Prevention of Accidents
*Dr.P.Shanmukha Rao **Dr.N.V.S.Suryanarayana
Prevention of accidents is an objective which requires no explanation. This is one area in which there is complete identity of employer-employee interests. The employee does not want to be injured and the employer does not want to incur the costs of injuring him. The costs of accidents are enormous in suffering to the injured, in reduction or loss of earnings, in disabilities and incapacities which afflict those involved and in compensation, insurance and legal costs, in lost time, filling in reports and attending to enquiries, and in spoilage of materials, equipment and tools to management.
Accidents are the consequence of two basic factors: technical and human. Technical factors include all engineering deficiencies related to plant, tools, material and general work environment. Thus, for example, improper lighting, inadequate ventilation, poor machine guarding and careless housekeeping are some hazards which may cause accident. Human factors include all unsafe acts on the part of employees. An unsafe act is usually the result of carelessness. In some cases it may be deliberate also. In most instances carelessness can be attributed to the mental condition of the employee. For example, an employee emotionally upset, worried or disturbed is very often careless.
Young and new employees, because of their difficulty in adjusting to the work situation and to life in general, also have many more accidents than do old and mature workers. Persons in a hurry frequently pay insufficient attention to what they are doing. As fatigue increases during the work session, the liability of having an accident rises. Intake of liquor tends to destroy perception and judgment and slows up reaction. Many accidents lead to further accidents as the behavior of the work group becomes disrupted by their occurrence and the worry that is generated by them. Underlying the spate of accidents is an uneasy sense of insecurity, loss of status, maladjustment and frustration. In short, the work group becomes more and more demoralized and in disciplined.
The Phenomenon of Accident Proneness:
Some persons believe wrongly in the theory that certain individuals are accident-prone, that is, they have some personality trait as opposed to some characteristic of the environment which predisposes them to have more accidents than others in work conditions where the risk of hazards is equal to all. Therefore, it is thought wrongly that by removing these persons from the work place (by transfer or dismissal) or by refusing to hire these accident-prone persons accidents can be avoided. Modern researches have established that accident proneness is not an innate personality characteristic. Instead, an individual's susceptibility to accidents may vary over time, depending in part on the conditions in which he works. No person is permanently accident-prone. Every employee has the chance of being involved in an accident. Therefore ‘care' is required of all persons.
Components of the safety programme:
Among the many components of the safety programmes, the following have proved effective when applied in combination:
Appointment of safety officer:
In big organizations, the appointment of a safety officer to head the safety department is a ‘must'. In small organizations, the personnel manager may look after the functions of this department. The head of the safety department, who is usually a staff member, is granted power to inspect the plant for unsafe condition, to promote sound safety practices (through posters and safety campaigns), to make safety rules, and to report violations to the plant manager. His functions also include analyzing the causes of accidents, maintaining accident statistics and records, purchasing safety equipment, and so on. In some organizations, the relationship between the head of the safety department and the line manager may be functional, that is, the head has the authority to issue and enforce orders in his functional field of safety.
Support by line management:
The head of the safety department, whether enjoying a staff or a functional position by him, cannot make a plant safe. His appointment pulls line management into assuming that all its safety problems have been solved. This highlights the importance of making safety a line responsibility. It is said that safety is essentially a line problem. Like all other line management problems it also involves questions of motivation, enforcement of standards and working through groups. One sure way to win line people's support is to encourage them to participate on safety committees, on housekeeping inspections and investigations of accidents.
Elimination of hazards:
Although complete elimination of all hazards is virtually impossible but following steps can be taken to help to reduce them.
Job Safety Analysis:
All job procedures and practices should be analyzed by an expert to discover hazards. He should then suggest changes in their motion patterns, sequence and the like. For example, he may discover that a particular reach over a machine could easily result in a loss of balance and injury or he may discover that a corner of a fixture is sharp enough to cut the hands of the worker. On the basis of job safety analysis the expert should also determine any special qualifications needed by an individual to perform the job. These qualifications may be later incorporated in the job specifications.
Placement:Â A poorly placed employee is more apt to incur injury than a properly placed employee. Employees should be placed on jobs only after carefully estimating and considering the job requirements with those, which the individual apparently possesses.
Personal protective Equipment:
Endless variety of personal safety equipment is available now a day's which can be used to prevent injury.
Safeguarding Machinery: Guards must be securely fixed to all power-driven machinery.
Material Handling: Though often ignored, the careless handling of heavy and inflammable materials is an important source of several injuries and fires.
