1
EDITORIAL BOARD
R Parameswaran
W A Balakumaran
P Manoharan
S M Ravi
V S V Rajan
Printed at Eswari Offset, Chennai – 600 014
VOL: 18 No. 2 APRIL – JUNE 2019
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SAFETY ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION
G1, Vinoth Foundations, 95/5, Sundaramurthy Gramani Street, Virugambakkam, Chennai-600092.
Tel : 044-2377 4060 E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.safetyengineersassociation.org
INDIAN SAFETY ENGINEERSEA (INDIA)
(Regn No: 1391 / 2000)
[Registered under Societies Act, 1975]
Dear Members,
Amalgamations of all the available legal related
legislations into a fewer number of acts is in
advance stage and it is expected to be notified
shortly. Considering its importance and the focus
on them by the central government, it is expected
that the state governments too will enact relevant
state rules with priority. This is going to bring in
many changes in our present practices related to
the legal compliance. All of you shall gear up from
now onwards to meet the revised and modified
requirements to be a responsible legal compliant safety professional.
The Anniversary and Annual General body Meeting are scheduled on Sunday,
1st September at Hotel Quality Inn Sabari, Thirumalai Road, T Nagar, Chennai.
Director of Industrial Safety and Health, Government of Tamilnadu, Professor
of Engineering Design Department, IIT Madras and the Director (Operations)
from Tamilnadu Petro Products are invited to be special guests for the anniversary.
Apart from them, the anniversary will be attended by many of the senior members
of the association and professionals in the field of implementing, enforcing and
educating safety. Two special lectures by eminent persons on topics of special
interest to the safety professionals are also arranged on that day. Request all of
you to take part in the anniversary function and make it grand and benefit from
the special lectures.
The anniversary function will be followed with the annual general body meeting
in the afternoon. All the members are requested to participate in the meeting
in large number to make the association's activities more vibrant.
We are planning to organize two visits to the factories around Chennai which
are excelling in their safety management practices. Look for the communication
on this and make use of it.
There is a lot of information in the news papers on the economic slowdown
in India which is having cascading effect on the performance and functioning
of the industries. As you are aware, the resources being spent on safety may
become one of the functions which will be affected in the factories due to this
slow down. Be aware of this and take pro active measures to at least sustain the
current level of resources available for safety and also to look for avenues to cut
down costs without compromising the safety requirements. You can also think
of converting this threat as an opportunity to identify and implement the cost
effective high rewarding safety activities to support the management.
Success in safety is always a challenge and we shall be ready to face these
challenges to be successful.
Perumal Manoharan
President
Inside... Page
From the Desk of President 1
49th Professional Development
Programme 2
World Environment Day 2019 3
Beat Plastic Pollution 4
Psychological Risk on
Employees Absenteeism 6
Noise: Hearing Conservation
Programme 7
Internet of things – Effective
use in construction safety 10
Tank Truck static grounding
protection 11
CASE STUDY
Flash Fire during charging of
Flammable Powder 14
IN THE NEWS
Introducing the World Day for
Safety and Health at Work 2019 15
Major construction projects can
play a critical role 15
FROM THE DESK OF PRESIDENT
2
49th Professional Development Programme on
“Designing Industrial Ventilation to improve Occupational Safety & Health”
The Forty Nineth Professional Development
Programme was held on Saturday, 18th May
2019 at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher
Education and Research (SRIHER), Porur,
Chennai 600112.
Sri N Ramadoss, ME, former Executive
Director, IWMA delivered a Technical Talk on
"Designing Industrial Ventilation to improve
Occupational Safety & Health".
100th Executive Committee Meeting
The 100th E C Meeting of SEA India was held on Sunday, 9th June 2019 at SEA India Office,
Virugambakkam.
All Executive Committee members, Patron, Advisers and Office Bearers attended the meeting.
SEA India activities such as Professional Development Programmes, Factory Visits, Job Portal
and the methodology to be adopted for the successful conduct of the proposed Safety
Professional Meet were discussed.
SEA India members are requested to send their views / ideas for improving the activities of
our association so that the services will reach all members.
Kind Attention of Members....SEA India wants to share the experience and innovative knowledge on Environment, Health and Safety
related topics among our safety professionals.
If any of our Members want to deliver talk on EHS topics, please contact our Secretary, SEA (India) for
utilizing their services in the ensuing professional development programs being conducted once in
every quarter.
Also, if any of our members want to conduct Implant training program in their factories, they can contact
our secretary for organizing such program at nominal cost.
Success stories in improving EHS system in your unit and interesting case studies which may be useful
to our members and safety alerts can be sent to our Mail ID for publication in this journal.
The source of information will not be disclosed in any form.
Issue of Membership Certificate / ID Cards
As requested by SEA Members, it has been decided to issue Membership Certificates to all the
Members and Identity Cards to Life members. Towards this, all Members are requested to furnish
the following details along with a passport size photograph (in .jpg format): 1. Name to be printed.
