of female- main and marginal workers is agricultural labourers with 41.1 %, followed
by 24.0% as cultivators, 5. 7% household industry workers and 29.2% are engaged in other
works. With 9.7 lakh employees, manufacturing sector occupies the first place for women
employment in the organized sector. The second and third places are held by 'community, social
and private services' (8.5 lakh women employees) and 'agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting'
(4.3 lakh women employees). The share of women employment in mines was 4.63 percent while
it was reported as 3.06 percent in coal 92 93 mines during the year 2009 (Labour bureau, 2012;
CSO, 2013)

NIOH has a keen thrust on the problems of women health, towards prevention of occupational
hazards and promotion of health and safety of women workers in various occupational activities.
The studies have been undertaken both in unorganized and organized sectors. Some of them
explored physiological functions in women agricultural workers in relation to workload, working
climate and hand tools. Others include anthropometric evaluation and nutritional status of women
in small scale industries like beedi industry, garment manufacturing including the work methods
and posture analysis of working women. Institute also worked on various mental health and work
stressors among women workers engaged in telecommunication, hospital services, beedi
industry, garment manufacturing, Khadi textiles (Indian cotton cloth) etc.

Most of the occupational diseases such as asbestosis, silicosis, coal worker's pneumoconiosis etc.
are compensable. However, very few cases are compensated because of the lack of awareness
amongst the workers and diagnostic errors and also lack of knowledge of procedure to be adopted
by the stakeholders to get compensation as well as lack of awareness about OHS and welfare
schemes among workers. Thus there is a need of adequate manpower in the area of OHS in India
so that OHS can be strengthen to improve the industrial work environment safety and health.

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Global vs. National Scenario

Dramatic changes have been taken placed in the global labour force due to globalization and
population growth. Around 2.9 billion workers across the world are exposed to harmful risks at
their workplaces. More than 80% of world's workers reside in the developing world and these
countries share global burden of occupational disease and injuries disproportionately. The
situation in India is also in similar horizon with additional liability of exponential industrial
growth with inadequate health care delivery system, lack of sanitation and prevalence of
infectious diseases. India contributed 1.9 million cases (17%) out of 11 million occupational
disease cases and 0.12 (17%) million deaths out of 0.7 million deaths in the world.

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Laws, acts and regulations

Occupational health and safety (OHS) is an area concerned with health, safety and welfare of the
people engaged in every occupation irrespective of sex, religion, region, age etc. The OHS is
necessary for welfare of workers as well as employers. This in turn is beneficial to the country as
a whole. Therefore, certain laws, regulations, and provisions were made by the government of
India time to time in order to promote OHS at work place and safeguard worker's health as well
as worker's interest. These regulations were also amended time to time by the government as per
the requirement of worker's benefit.

The OHS services are governed by various health & safety statutes for regulating health & safety
of persons at work with respect to four sectors namely, factories, ports & docks, mining and
construction, and these statutes are sector- specific. The approach in these statutes is to lay down
specific and detailed requirements to prevent risk of injuries in specific operations and
circumstances in these sectors.

1. The Factories Act, 1948 and Amended in 1987

"The Factories Act, 1948 is applicable to all those units where manufacturing process
is carried out by employing 10 or more workers with the aid of power or 20 or more
workers are employed without the aid of power or where the state government is of the
opinion that the manufacturing process or operations carried out, exposes the individuals
employed in it to a severe risk of bodily injury, poisoning or disease. The objective of the
Factories Act, 1948 is to secure health, safety, welfare, working hours, leave and other
benefits of workers employed in the factories".

2. The Dock Workers (Safety, Health & Welfare) Act, 1986 and the regulations, 1990
"The Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986 aims at providing
facilities for health, safety and welfare of workers employed in loading, unloading,
movement or storage of cargoes into or from ship, port, dock, etc. DGFASLI is appointed
as the Chief Inspector of Dock Safety and enforces the Act in the major ports of India
through the Inspectorates of Dock Safety. The Central Government has notified the Dock
Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Regulations, 1990 which is applicable to the 12
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major ports of the country. These regulations should be extended to non-major ports of
India also. The important features covered in the Regulations framed under Dock Worker
Act is related to barrier of dangerous places, work on staging, proper illumination, fire
safety protection, enough working spaces in ships, dangerous and harmful environment,
construction, maintenance and testing of lifting appliances, loose gears and wire ropes,
transport equipment, handling of cargo, stacking and unstacking, handling of dangerous
goods and containers, reporting of accidents and occupational diseases, appointment of
safety and welfare officers, cleanliness, washing facilities, first aid, canteens, rest sheds,
medical examination and training dock workers, occupational health services, emergency
action plans for employers and employee's general obligations etc".