Hand Tools: Minor injuries often result from improperly using a good tool or using a poorly designed tool. Therefore, close supervision and instruction should be given to the employees on the proper tool use.
Maintenance: Worn-out machinery, machinery guards and attachments, old and out-of-date fire-fighting equipment also contribute to a serious hazard. They often give employee a false sense of security and protection.
Layout and Design: A good plant layout and design can go long way in preventing accidents. Construction of fireproof walls, adequate fire escapes, aisles and storage space, doorways and passage ways, location of hazardous items above employee reach, provision for non-skid floors, and protection of radiators by grills can do much to reduce accidents.
House Keeping:Good housekeeping does not include only tidy and clean floors and machines          but also cleaning of other items such as dirty windows, dusty lights and dirty reflectors which reduce the effectiveness of lighting can also result in employee injury.
Falls:
Another major source of industrial injury is tripping over subjects, slipping on floors and falling on to another level. Many dangers lurk in stacking and storing. Piles may not be properly constructed and may subsequently collapse. Periodic inspection can help in preventing many accidents stemming directly from these causes.
           Safety training is concerned with developing safety skills, where as safety education is concerned with increasing the employees' knowledge about accident prevention.
           Safety campaigns, suggestion awards, and various audio-visual aids can be considered as a form of employee education.
           An inspection by a trained individual or a committee to detect evidence of possible safety hazards (such as poor lighting, slippery floors, unguarded machines, faulty electrical installations, poor work methods and disregard of safety rules) is a very effective device to promote safety. Safety inspections can take any one of the following four forms.
Investigation of accidents:
                  I.           By determining the reasons for an accident, appropriate action can be taken to prevent similar future occurrences. Investigation of an accident usually involves the following steps:
               II.           Define the problem or nature of accident.
            III.           Collect all relevant facts.
            IV.           Determine the causes of the accident.
               V.           Develop several alternatives to prevent reoccurrence.
               VI.           Select and implement the most effective alternative. Suggest disciplinary action against the employee whose actions were found deliberately unsafe or negligent.
*Dr.P.Shanmukha Rao **Dr.N.V.S.Suryanarayana
Prevention of accidents is an objective which requires no explanation. This is one area in which there is complete identity of employer-employee interests. The employee does not want to be injured and the employer does not want to incur the costs of injuring him. The costs of accidents are enormous in suffering to the injured, in reduction or loss of earnings, in disabilities and incapacities which afflict those involved and in compensation, insurance and legal costs, in lost time, filling in reports and attending to enquiries, and in spoilage of materials, equipment and tools to management.
Accidents are the consequence of two basic factors: technical and human. Technical factors include all engineering deficiencies related to plant, tools, material and general work environment. Thus, for example, improper lighting, inadequate ventilation, poor machine guarding and careless housekeeping are some hazards which may cause accident. Human factors include all unsafe acts on the part of employees. An unsafe act is usually the result of carelessness. In some cases it may be deliberate also. In most instances carelessness can be attributed to the mental condition of the employee. For example, an employee emotionally upset, worried or disturbed is very often careless.
Young and new employees, because of their difficulty in adjusting to the work situation and to life in general, also have many more accidents than do old and mature workers. Persons in a hurry frequently pay insufficient attention to what they are doing. As fatigue increases during the work session, the liability of having an accident rises. Intake of liquor tends to destroy perception and judgment and slows up reaction. Many accidents lead to further accidents as the behavior of the work group becomes disrupted by their occurrence and the worry that is generated by them. Underlying the spate of accidents is an uneasy sense of insecurity, loss of status, maladjustment and frustration. In short, the work group becomes more and more demoralized and in disciplined.
The Phenomenon of Accident Proneness:
Some persons believe wrongly in the theory that certain individuals are accident-prone, that is, they have some personality trait as opposed to some characteristic of the environment which predisposes them to have more accidents than others in work conditions where the risk of hazards is equal to all. Therefore, it is thought wrongly that by removing these persons from the work place (by transfer or dismissal) or by refusing to hire these accident-prone persons accidents can be avoided. Modern researches have established that accident proneness is not an innate personality characteristic. Instead, an individual's susceptibility to accidents may vary over time, depending in part on the conditions in which he works. No person is permanently accident-prone. Every employee has the chance of being involved in an accident. Therefore ‘care' is required of all persons.