2. Member Number 3.Personal Contact Details (i) Tel No. (ii) Mobile Number (iii) Email ID. All the
details are to reach SEA Office by post / courier / Email. Only on receipt of all the above mentioned
details, Membership Certificate and ID cards will be issued.
3
WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2019
Every year World Environment
day is celebrated on 5th June to
spread awareness, to encourage
people to take action and to
protect the environment.
This year the theme of World
Environment day is Air Pollution.
World Environment Day is
celebrated since 1974, it is widely
celebrated over 100 countries. It
is the "People's day" to do
something to take care of earth
and the environment. This is
really important to know the ways
to protect the environment, let us
see in detail about the objectives,
themes and history of World
environment day.
For healthy living, environment
plays an important role. It provide
us air, food, etc. It is correctly said
that ' the difference between
animals and humans is that
animals change themselves for the
environment, but humans change
the environment for themselves'.
Environment is just like our
neighbor hood, its surrounding
conditions influence us and
modify growth and development.
World Environment Day is
promoted by the United Nations
and for 2019 China being the host
country. World Environment Day
is also known as the Environment
Day, Eco Day. This day is
celebrated to spread awareness
about the Environment and its
effects on the daily life of the
people.
Environment is the surrounding
or conditions in which a person,
animal or plant lives or operates.
It is necessary to understand the
importance of environment and
lots of activities are done by the
people to preserve and conserve
the unique and life nurturing
nature.
People are more reluctant today to
save the Environment for the
future and then only it will be
possible for the people to focus on
the developmental activities in
the country.
The theme for the World
Environment Day 2019 is “Air
Pollution”.
Air pollution is increasing day by
day and it seems complex to
control it but nothing is
impossible; we should come
together to combat it. And for
this it is necessary to understand
different types of pollution, how it
affects our health and environ-
ment will help us various steps
towards improving the air
around us.
A platform for action
World Environment Day is the
United Nations day for
encouraging worldwide awareness
and action to protect our
environment. Since it began in
1974, the event has grown to
become a global platform for
public outreach that is widely
celebrated in over 100 countries.
The people’s day
Above all, World Environment
Day is the "people's day" for doing
something to take care of the
Earth. That "something" can be
local, national or global. It can be
a solo action or involve a crowd.
Everyone is free to choose.
The theme
Each World Environment Day is
organized around a theme that
draws attention to a particularly
pressing environmental concern.
The theme for 2019 is "Air
pollution".
The host
Every World Environment Day
has a different host country, where
the official celebrations take place.
The focus on the host country
helps to highlight the environ-
mental challenges it faces and
supports worldwide efforts to
address them. This year's host is
China.
DISCLAIMER: All information contained in this Journal, were obtained from sources, believed to be reliable and are collated, based on
technical knowledge and experience, currently available with the Editorial Board of SEA (India). While SEA (India) recommends reference
to or use of the contents by its members and subscribers, such reference to or use of contents by its members or subscribers or third
parties, are purely voluntary and not binding. Therefore the Editorial Board of this Journal or SEA (India) assumes no liability or responsibility
whatsoever towards any bad or undesired consequences.
4
(Contd. on next page)
BEAT PLASTIC POLLUTION
As the world’s population
continues to grow, so does the
amount of garbage that people
produce. Lifestyles require easily
disposable products, such as soda
cans or bottles of water, but the
accumulation of these products
has led to increasing amounts of
plastic pollution around the
world.
As plastic is composed of ma-
jor toxic pollutants, it has the
potential to cause great harm to
the Environment in the form of
air, water and land pollution.
When plastic has gathered in
an area and then it begins to neg-
atively impact the natural envi-
ronment and create problems for
plants, wildlife and even human
population.
Often this includes killing
plant life and posing dangers to
local animals. Plastic is an incred-
ibly useful material, but it is
made from toxic compounds
known to cause illness, and be-
cause it is meant for durability, it
is not biodegradable.
The ill effects of plastic pol-
lution is irreversible.
Causes of Plastic Pollution:
1. Plain Old Trash - Plastic
is everywhere, even on those
items you may not expect it to be.
Trash Dumps and landfills are un-
fortunate major problems, as they
allow pollutants to enter the
ground and affect wildlife and
groundwater for years to come.
2. It is Overused - As plas-
tic is less expensive, it is one of the
most widely available and over-
used item in the world today.
When disposed, it does not de-
compose easily and pollutes the
land or air nearby when burned in
the open air.
3. Fishing Nets - Commer-
cial fishing is an economic neces-
sity for many parts of the world,
however, this industry has helped
to contribute to the problem of
plastics pollution in the oceans in
several ways. The nets used for
certain large-scale trolling opera-
tions are usually made of plastic.
These spend long times sub-
merged in water, leaking toxins at
will, but they also often get bro-
ken up or lost. This not only kills
and harms local wildlife, but also
ensures that pollutants enter the
water and fish of the area.
