FAQs

 What is Occupational Health and Safety?

A fundamental principal of Health and Safety law is that those who create risks are responsible for managing those risks in a proportionate and sensible way. Legal responsibility rests on employers, but employees are also required to look after the health, safety and welfare of themselves and others.

Why is Occupational Health and Safety important?

Occupational Health and Safety is important because risks which could cause death or injury should be properly controlled. It is also important for businesses. A company’s greatest asset is its people and failure to control risks can lead to high costs through sick leave, insurance costs and lost productivity.

What is Safety?

The condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury is Called Safety.

What is Accident?

It is an unexpected or unplanned event which may or may not result in injury or damage or property loss or death.

What is Injury?

It is defined as a harmful condition sustained by the body as a result of an accident.

What is Hazard?

The inherent property of a substance or an occurrence which has potential to cause loss or damage property, person or environment.

What is an occupational hazard?

An occupational hazard is a thing or situation with the potential to harm a worker. Occupational hazards can be divided into two categories: safety hazards that cause accidents that physically injure workers, and health hazards which result in the development of disease. It is important to note that a “hazard” only represents a potential to cause harm. Whether it actually does cause harm will depend on circumstances, such as the toxicity of the health hazard, exposure amount, and duration. Hazards can also be rated according to the severity of the harm they cause – a significant hazard being one with the potential to cause a critical injury or death.

How should workplace health and safety hazards be dealt with?

There is a three-step process for dealing with workplace hazards. First they must be recognized; then they must be assessed; and finally, if necessary, they must be controlled. Recognition involves both identifying a hazard and determining if there is a possibility of workers being affected by it. If there is such a possibility, it must be assessed and if it is found to be significant, the hazard must be controlled.

 What is an occupational health hazard?

The term “hazard” refers to the potential to cause harm. In the case of a workplace health hazard, the harm is to a worker’s health and usually takes the form of an illness. Occupational illness is defined as a condition that results from exposure in a workplace to a physical, chemical or biological agent to the extent that the normal physiological mechanisms are affected and the health of the worker is impaired.

 What is Risk?

Risk is defined as a measure of economic loss or human injury in terms of both the likelihood and the magnitude of the loss or injury.

How is a risk different from a hazard?

The hazard posed by some material or situation is its potential to cause harm. Risk is the probability, or chance, that it actually will harm someone.

What is Risk Assessment?

Risk assessment includes accident scenario identification and consequence analysis. Scenario identification describes how an accident occurs. It frequently includes an analysis of the probabilities. Consequence analysis describes the damage expected. This includes loss of life, damage to the environment or capital equipments and days outage.

What kind of health effects can exposure to workplace hazards lead to?

Most workplace health hazards target a particular part of the body such as the lungs, skin or liver. A large number of workplace diseases and disease agents are recognized. Virtually any part of the body can be affected in some way by some workplace health hazard. An important consideration is how exposure occurs.

For some hazards, there can be one type of effect from a single, high exposure (an acute effect) and a quite different result when exposure is at a low level, but repeated regularly over a prolonged time period (chronic effect). Acute effects depend on the degree of exposure.

It is therefore relatively easy to control exposure (keep it at a low enough level) to avoid acute effects. Or, to put it another way, if workers are experiencing acute effects, they know exposure to the hazard is not being properly controlled. With chronic effects there is no immediate warning. Where long-term exposure is known to cause disease without any warning of the hazard, it may be necessary to control worker exposure through regulations that prescribe occupational exposure limits (OELs).

What is Hazard Operability Study?

The application of a formal systematic critical examination to the process and engineering intentions of new or existing facilities to assess the hazard potential of mal-operation or mal-function of individual items of equipments and their consequential effects on the facility as a whole.

What are source models?

Source models represent the material release process. They provide useful information for determining the consequences of an accident, including the rate of material release, the total quantity released and the physical state of the material.

What are dispersion models ?

Dispersion models describe the airborne transport of toxic/inflammable materials away from the accident site and into the plant and community.

How can the risks posed by health hazards be controlled?

The best methods of controlling exposure to a particular hazard will depend on what it is. In general, methods of control can be placed in four categories:

• Engineering controls are methods of designing or modifying plants, processes and equipment so as to minimize workers’ exposure to the hazard. They are preferred because they work independently of workers.
• Work and hygiene practices are on-the-job activities that reduce the potential for exposure.
• Administrative controls are things like job rotation schedules, work-rest cycles and timing of maintenance procedures, which can be used to limit the amount of time an individual is exposed to a hazard.
• Personal protective equipment includes items like respirators, hearing protectors, safety clothing and protective clothing. It can reduce a worker’s exposure but must be used properly to be effective.

What are engineering controls?

Engineering controls are the preferred method of controlling exposure to workplace hazards. They can be placed in three categories:

• Substitution includes the use of a less hazardous material, a change in the process equipment used, or a change in the process itself. Care must be taken to ensure that the substitution actually does result in less hazardous conditions.
• Isolation is a method of limiting exposure to those employees who are working directly with the hazard, often by enclosing them within a containment structure. While isolation will reduce the risk to those outside the isolated area, it should be accompanied by appropriate controls to ensure that those within are not faced with an increased exposure to the hazard.
• Ventilation is most important for the control of airborne hazards. It involves the removal (from the workplace) of air that contains a hazardous contaminant and its replacement with uncontaminated outside air. There are two types: local exhaust and general dilution. A properly designed local exhaust system can capture a contaminant where it is generated and remove it before it is dispersed into the work environment.