Components of the safety programme:
Among the many components of the safety programmes, the following have proved effective when applied in combination:
Appointment of safety officer:
In big organizations, the appointment of a safety officer to head the safety department is a ‘must'. In small organizations, the personnel manager may look after the functions of this department. The head of the safety department, who is usually a staff member, is granted power to inspect the plant for unsafe condition, to promote sound safety practices (through posters and safety campaigns), to make safety rules, and to report violations to the plant manager. His functions also include analyzing the causes of accidents, maintaining accident statistics and records, purchasing safety equipment, and so on. In some organizations, the relationship between the head of the safety department and the line manager may be functional, that is, the head has the authority to issue and enforce orders in his functional field of safety.
Support by line management:
The head of the safety department, whether enjoying a staff or a functional position by him, cannot make a plant safe. His appointment pulls line management into assuming that all its safety problems have been solved. This highlights the importance of making safety a line responsibility. It is said that safety is essentially a line problem. Like all other line management problems it also involves questions of motivation, enforcement of standards and working through groups. One sure way to win line people's support is to encourage them to participate on safety committees, on housekeeping inspections and investigations of accidents.
Elimination of hazards:
Although complete elimination of all hazards is virtually impossible but following steps can be taken to help to reduce them.
Job Safety Analysis:
All job procedures and practices should be analyzed by an expert to discover hazards. He should then suggest changes in their motion patterns, sequence and the like. For example, he may discover that a particular reach over a machine could easily result in a loss of balance and injury or he may discover that a corner of a fixture is sharp enough to cut the hands of the worker. On the basis of job safety analysis the expert should also determine any special qualifications needed by an individual to perform the job. These qualifications may be later incorporated in the job specifications.
Placement:Â A poorly placed employee is more apt to incur injury than a properly placed employee. Employees should be placed on jobs only after carefully estimating and considering the job requirements with those, which the individual apparently possesses.
Personal protective Equipment:
Endless variety of personal safety equipment is available now a day's which can be used to prevent injury.
Safeguarding Machinery: Guards must be securely fixed to all power-driven machinery.
Material Handling: Though often ignored, the careless handling of heavy and inflammable materials is an important source of several injuries and fires.
Hand Tools: Minor injuries often result from improperly using a good tool or using a poorly designed tool. Therefore, close supervision and instruction should be given to the employees on the proper tool use.
Maintenance: Worn-out machinery, machinery guards and attachments, old and out-of-date fire-fighting equipment also contribute to a serious hazard. They often give employee a false sense of security and protection.
Layout and Design: A good plant layout and design can go long way in preventing accidents. Construction of fireproof walls, adequate fire escapes, aisles and storage space, doorways and passage ways, location of hazardous items above employee reach, provision for non-skid floors, and protection of radiators by grills can do much to reduce accidents.
House Keeping:Good housekeeping does not include only tidy and clean floors and machines          but also cleaning of other items such as dirty windows, dusty lights and dirty reflectors which reduce the effectiveness of lighting can also result in employee injury.
Falls:
Another major source of industrial injury is tripping over subjects, slipping on floors and falling on to another level. Many dangers lurk in stacking and storing. Piles may not be properly constructed and may subsequently collapse. Periodic inspection can help in preventing many accidents stemming directly from these causes.
- 1.     Safety training, education and publicity:
           Safety training is concerned with developing safety skills, where as safety education is concerned with increasing the employees' knowledge about accident prevention.
- 2.     Publicity in the form of contest programmers:
           Safety campaigns, suggestion awards, and various audio-visual aids can be considered as a form of employee education.
- 3.     Safety inspections:
           An inspection by a trained individual or a committee to detect evidence of possible safety hazards (such as poor lighting, slippery floors, unguarded machines, faulty electrical installations, poor work methods and disregard of safety rules) is a very effective device to promote safety. Safety inspections can take any one of the following four forms.
- a.    Periodical safety audit: Here checklists are prepared of the points to be covered and an inspection programme is planned to deal with them at regular intervals. A sample form that can be used for this purpose was given in the next page.
- b.   Daily Check Form: Regular inspection: This may be carried out when required by legislation or by insurance companies of boilers, pressure vessels, pipelines, dangerous processes, lifts, hoists, etc.
Investigation of accidents:
                  I.           By determining the reasons for an accident, appropriate action can be taken to prevent similar future occurrences. Investigation of an accident usually involves the following steps:
               II.           Define the problem or nature of accident.
            III.           Collect all relevant facts.
            IV.           Determine the causes of the accident.
               V.           Develop several alternatives to prevent reoccurrence.
               VI.           Select and implement the most effective alternative. Suggest disciplinary action against the employee whose actions were found deliberately unsafe or negligent.
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