4. Disposing of Plastic and
Garbage - Burning plastic is in-
credibly toxic, and can lead to
harmful atmospheric conditions
and deadly illness. Therefore, if it
is in a landfill, it will never stop
releasing toxins in that area. Even
recycling doesn't cut down on
plastic, as it essentially uses the
existing plastic, The process of
recycling plastic can also lead to
plastic irritants being released in
a number of ways.
Effects of Plastic Pollution:
Plastic Pollution leads to long-
term issues for plants, animals,
and people. Some of the major
long-term effects of plastic pollu-
tion are:
1. It Upsets the Food Chain
- Because it comes in sizes large
and small, polluting plastics even
affect the world's tiniest organisms
such as plankton, when these or-
ganisms become poisoned
Due to plastic ingestion, this
causes problems for the larger an-
imals that depend on them for
food. This can cause a whole slew
of problems, each step further
along the food chain. Plus, it
means that plastic are present in
the fish that many people eat
every day.
2. Groundwater Pollution -
The world's water is in great dan-
ger because of leaking plastics and
waste. If you've ever seen a gar-
bage dump, imagine what hap-
pens every time it rains - then
imagine that being in your drink-
ing water. Groundwater and res-
ervoirs are susceptible to leaking
environmental toxins. Most of the
litter and pollution affecting the
world's oceans also derives from
plastics. This has had terrible con-
sequences on many marine spe-
cies, which can lead to conse-
quences for those that eat fish and
marine life for nutrients - includ-
ing people.
3. Land Pollution - When
plastic is dumped in landfills, it in-
teracts with water and form haz-
5
ardous chemicals. When these
chemicals seep underground, they
degrade the water quality. Wind
carries and deposits plastic from
one place to another, increasing
the land litter. It can also get
stuck on poles, traffic lights, trees,
fences, tower etc. and animals
that may come in the vicinity and
might suffocate them to death.
Air Pollution
Burning of plastic in the
open air, leads to environmental
pollution due to the release of
poisonous chemicals. The pollut-
ed air when inhaled by humans
and animals affect their health
and can cause respiratory prob-
lems. Further plastic pollution
does a lot of damage to the world's
ecosystems.
4. It is Poisonous
Man artificially makes plastic
by using a number of toxic chem-
icals. Therefore, use of and expo-
sure to plastics has been linked to
a number of health concerns af-
fecting people around the world.
The processes of making, storing,
disposing of, and just being
around plastics can be extremely
harmful to living things.
5. It is Expensive
It costs millions of dollars
each year to clean affected areas
after exposure, not to mention the
loss of life to plants, animals, and
people. As land becomes more
valuable, just finding a place to
put garbage is becoming a prob-
lem in many parts of the world.
Excess pollution has lead to de-
creased tourism in affected areas,
significantly impacting those
economies.
Solutions to Plastic Pollution :
The reality is that the only
way this problem can be addressed
is by individuals and companies
around the world agreeing to
implement practices that reduce
waste at every level. The top tips
for reducing plastic waste are:
1. Shop Friendly - Plastic
bags were once a modern conve-
nience but can be efficiently re-
placed by reusable bags, many of
which fold up compactly in order
to be portable. Just think about
how many bags you typically car-
ry out of a grocery store, and
multiply that by the number of
times you grocery shop. That's a
lot of plastic! Carry a bag and
always reuse plastic bags as much
as possible if you have them.
2. Get Rid of Bottled Water
- People are meant to drink lots of
water each day, and plastic water
bottles have become a great way
to stay hydrated throughout the
day. However, most of these are
only recommended for single use,
and that means that every time
someone finishes a bottle it goes
into the trash. Many companies
now sell reusable water bottles as
a substitute, reducing plastic
waste and exposure to leaking
bottles.
3. Forget to-go Containers -
Plastic food containers, lids, and
utensils are all easily replaced by
reusable containers, which will
cut down significantly on even a
single meal's waste.
4. Educate Businesses -
Speak to local restaurants and
businesses about options that they
can switch to for packaging, stor-
ing, and bagging items. Many
companies are starting to come up
with excellent low-cost replace-
ments, such as bamboo utensils in
place of plastic ones.
5. Get Involved - Speak to
lawmakers and get involved with
government on any level, and
you'll see how many special inter-
est groups have made it so that we
are dependent on plastic without
needing to be. Encourage devel-
opment of items, and propose al-
ternatives when applicable.
6. Recycle Everything - Try
and select items that come in
non-plastic recycled and recycla-
ble packaging, to do your best to
properly handle items that can't
be reused. Check everything be-
fore you put it in the trash, as
more and more items are able to
be recycled these days.
Plastic doesn't break down
easily, recycling plastic means that
it is still plastic, just being used for
a different purpose. Therefore,
you're not actually reducing plas-
tic or exposure, even in the recy-
cling process
Hence non use of plastic
products alone is the Best Solu-
tion to save the Environment.