3. The Mines Act 1952

"Mines Act, 1952 deals with the matters relating to safety, health and welfare of
persons employed in various mines including oil mines. The Act specifies the provisions
for regulating employment of persons, leave with wages, duties and responsibilities of
owner, agent and manager, drinking water, first-aid and rest shelters, medical
examinations and occupational health surveys, notice of accidents and occupational
diseases. In addition, it covers framing of rules, regulations and byelaws on specific
subjects including the penalty provisions for violations of this Act”.

4. The Building and Other Construction Workers Act 1996

"The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulations of Employment and
Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 aims at regulating the employment and conditions of
services of building and other construction workers and provisions for their safety, health
and welfare measures".
"The Building and Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of
Service) Third Ordinance, 1996 provides following measures: Fixing hours for normal
working days, weekly paid rest day, wages for over time, provision of basic welfare:
amenities like drinking water, latrines and urinals, creches, first aid, canteens, etc.
a. Arrangement can be made for temporary living accommodation within or near the
work site.

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 Study for enhancing employee safety for manufacturing sector

b. Making adequate provisions for safety and health measures including formation of
safety committees and safety officers for notification of accidents.
c. Empowering the Central Government to frame model rules for safety measures
headed by Director-General of Inspection at the Central Level and Inspector General
at the State Level.
d. Application of the Employer Compensation Act, 1923 to building and other
construction workers".

5. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986

"The Act bans employment of children below the age of 14 years in 16 occupations
and 65 processes that are hazardous to the children's lives and health. These occupations
and processes are listed in the Schedule under the Act. In October 2006, Government has
included children working in the domestic sector as well as roadside eateries and motels
under the prohibited list of hazardous occupations. Later, in September 2008, process
involving excessive heat (e.g. working near a furnace) and cold; mechanical fishing; food
processing; beverage industry; timber handling and loading; mechanical lumbering;
warehousing; and processes involving exposure to free silica such as slate pencil industry,
stone grinding, slate stone mining, stone quarries and agate industry were also added in
the list of prohibited occupations and processes. Further, Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Amendment, 2016 came into force on July 30, 2016".

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OHSAS 18001

Organizations of all kinds are concerned with achieving good occupational health and safety
performance by controlling their OHS risks, consistent with their policy and objectives. OHSAS
18001:2007 has been developed as an occupational health and safety management system
standard with respect to which the management systems of various firms can be assessed and
verified.

Occupational Health and Safety is based on:

 Hazard identification – The process of recognizing that a hazard exists.


 Risk assessment – The process of evaluating the risk arising from the hazard.

 Determination of applicable controls – Measures relevant to eliminate or reduce risk to an
acceptable level.

The above three aspects have to be given proper importance and significance in order to set up an
effective health and safety system.

OHSAS 18001 OHS standard uses a tool known as the PDCA cycle. PDCA cycle is an ongoing
process which helps an organization to establish, implement and maintain its health and safety
policy. It consists of the following:

1. PLAN:
Establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the
organization’s OHS policy.
2. DO:
Implement the process.
3. CHECK:
Monitor and measure performance against OH&S policy, objectives, legal and other
requirements, and report results.
4. ACT:
Take actions to continually improve OH&S performance

The standard can be implemented to the whole organization or to just a part of it.
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PDCA Cycle

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The advantages of having an effective OHSAS system:

1. It provides a structure for managing OHS

2. It establishes and maintains a commitment to OHS
3. Shows strong commitment to excellent safety
4. Clearly defines goals and objectives
5. Establishes a culture of continuous improvement
6. Establishes stronger channels of communication
7. Reduces incident levels
8. Reduces costs and liabilities

Organizations which have got registration maintain that it leads to improved internal and external
communications and a more disciplined attitude among employees to health and safety matters
through continuous improvement. OHSAS ensures a consistency of approach, which assures
compliance.