 What are the legal requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE)?

PPE should be provided to workers wherever there are health (or safety) risks that cannot be adequately controlled in other ways. PPE can reduce or prevent a worker’s exposure to a health hazard in the workplace and can include respirators, hearing protectors, protective clothing, footwear and face and eye shields.

 What is Incident?

It is an event which represents the deviation from the intended sequence of designed steps.

What is Safety Policy?

Any company has a social and legal obligation to provide a safe and healthy working environment for all his improvement to all his employees.

What is Safety Audit?

The safety audit is the process that identifies unsafe conditions and unsafe acts the plant and recommended safety improvement. Walk through it evaluates the unsafe condition notice able to the naked eye during work through the plant. (Stores, civil work, erection work)

Intermediate-more details to study and review of plant design and plant operation.

Comprehensive –it evaluates the safety factors in the plant on the base engineering, analysis, testing, and measurement.

What is Occupational Safety and Health Audit?

A systematic, objective and documented evaluation of the occupational safety and health systems and procedures.

What is Occupational safety and health management system?

A part of the overall management system that facilitates the management of OSH and risks associated with the business of the organization

What is Maximum Credible Loss Scenario (MCLS) study ?

MCLS is described as the worst “credible” accident or as an accident with a maximum damage distance, which is still believed to be possible.

What is flammability limits?

The concentration of a mixture of flammable vapor or gas in air (% by volume of vapor to air) in which a flash will occur or a flame will travel if the mixture is ignited

What is Safety Tag?

Safety tag can be defined a surface made of card board or paper board on which English local languages letters written for warning safety instructions to employees.

What is Safety Program?

Safety program can be defined as five methods by which accident can be prevented easily they are engineering, education, enforcement, enthusiasm and example safety programs are plain spoken and carry out certain legal steps.

What is Ergonomics?

Ergonomics can roughly be defined as the study of people in their working environment. More specifically, an ergonomist (pronounced like economist) designs or modifies the work to fit the worker, not the other way around. The goal is to eliminate discomfort and risk of injury due to work.

What do the labour laws in India say about Health and Safety?

The Factories Act, 1948, has been promulgated primarily to provide safety measures and to promote the health and welfare of the workers employed in factories. The object thuss brings this Act, within the competence of the Central Legislature to enact. State Governments/Union Territory Administrations have been empowered under certain provisions of this Act, to make rules, to give effect to the objects and the scheme of the Act.

Which types of establishments are covered under the Factories Act?

The Act applies to factories, which qualify the definition of “Factory” under the section 2(m) of the Act or to those industrial establishments, to whom section 85 have been made applicable by the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette. This applies to any premises wherein 10 or more persons with the aid of power or wherein 20 or more workers without aid of power are/were working on any day in the preceding 12 months, wherein manufacturing process is being carried on.

Which authority enforces the Factories Act 1948?

The Factories Act and the rules framed thereunder are enforced by respective states/UTs. through the office of Chief Inspector of Factories under the Labour Department of the State Government/UTs.

What are the provisions relating to health for employees working in factories and the manufacturing process addressed by the Factories Act, 1948?

The main focus of Factories Act is towards the Health benefits to the workers. Health Chapter of the Act contains specification from Section 11 to 20.

Section 11: This section basically specifies the issues of cleanliness at the workplace. It is mentioned in the provision that every factory shall be kept clean and free from effluvia arising from any drain, privy or other nuisance. This includes that there should be no accumulation of dirt and refuse and should be removed daily and entire area should be kept clean.

Section 12: This section specifies on disposal of wastes and effluents. That every factory should make effective arrangements for the treatment of wastes and effluents due to the manufacturing process carried on therein, so as to render them innocuous and for their disposal.

Section 13: This section focuses on ventilation and temperature maintenance at workplace. Every factory should work on proper arrangements for adequate ventilation and circulation of fresh air.

Section 14: This section details on the proper exhaustion of dust and fume in the Factory. In this it is mentioned that factory which deals on manufacturing process should take care of the proper exhaustion of dust, fume and other impurities from its origin point.

Section 15: This section specifies regarding the artificial humidification in factories. In this the humidity level of air in factories are artificially increased as per the provision prescribed by the State Government.

Section 16: Overcrowding is also an important issue which is specified in this section. In this it is mentioned that no room in the factory shall be overcrowded to an extent that can be injurious to the health of workers employed herein.

Section 18: This section specifies regarding arrangements for sufficient and pure drinking water for the workers. There are also some specified provisions for suitable point for drinking water supply. As in that drinking water point should not be within 6 meters range of any washing place, urinal, latrine, spittoon, open drainage carrying effluents. In addition to this a factory where there are more than 250 workers provisions for cooling drinking water during hot temperature should be made.