Beat Plastic....(Contd. from previous page)
6
PSYCHOLOGICAL RISK ON EMPLOYEES ABSENTEEISM
Employee Absenteeism is the
absence of an employee from work.
It's a major problem faced by almost
all employers of today. Employees are
absent from work and thus the work
suffers with less production. Absen-
teeism of employees from work leads
to back logs, piling of work, work
delay, under production and thus
work stress (Psychological disorder)
builds. This kind of psychological
disorders many times leads to care-
lessness and by-passing the safe op-
erating procedure and resulted with
avoidable accidents.
Absenteeism is of two types:
• Innocent absenteeism - Is
one in which the employee is absent
from work due to genuine cause or
reason. It may be due to his illness
or personal family problem or any
other real reason
• Culpable Absenteeism - is
one in which a person is absent from
work without any genuine reason or
cause. He may be pretending to be
ill or just wanted a holiday and stay
at home.
There are many other various
reasons for Employees to remain
absent from work:
Reasons from the side of organisa-
tion
1. Lack of satisfaction from
present work
2. Poor working conditions
3. longer working hours
4. Dominating Boss & Seniors
5. Non Cooperating peers
6. Higher expectation
7. No growth prospects in present
Company
8. Excess Work Stress
Whatever might be the reason
for employees’ absence will affect the
productivity and also more number
of stress related human error inci-
dents in the organisation which in
turn affects overall performance of
the organisation if employee absen-
teeism is continuous. In this regard
organisation must pay attention to-
wards proper attendance of employ-
ees to the work. There is an oppor-
tunity for the organization to recog-
nize the frequent absenteeism work-
ers and get counselled for the correct
reason.
Rick Hughes, lead adviser for
workplace at the British Association
for Counselling & Psychotherapy, ex-
plains more about the counselling
profession and the important role
that it can play within an organisa-
tion.
Workplace counselling is an
employee support intervention that
is usually short term in nature and
provides an independent, specialist
resource for people working across all
sectors and in all working environ-
ments. Giving all employees access to
a free, confidential, workplace coun-
selling service can potentially be
viewed as part of an employer's duty
of care.
The counselling process is
about providing a sounding board for
an employee, giving them a safe
place to work, talk about issues that
trouble them, and allowing counsel-
lors to help them find their own
solutions to problems or develop
better ways to manage issues. It is not
about giving advice, but about pro-
viding a non-judgmental, empathic
and accessible means to allow an
employee to find a way forward.
Typically, counsellors working in
organisations are employed under the
umbrella of Occupational Health
(OH). Indeed, many counselling re-
ferrals come from OH professionals,
which enables the employee to get a
fast response to help them manage
their issues.
As well as benefiting the em-
ployee, OH staff with access to a
counselling resource appreciate the
opportunity to refer employees to a
specialist service, freeing up more
time for them to devote to other
areas.
The benefits of workplace counsel-
ling for employees include:
• Concentration, improvements
on work and thereby no mis-
takes (No Human error)
• A safe workplace
• Helping employees to better
understand themselves
• Establishing or improving cop-
ing skills - complying the pro-
cedures
• Developing effective solutions
to problems
• Learning to look at issues with
a more positive outlook and dif-
ferent perspective
While workplace counselling can
be helpful to employees, there are
also many benefits for employers:
• Eliminating unwanted process /
production incidents
• Reduction is Human error and
injuries
• Improved employee perfor-
mance, leading to productivity
gains
• Decreased employee absentee-
ism
• Lower turnover rates among
employees
• Productive way to handle sen-
sitive situations or staff mem-
bers with problematic behav-
iours
• Establish a reputation as an
employer that cares about staff
If we could over come the psy-
chological risk and avoid the absen-
teeism, we can to a major extent
nullify the unsafe activities and re-
duce the accident level.
7
NOISE: HEARING CONSERVATION PROGRAMME
1. INTRODUCTION:
Hearing conservation program
(HCP) focuses on protecting
employees with significant noise
exposures from Noise Inducing
Hearing Loss (NIHL) even if they
continue to work at the same level of
exposure for their life time. HCP is
required when worker is likely to be
exposed to noise levels higher than
85 dBA; there is alterations,
renovations or repair work; new
equipment are introduced;
modification done in the process.
HCP when implemented to and
practiced to the best will reduce the
rate of hearing loss by one third
(Muhr P et al., 2016). The rate may
greatly vary with the awareness and
training of employees. In spite of
having much knowledge on auditory
effects of noise, availability of
innovative engineering controls
measures and available range of
hearing protection devices, burden of
disease attributable to noise exposure
still prevails. Given the opportunities
available for noise control, one greatly
needs not only the solutions, but
rather disseminating the risks of noise
exposure and management
techniques. As noise induced hearing
loss (NIHL) is preventable injury, risk
control must be focused through
engineering, administrative and
behavioral adaptations. Following are
the elements of hearing conservation
program (OSHA 2002)
1. Monitoring noise exposure
levels
2. Audiometric testing
3. Hearing protection
4. Training
5. Record keeping
2. MONITORING NOISE
LEVELS:
Hearing conservation is
centered towards the principle of
preventive approach. One need not
wait for high noise exposure or
hearing loss to happen but rather
apply the surveillance approach to
identify the employees at risk of high
noise exposure and follow up with
them at periodical intervals to ensure
that the exposure is minimized or
progression of disease is prevented.