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ISO 45001

ISO 45001 is an International Standard that gives requirements for an occupational health and
safety management system, with guidance for its use, to enable an organization to improve its
OHS performance in preventing injury and ill-health.

ISO 45001 is intended to be applicable to any organization irrespective of its size, type and
nature. All of its requirements are intended to be integrated into an organization’s own
management processes.

ISO 45001 enables an organization, through its OH&S management system, to integrate other
aspects of health and safety, such as worker well being.

The advantages of having an effective ISO 45001 system:

1. Developing and implementing OHS policies and goals

2. Determining risks and potential hazards so as to eliminate or minimize their effects
3. Establishing operational controls to manage risks and other legal requirements
4. Increasing awareness and evaluating performance for improvement
5. Ensuring workers take an active role in OHS matters
6. Reducing incidents and associated costs
7. Reducing absenteeism and turnover rates
8. Recognition for having achieved an international benchmark

It does not matter whether the organization is small, big, NGO or any different type of
organization. So long as the organization has people working for it, implementing ISO 45001
will be beneficial for the organizations.

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OHSAS 18001 ISO 45001

British Standard International Organization for Standardization
standard
Reactive planning Proactive planning
Hazard control Risk evaluation, prevention and control
Procedures are prepared Documented results are required
Safety management personnel play leadership Top management takes leadership role
role
Company management reviews the process Company leadership takes leading role to
after development ensure it fits within the overall organization’s
processes
Safety and health is the responsibility of safety Safety and health is the responsibility of
management personnel leadership and the overall management system
of the organization
Information and communication procedures are Information and communication documentation
prepared is required
Additional Elements
 Outsourced processes, procurement and
contractors are addressed
 Hierarchy of controls are to be used
 Procurement of goods are to be used

Difference between OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001

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Discussion

Safety issues in the manufacturing sector

Safety issues in manufacturing can be placed under broad headings:

 Maintenance is poor
Machinery and equipment that isn't properly maintained can be very dangerous. Even
equipment with fail-safes can malfunction if you do not perform regular maintenance
checks.
 Permanent risk of hazards
Many machines in manufacturing are dangerous irrespective of whether they are
working exactly as they are intended to. Many machines heat up quickly and pose a fire
hazard, even when operating correctly. Confined spaces are another permanent hazard
that can be difficult to address. As confined spaces exist in most manufacturing settings, it
is important for employees to understand the risks of getting trapped or finding
themselves in an oxygen-depleted area.
 Undertrained employees
A facility is only as safe as the people working in it. Undertrained employees and
workers pose a risk of harm not just to themselves, but potentially to other employees as
well. Lack of knowledge about certain critical functions could lead to accidents, possibly
fatal.
 First aid not sufficient
In the event of an emergency, easy access to medical equipment is important. The
facility should be made available with first aid equipment, including both general first aid
as well as work specific first aid. Improper or insufficient training in first aid or lack of
sufficient number of first aid or medical persons can amplify any problem caused by
accidents. If first aid is not provided in time, fatalities could occur.

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 Carelessness
An employee who grows careless about safety can be a huge problem. Most workplace
accidents can be prevented simply by being alert. Heavy machinery, vehicles and forklifts
can be especially dangerous.
 Lack of restricted access
Work sites should only be open to the people trained and paid to be there. Friends,
family members and employees from other departments should not be granted access to
areas where work is being done. If any untrained person enters a restricted area, he is
exposed to a risk of injury by accident and could also face a potential threat to his lifeand
that of the other employees.

Types of Hazards:

A hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or
someone. In the context of a workplace, a hazard is a potential source of harm to a worker or
employee

Safety hazards:

These are the most common and will be present in most workplaces at one time or another. They
include unsafe conditions that can cause injury, illness and death.

Safety Hazards include:

 Spills on floors or tripping hazards, such as blocked aisles or cords running across the
floor

 Working from heights, including ladders, scaffolds, roofs, or any raised work area

 Unguarded machinery and moving machinery parts; guards removed or moving parts that
a worker can accidentally touch

 Electrical hazards like frayed cords, missing ground pins, improper wiring

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 Confined spaces

 Machinery-related hazards (lockout/ tag out, boiler safety, forklifts, etc.