Section 19: This section provides details relating to urinals and latrine construction at factories. It mentions that in every factory there should be sufficient accommodation for urinals which should be provided at conveniently situated place. It should be kept clean and maintained. There is provision to provide separate urinals for both male and female workers.

Section 20: This section specifies regarding proper arrangements of spittoons in the factory. It is mentioned that in every factory there should be sufficient number of spittoons situated at convenient places and should be properly maintained and cleaned and kept in hygienic condition.

What are the provisions relating to safety for employees working in factories and the manufacturing process addressed by the Factories Act, 1948?

The Factories Act, 1948 also provides provisions relating to safety measures for the workers employed herein. This is to ensure safety of workers working on or around the machines. The detailed information on each provision relating to safety measures is as under:

Section 17: Under section it has been described that there should be proper arrangement of lighting in factories. In every part of the factory where workers are working or passing should be well equipped with lighting arrangement either by natural sources or artificial sources.

Section 21: This section specifies that fencing of machinery is necessary. That any moving part of the machinery or machinery that is dangerous in kind should be properly fenced.

Section 23: This section prescribes that employment of young person on dangerous machinery is not allowed. In the case where he is been fully instructed in the usage of the machinery and working under the supervision he might be allowed to work on it.

Section 24: This section provides provision of striking gear and devices for cutting off power in case of emergency. Every factory should have special devices for cutting off of power in emergencies from running machinery. Suitable striking gear appliances should be provided and maintained for moving belts.

Section 28: This section prohibits working of women and children on specific machinery. As per this section women and children should not be appointed for any part of factory working on cotton pressing.

Section 32: In this section it has been specified that all floors, stairs, passages and gangways should be properly constructed and maintained, so that there are no chances of slips or fall.

Section 34: This section specifies that no person in any factory shall be employed to lift, carry or move any load so heavy that might cause in injury. State Government may specify maximum amount of weight to be carried by workers.

Section 35: This section provides specification regarding safety and protection of eyes of workers. It mentions that factory should provide specific goggles or screens to the workers who are involved in manufacturing work that may cause them injury to eyes.

Section 36: As per this section it is provided that no worker shall be forced to enter any chamber, tank, vat, pit, pipe, flue or other confined space in any factory in which any gas, fume, vapour or dust is likely to be present to such an extent as to involve risk to persons being overcome thereby.

Section 38: As per this section there should be proper precautionary measures built for fire. There should be safe mean to escape in case of fire, and also necessary equipments and facilities to extinguish fire.

Section 45: This section specifies that in every factory there should be proper maintained and well equipped first aid box or cupboard with the prescribed contents. For every 150 workers employed at one time, there shall not be less than 1 first aid box in the factory. Also in case where there are more than 500 workers there should be well maintained ambulance room of prescribed size and containing proper facility.

What are the specific regulations for the health and safety provisions for women employees under various legislations in the country?

There are specific regulations relating to health and safety of women employees under various laws in our country. Provisions relating to health and safety of women under various Acts are as under:

Factories Act, 1948

• Women are prohibited from working between 7.00 pm to 6.00 am. There has been a recent amended to allow women to work in night shift in certain sectors including the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), IT sector and Textiles. This is subject to the condition that the employers shall be obligated to provide adequate safeguards in the workplace, equal opportunity, their transportation from the factory premises to the nearest point of their residence.
• Section 22 of the Act prohibits that no woman shall be allowed to clean, lubricate or adjust any part of a prime mover or of any transmission machinery while the prime mover or transmission machinery is in motion, if that would expose the woman to risk of injury from any moving part either of that machine or of any adjacent machinery.
• Section 27 of the Act provides that no woman shall be employed in any part of a factory for pressing cotton in which a cotton-opener is at work.

Plantation Labour Act, 1951

• Section 25 of the Act bans employment of any women in any plantation between 7.00 pm to 6.00 am without permission of the State Government. But it specifically exempts from its purview women who are employed in any plantation as midwives and nurses.
• The Act also provides provisions relating to sickness and maternity leave for the women employees.

Mines Act, 1952

• Section 46 of the Act prohibits employment of any women in any part of a mine which is below-ground. And in any part of the mine above ground except between the hours 6.00 am and 7.00 pm. It also provides that every women employed in a mine above ground shall be allowed break of not less than 11 hours between the end of day work and the commencement of the next day of work.

Provisions relating to Offences and Penalties under the Factories Act, 1948 for contravention of laws relating to safety and health of the workers ?

• For contravention of the provisions of the Act or Rules- imprisonment upto 2 years or fine upto Rs.1,00,000 or both.

• Contravention causing death or serious bodily injury – fine not less than Rs.25,000 in case of death and not less than Rs.5000 in case of serious injuries.

• Continuation of contravention – imprisonment upto 3 years or fine not less than Rs.10,000 which may extend to Rs.2,00,000.

• On contravention of Chapter IV pertaining to safety or dangerous operation.

Factories Act works with a primary object to protect workers employed in the factories against industrial and occupational hazards. For that purpose, it seeks to impose upon the owners or the occupiers certain obligations to protect works unwary as well as negligent and to secure for them, employment in conditions conducive to their health and safety from accidents.