Towards an Accident Free Workplace

                 Dr.S.Sethuram, Assistant Professor, SIMS

Industrial Accident is an unexpected event in an industrial establishment which causes bodily injury or death of a worker. There are minor accidents which causes scratches or minor wounds. Major accidents may cause disability to the worker or death. In the industrial environment there are high chances of accidents and injuries.

 There are several causes for occurrence of Accidents. (i) Poor lighting at work place contributes to many accidents (ii) Too much of heat and too much of cold temperature at work place leads to sickness like frost bite. (iii) Obstructions in pathways and slippery floors due to poor house keeping leads to slips and falls (iv) Lifting of very heavy objects causes sprains and injuries to the workers (v) Inadequate circulation of air and air pollution leads affects lung diseases (vii) Too much of sound at workplace will cause hearing problems (viii) Working in poorly maintained machinery is a major reason for accidents (ix) Sparks at workplace lead to fire accidents and explosions (x) Workers who are under stress and fatigue are prone to get involved in accidents (xi) Workers with no training or inadequate training are likely to get injured at work. (xii) Carelessness on the part of workers and not adhering to safety practices is an importance cause of industrial accidents. (xiii) Workers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs are more likely to suffer accidents.

The effects of Industrial Accidents include (i) Death, injury, pain and suffering of the workers who are involved in the mishap. The medical expenses and loss of wages due to disability affects the workers economically (ii) On the part of organization, the suffering includes  loss of productivity, damages to machinery and materials, compensation to be given to injured workers and legal issues.

To prevent industrial accidents the organization should (i) ensure timely inspection and repair of defective machines (ii) imparting training to workers (iii) giving adequate rest to the workers (iv) providing safety equipments and gadgets to workers including boots, gloves and goggles (v) avoiding obstruction in path ways (vi) proper housekeeping preventing accumulation of dusts and fumes (vii) adequate lighting and ventilation in the work rooms.

To conclude, when safety becomes an habit at workplace there will be no accidents. The management should provide good working conditions. Both workers and managers should recognize that several lakh rupees can be saved by preventing accidents in the workplace.