Biological hazards:

Associated with working with animals, people, or infectious plant materials. Work in schools,
day care facilities, colleges and universities, hospitals, laboratories, emergency response, nursing
homes, outdoor occupations, etc. may expose you to biological hazards.

Types of things you may be exposed to include:

 Blood and other body fluids


 Fungi/ mold

 Bacteria and viruses

 Plants

 Insect bites

 Animal and bird droppings

Physical hazards:

Are factors within the environment that can harm the body without necessarily touching it.

Physical Hazards include:

 Radiation: including ionizing, non ionizing (EMF’s, microwaves, radio waves, etc.)

 High exposure to sunlight/ultraviolet rays

 Temperature extremes – hot and cold

 Constant loud noise

Ergonomic hazards:

Occur when the type of work, body positions and working conditions put strain on your body.
They are the hardest to spot since you don’t always immediately notice the strain on your body or

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 Study for enhancing employee safety for manufacturing sector

the harm that these hazards pose. Short term exposure may result in “sore muscles” the next day
or in the days following exposure, but long-term exposure can result in serious long-term
illnesses.

Ergonomic Hazards include:

 Improperly adjusted workstations and chairs


 Frequent lifting

 Poor posture

 Awkward movements, especially if they are repetitive

 Repeating the same movements over and over

 Having to use too much force, especially if you have to do it frequently

 Vibration

Chemical hazards:

Are present when a worker is exposed to any chemical preparation in the workplace in any form
(solid, liquid or gas). Some are safer than others, but to some workers who are more sensitive to
chemicals, even common solutions can cause illness, skin irritation, or breathing problems.

Beware of:

 Liquids like cleaning products, paints, acids, solvents – especially if chemicals are in an
unlabeled container

 Vapors and fumes that come from welding or exposure to solvents

 Gases like acetylene, propane, carbon monoxide and helium

 Flammable materials like gasoline, solvents, and explosive chemicals.

 Pesticides.

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 Study for enhancing employee safety for manufacturing sector

Work organization hazards:

Hazards or stressors that cause stress (short term effects) and strain (long-term effects). These are
the hazards associated with workplace issues such as workload, lack of control and/ or respect,
etc.

Examples of work organization hazards include:

 Workload demands

 Workplace violence

 Intensity and/or pace

 Respect (or lack of)

 Flexibility

 Control or say about things

 Social support/relations

 Sexual harassment

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Identification of source of hazard and developing appropriate technology for

control/elimination of hazard

The ultimate success of any prevention programme lies in the elimination of the hazard.
Appropriate technology should be developed for the elimination of the hazard. Joint effort by the
entrepreneurs, machinery manufacturers, Factory Inspectorate, Central Labour Institute, National
Institute of Occupational Health etc. will help in identifying appropriate technology for the
elimination/control of hazard. NIOH has already developed some technology for the prevention
of occupational hazard in slate-pencil industry, tobacco cultivators, agate workers, stone quarries,
sand grinding etc. The success of control technology will be determined by

(1) initial cost

(2) cost of maintenance and running and

(3) acceptability to the workers.

A control technology usually increases the cost of production. Our experience in slate- pencil and
agate industry has shown that a control technology adopted by only a few entrepreneurs initially
is given up by them because the cost of production is higher for those who adopt the control
techniques.

Medical and Environmental surveillance

This has the following purposes:

(1) Early detection of occupational morbidity

(2) Evaluation of the success of control strategy and

(3) Compliance of law.

Under the amended Factories Act and Mines Act, the pre-employment and periodical medical
examination and environmental monitoring is mandatory in the factories and mines having

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hazardous processes. However, compliance of law is generally not satisfactory for lack of
infrastructure and trained manpower. Appropriate steps, such as training of factory inspector,
medical inspector of factories, mine inspector, staff of industrial hygiene laboratories of State
Government, provision of equipment/supplies, are necessary for the periodic medical and
environmental monitoring.

Management of occupational diseases

Special skill is required in diagnosis, treatment and post- illness management of the cases of
occupational diseases. Before allowing the worker to resume his work after sickness, it is
essential to consider the work environment adversely affecting the existing medical condition and
also the physical demand of the work. Training of physicians working in ESIS, District Hospitals
and PHCs is, therefore, essential. For the successful implementation of occupational health
programme, the need for co-ordination between various Ministries and Departments cannot be
over emphasized.