The HCP requires employers to
monitor noise exposure levels in a way
that accurately identifies employees
exposed to noise exceeding the action
level at or above 85 decibels (dB)
averaged over 8 working hours, or an
8-hour time-weighted average
(TWA). For workers working beyond
8 hours working shift the action level
is reduced proportionately (OSHA,
2013), Employers must monitor all
employees whose noise exposure is
equivalent to or greater than a noise
exposure received in 8 hours where
the noise level is constantly 85 dB.
The exposure measurement must
include all continuous, intermittent,
and impulsive noise within an 80 dB
to 130 dB range and must be taken
during a typical work situation. This
requirement is performance-oriented
because it allows employers to choose
the monitoring method that best suits
each individual situation. Employers
must repeat monitoring whenever
changes in production, process, or
controls increase noise exposure.
These changes may mean that more
employees need to be included in the
program or that their hearing
protectors may no longer provide
adequate protection. Employees are(Contd. on next page)
Workshop on Technical Aspects of Noise & Its Health Effects was conducted on September 22, 2018 by SEA
India jointly with SRIHER. Dr. S. Sankar, Professor & Head, Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Public
Health, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (DU), Porur, Chennai 600 116 delivered
the first talk on "Noise: Hearing Conservation Programme". The gist of his talk is given for the benefit of SEA
India members.
entitled to observe monitoring
procedures and must receive
notification of the results of exposure
monitoring. The method used to
notify employees is left to the
employer's discretion. Employers must
carefully check or calibrate
instruments used for monitoring
employee exposures to ensure that the
measurements are accurate.
Calibration procedures are unique to
specific instruments. Employers
should follow the manufacturer's
instructions to determine when and
how extensively to calibrate the
instrument.
3. AUDIOMETRIC TESTING:
Audiometric testing monitors an
employee's hearing over time. It also
provides an opportunity for employers
to educate employees about their
hearing and the need to protect it.
The employer must establish and
maintain an audiometric testing
program. The important elements of
the program include baseline
audiograms, annual audiograms,
training, and follow up procedures.
Employers must make audiometric
testing available at no cost to all
employees who are exposed to an
action level of 85 dB or above,
measured as an 8-hour TWA. The
audiometric testing program follow up
should indicate whether the
employer's HCP is preventing hearing
loss. A licensed or certified
audiologist, otolaryngologist, or other
physician must be responsible for the
program. Both professionals and
trained technicians may conduct
audiometric testing. Calibration of
the testing equipment must be
ensured before performing an
8
(Contd. on next page)
Noise: Hearing....(Contd. from previous page)
audiometric test. The professional in
charge of the program does not have
to be present when a qualified
technician conducts tests. The
professional's responsibilities include
overseeing the program and the work
of the technicians, reviewing problem
audiograms, and determining
whether referral is necessary. The
employee needs a referral for further
testing when test results are
questionable or when related medical
problems are suspected. If additional
testing is necessary or if the employer
suspects a medical pathology of the
ear that is caused or aggravated by
wearing hearing protectors, the
employer must refer the employee for
a clinical audiological evaluation or
otological examination, as
appropriate. There are two types of
audiograms required in the hearing
conservation program: baseline and
annual audiograms.
Baseline audiogram
The baseline audiogram is the
reference audiogram against which
future audiograms are compared.
Employers must provide baseline
audiograms within 6 months of an
employee's first exposure at or above
an 8-hour TWA of 85 dB. An
exception is allowed when the
employer uses a mobile test van for
audiograms. In these instances,
baseline audiograms must be
completed within 1 year after an
employee's first exposure to workplace
noise at or above a TWA of 85 dB.
Employees, however, must be fitted
with, issued, and required to wear
hearing protectors whenever they are
exposed to noise levels above a TWA
of 85 dB for any period exceeding 6
months after their first exposure until
the baseline audiogram is conducted.
Baseline audiograms taken before the
HCP took effect in 1983 are
acceptable if the professional
supervisor determines that the
audiogram is valid. Employees should
not be exposed to workplace noise for
14 hours before the baseline test or
wear hearing protectors during this
time period.
Annual audiogram
Employers must provide annual
audiograms within 1 year of the
baseline. It is important to test
workers' hearing annually to identify
deterioration in their hearing ability
as early as possible. This enables
employers to initiate protective follow
up measures before hearing loss
progresses. Employers must compare
annual audiograms to baseline
audiograms to determine whether the
audiogram is valid and whether the
employee has lost hearing ability or
experienced a standard threshold
shift (STS). An STS is an average
shift in either ear of 10 dB or more at
2,000, 3,000, and 4,000 hertz.