Creation of Awareness and Health Education

In India, a large section of the workers are employed in unorganized sectors. The working
populations being largely illiterate are unaware of the hazards associated with their occupation.
Similarly, the owners are also unaware about the hazards resulting from improper workplace.
This results in poor implementation of control measures and enforcement of laws. Thus,
awareness and health education programme should be carried out for the workers, supervisors
and owners/ management of the factories/mines engaged in hazardous process. Health education
programmes should include advice on smoking, avoidance of drinking, eating and smoking at
workplace etc. Possible economic benefits resulting from prevention programmes must be aced
before the management, trade unions and policy makers.

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Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

A core challenge faced by emergency managers is how to prevent, prepare, mitigate, respond and
recover from a myriad of hazards. Several questions arise when faced with this challenge:

 What hazards exist in my area?


 How frequently do they occur?

 How severe can their impact be on the community, infrastructure, property, and the
environment?

 Which hazards pose the greatest threat to the community?

A Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) assists emergency managers in answering
these questions. It is a systematic risk assessment tool that can be used to assess the risks of
various hazards.

There are three reasons why a HIRA is useful to the emergency management profession:

 It helps emergency management professionals prepare for the worst and/or most likely
risks.

 Allows for the creation of exercises, training programs, and plans based on the most likely
scenarios.

 Saves time and resources by isolating hazards that cannot occur in the designated area. 

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Measures to Improve Occupational Health Research

In the tenth five year plan (2002–2007), it has been recommended by an expert working group
appointed by the planning commission, Government of India that occupational and
environmental health should be given priority.The measures to improve occupational and
environmental health research include following suggestions:

Creation of advanced research facilities

It was recommended that to create national facility for the analysis of toxic substances at nano-
gram level to precisely quantify the exposure to various chemicals and to facilitate research
facilities to examine the effects of toxicants at molecular level e.g. development of biomarkers,
toxic genomic studies etc.

Human resources development

Leading institutes in the country such as National Institute of Occupational Health, Industrial
Toxicology Research Centre, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Centre for
Occupational and Environmental Health and Central Labour Institute are to be given resources
for training and educational programmes in occupational and environmental health. There was
also proposal to review and revise the existing medical and engineering curricula and include
occupational and environmental heath.

Creation of environmental and occupational health cells

Environmental and occupational health cells with multi- disciplinary expertise need to be created
in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Ministry of Environment and Forests. This cell
will coordinate with occupational and environmental health related issues, which require action
by other ministries like Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Industries, Ministry of Mines etc. One
such cell has already started functioning in Ministry of Environment.

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Database development

Development of database and information system in environmental and occupational health

which should include making a directory of the government institutions and universities/
departments working on occupational and environmental related matters and linkages between
them. Information can also be collected on the capabilities of these institutions for doing various
types of activities.

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Conclusion

 Industrial progress of the country depends on its committed labor force. Efficiency in
work is possible only when the employees are safe in their working environment and also
provided with some safety measures.

 There are multiple different types of industrial hazards which can cause harm or could
also be fatal.

 These hazards can have different sources, sometimes inconspicuous.

 It is necessary to keep updated about safety regulations.

 The safety, health and environmental policy can be displayed widely at conspicuous
locations (mounted on walls of the factory).The safety policies can be made known to all
employees, contractors and contract employees by circulating the policies in both English
and regional language.

 To motivate the employees every year competitions can be conducted on national safety
day. Safety events can be conducted frequently to make awareness among the employees
on safety.

 Steps have to be taken to identify the employees those who have not undergone any
formal safety programs through verification of records and train them. This will ensure
some safety awareness among them. Training can be given through unit wise, team wise
like kaizen or work team.

 Attention should be focused on minor accidents so that major accidents can be prevented,
for which analysis of accidents is necessary. To reduce the accidents, supervisory staff
and management should be more proactive in the shop floor, so that all the employees use
the safety equipment’s provided to them.

 Safety issues like accidents, problems, achievements etc., which are discussed in the
safety committee have to be communicated to the employees by the middle level
management.

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 Study for enhancing employee safety for manufacturing sector

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