The employer must fit or refit
any employee showing an STS with
adequate hearing protectors, show
the employee how to use them, and
require the employee to wear them.
Employers must notify employees
within 21 days after the
determination that their audiometric
test results show an STS. Some
employees with an STS may need
further testing if the professional
determines that their test results are
questionable or if they have an ear
problem thought to be caused or
aggravated by wearing hearing
protectors. If the suspected medical
problem is not thought to be related
to wearing hearing protection, the
employer must advise the employee
to see a physician. If subsequent
audiometric tests show that the STS
identified on a previous audiogram is
not persistent, employees whose
exposure to noise is less than a TWA
of 90 dB may stop wearing hearing
protectors. The employer may
substitute an annual audiogram for
the original baseline audiogram if the
professional supervising the
audiometric program determines that
the employee's STS is persistent. The
employer must retain the original
baseline audiogram, however, for the
length of the employee's employment.
This substitution will ensure that the
same shift is not repeatedly identified.
The professional also may decide to
revise the baseline audiogram if the
employee's hearing improves. This
will ensure that the baseline reflects
actual hearing thresholds to the
extent possible. Employers must
conduct audiometric tests in a room
meeting specific background levels
and with calibrated audiometers that
meet American National Standard
Institute (ANSI) specifications of SC-
1969.
4. HEARING PROTECTION:
Hearing protection is last in the
hierarchy of controls, must be
provided after all other types of
control measures fails to reduce the
noise to the expected levels. Careful
selection of hearing protection device
(HPD) is at most important for better
wearing compliance and protection.
The performance of the employees
improves better while wearing
hearing protection devices
(Bhattacharya et al., 1985). Low noise
exposed employees had lower level of
disciplinary action, less absenteeism
and greater productivity than those
with higher exposures (Noweir 1984).
One 5 year pre and 5 year post HCP
study showed fewer injuries in
employees wearing hearing protection
devices (Schmidt et.al 1982). The
audiometric records were better in
women who had better compliance
of wearing the hearing protection
devices.
Employers must provide hearing
protectors to all workers exposed to
8-hour TWA noise levels of 85 dB or
above. This requirement ensures that
employees have access to protectors
before they experience any hearing
loss. Positive influence can be
observed in employees having access
to an assortment of HPDs
(McCullagh MC et al., 2016).
9
Noise: Hearing....(Contd. from previous page)
Employees must wear hearing
protectors:
• For any period exceeding 6
months from the time they are
first exposed to 8-hour TWA
noise levels of 85 dB or above,
until they receive their baseline
audiograms if these tests are
delayed due to mobile test on
scheduling;
• If they have incurred standard
threshold shifts that
demonstrate they are susceptible
to noise; and
• If they are exposed to noise over
the permissible exposure limit of
90 dB over an 8-hour TWA.
Employers must provide
employees with a selection of at least
one variety of hearing plug and one
variety of hearing muffs. Employees
should decide, with the help of a
person trained to fit hearing
protectors, which size and type
protector is most suitable for the
working environment. The protector
selected should be comfortable to
wear and offer sufficient protection
to prevent hearing loss. Hearing
protectors must adequately reduce
the noise level for each employee's
work environment. Most employers
use the Noise Reduction Rating
(NRR) that represents the protector's
ability to reduce noise under ideal
laboratory conditions. The employer
then adjusts the NRR to reflect noise
reduction in the actual working
environment. In reality, there is
always less correlation between the
manufacturers' attenuation data and
real world in field performance
(Elliott H). Therefore a correction
factor needs to be applied before using
the attenuation data provided by the
manufacturer. The employer must
reevaluate the suitability of the
employee's hearing protector
whenever a change in working
conditions may make it inadequate.
If workplace noise levels increase,
employees must give employees more
effective protectors. The protector
must reduce employee exposures to
at least 90 dB and to 85 dB when an
STS already has occurred in the
worker's hearing. Employers must
show employees how to use and care
for their protectors and supervise
them on the job to ensure that they
continue to wear them correctly.
5. TRAINING:
Employee training is very
important. Training improves the
knowledge, attitude and practice of
employees; interpersonal
interactions, behavioral motivation
and safety culture both at individual
and organizational level (Reddy et al.,
2017). Theoretical based training is
well accepted and effective tool to
promote positive health behavior in
workplaces. Interactive web based
training is yet another effective
method to improve the use of HPDs
compared to other methods
(McCullagh MC et al., 2016).
Method of training thus needs to be
decided carefully depending on the
level of the employees' knowledge and
attitudes. Workers who understand
the reasons for the hearing
conservation programs and the need
to protect their hearing will be more
motivated to wear their protectors
and take audiometric tests. Employers
must train employees exposed to
TWAs of 85 dB and above at least
annually in the effects of noise; the
purpose, advantages, and
disadvantages of various types of
hearing protectors; the selection, fit,
and care of protectors; and the
purpose and procedures of
audiometric testing. The training
program may be structured in any
format, with different portions
conducted by different individuals
and at different times, as long as the
required topics are covered.
6. RECORD KEEPING:
Employers must keep noise
exposure measurement records for 2
years and maintain records of
audiometric test results for the
duration of the affected employee's
employment. Audiometric test
records must include the employee's
name and job classification, date,
examiner's name, date of the last
acoustic or exhaustive calibration,
measurements of the background
sound pressure levels in audiometric
test rooms, and the employee's most
recent noise exposure measurement.
Beginning January 1, 2003, employers
also will be required to record work-
related hearing loss cases when an
employee's hearing test shows a
marked decrease in overall hearing.
Employers will be able to make
adjustments for hearing loss caused
by aging, seek the advice of a
physician or licensed health-care
professional to determine if the loss
is work-related, and perform
additional hearing tests to verify the
persistence of the hearing loss.
CONCLUSIONS:
Noise induced hearing loss is a
disease that develops gradually over
a period of time depending on the
intensity of exposure. Hearing
conservation program must be started
early at the inception period to job
where high noise exposure happens
to the employees. Implementing HCP
needs a multipronged approach. One
must evaluate the practical feasibility,
attitude of employees and motivation
strategies before implementing HCP.
There are several benefits of
implementing HCP, decline in noise
exposures, increased use of hearing
protection and insignificant impact
on hearing threshold shift
(Frederiksen TW et. al., 2017).
Hearing conservation program not
only reduces lost-time accidents in
unprotected employees and improves
the productivity, but also fatigue and
pain. Therefore, hearing conservation
program must be implemented at an
early stage to earn multiple benefits
such as preventing noise induced
hearing loss, increasing the
productivity and improving the
quality of life.
10
INTERNET OF THINGS – EFFECTIVE USE IN
CONSTRUCTION SAFETY
Internet Of Things (IOT) is
the latest concept among technol-
ogy. Though it feels as a high tech
concept with many tech perceptive
terminologies, its basics are simple
to understand. It can be defined as
“The automation of sharing infor-
mation at right time to right person
to adjust the system performance to
optimum value with reference to
ever changing environment”.
For any industry to succeed
with concepts of internet of things,
a basic implementation of technol-
ogy must be already available
within such respective industries.
This is particularly true with con-
struction industry as well. Industry
experts mention that IOT has
many challenges in implementation
such as
• Concept is not time tested
• Infringement of privacy in cer-
tain aspects of its implementa-
tion
• Costly when compared to re-
sults it produces
• Excessive cost for implementa-
tion
While reasons for staying away
from such a technology is more al-
luring. It is the Job of the indus-
trial engineers, field engineers to
push for implementation and re-
sponsibility of the governmental
policy makers and legislators to
develop rules and guidelines to
ensure, gross misuse of the said
technology do not occur. It is also
essential for us to use IOT as a
technology platform, which does
not intrude into privacy of users,
and adhere to existing laws and
legal requirements.
The technology is here to stay
and get established. It is only in our
advantage to get it implemented in
our field of work and obtain the
best results or profit, in this case
saving human life at the early curve
itself. Having established this, I
would like to mention few areas
where IOT can change the work
life of field safety personnel. This
includes ability to manage the be-
low crucial elements in project site.
• Men management
• Machinery management
• Material management
• Knowledge sharing
• Decision making abilities
• Operations data sharing
Here are few examples of real
time information management that
will improve the ability to manage
construction site safety.
Men management
• Ability to track and inter-con-
nect information on pre-em-
ployment and periodic medi-
cal examination of workers on
construction site.
• System that can alert the HSE
team in the event of deviation
in health parameters during
periodic medical checkup of
the workers on construction
site.
• System or device that can
connect the training informa-
tion of worker on real time
basis to the worker. Also simi-
larly a system that can inti-
mate the necessity of various
training to be undergone by a
particular worker.
• Linking fatigue, stress and
other work related health con-
ditions to specific targeted
workforce and thus deriving
ability to manage work related
stress.
Machinery management -
• Managing machineries based
on availability and functional-
ity of safety features.
• Ability to link authorized op-
erators with machinery by bio-
metric access.
• Intimation of maintenance,
repairs, regular checks and in-
spections of the machinery.
Ability to link this inspection
and maintenance to time line
specified by the manufacturer
and monitoring these activi-
ties in real time.
Material management
• Real time tracking of safety
PPE and gadgets stock on site.
• Ability to pool safety material
stock from various sites and
manage with optimal use.
• Linking chemicals and MSDS
availability. (* Linking MSDS
training to men management)
The examples are endless, for us to
manage construction site a lot of
people and services pool and work
together in synchronization. The
complex nature of construction
projects and requirements of its
safety is only known to a person
who has immersed himself in such
a necessities. With the advent of a
new technology in the horizon, we
can manage these complex and
often differing tasks with much
ease, but we need to work towards
a connected world or in this case a
connected workplace.
Courtesy: Mr. Pruthvi BA
Bosch Limited
11
TANK TRUCK STATIC GROUNDING PROTECTION
As the product (liquid or
powder) moves through the trans-
fer system and interacts with
pumps, valve, filters meshes and
pipe walls, the product will be
building up the amount of electro-
static charge is carries. In electri-
cal terms this is commonly de-
scribed as static charge accumula-
tion. When the product is trans-
ferred into the tank truck, the
tank truck, will in turn, become
electrified and be subjected to a
rising voltage.
For example, a typical tank
truck when it is being filled with
a liquid at recommended flow
rates, but is without static ground-
ing protection, could have its
voltage raised to between 10,000
volts and 30,000 volts within 15
to 50 seconds. This voltage range
is very capable of discharging a
high energy electrostatic spark to-
wards objects at a lower voltage
potential, especially anything at
ground potential. Examples of
objects at ground potential could
be operators working in the vicin-
ity of the truck, or the filling pipe
situated in the hatch on top of the
tank truck.
It is possible to estimate the
energy of such sparks by combin-
ing the capacitance of the tank
truck with the voltage carried by
the tank truck.
The capacitance is a measure
of how much charge can accumu-
late on the outer surface of the
tank truck. Because tank trucks
have a very large surface area,
they can accumulate very large
amounts of charge, which in turn,
creates the presence of very high
voltages on the surface of the tank
truck.
For example, a truck with a
capacitance of 1000 pico-farads
that is electrified to 30,000 volts
has approximately 450 milli-joules
of potential spark energy. Given
that most hydrocarbon vapors and
gases have Minium Ignition Ener-
gy (MIE) of less than 1 milli-joule
and most combustible dusts have
MIEs of less than 200 millijoules,
it’s easy to see why tank trucks
that do not have static grounding
protection in place can be a ma-
jor ignition source in a hazardous
area.
To counteract this risk, it is
important to ensure that the tank
truck does not have the capacity
to accumulate static electricity.
The most practical and compre-
hensive way of achieving this is to
make sure that the tank truck is
at ground potential, especially
before the transfer process starts.
When we describe “ground poten-
tial” we mean that the tank truck
is connected to the general mass
of the Earth, which is commonly
referred to, in electrical terms, as
“True Earth”.
This is because the general
mass of the Earth has an infinite
1. Electrostatically charged tank truck (electrified tank truck)
(Contd. on next page)
12
capacity to pull static charges
from the tank truck, which in
turn eliminates the generation
and presence of voltages on the
tank truck.
The Earth-Rite® RTR
(Road Transport Recognition)
performs three critical functions
which ensure the fire and explo-
sion risk of an ignition caused by
static electricity is eliminated. The
first function the RTR performs is
in determining if the driver or op-
erator has made a secure connec-
tion to the body of the tank truck.
This minimises the risk of the
driver obtaining a permissive con-
dition for the static grounding
system by connecting to objects
like the loading rack, or objects on
the tank truck that could be iso-
lated from the main body of the
tank truck, as this would defeat
the objective of passing electro-
static charges from the tank truck
to ground.
Tank Truck....(Contd. from previous page)
The RTR then verifies if it
has a low resistance connection to
True Earth via the structure to
which it is connected, e.g. the
loading rack. As any static charg-
es generated by tank truck load-
ing (unloading) process will trav-
el to ground via the RTR, it is
important to ensure the RTR it-
self has a low resistance connec-
tion to True earth. When both of
these conditions are positive, i.e.:
1. The RTR knows it is con-
nected to a tank truck.
2. Voltage build-up on charged tank truck
2. The RTR knows it is con-
nected to a verified earth ground.
The RTR will then establish
if the connection resistance be-
tween the tank truck and the
verified earth ground is 10 ohms
or less.
10 ohms is the benchmark
requirement repeated in several
international standards, the most
prominent of which is the Amer-
ican NFPA 77 “Recommended
Practice on Static Electricity” and
Europe’s IEC 60079-32 standard.
If the resistance is not more
than 10 ohms the RTR will indi-
cate that the tank truck is con-
nected to ground and indicate this
via its ground status indicators, a
cluster of green LEDs that pulse
continuously.
The reason the LEDs pulse is
to indicate that the RTR is con-
tinuously monitoring the static
grounding circuit between the
tank truck and the verified earth
grounding point (e.g. loading
3. Example of potential spark gap during tank truck loading operation (Contd. on next page)
13
rack) for the duration of the load-
ing (unloading) process. If the
resistance of the tank truck’s con-
nection to the verified earth
ground ever rises above 10 ohms,
the RTR will go non-permissive.
Both of the standards listed
above recommend that interlocks
controlling the flow of product to
or from the tank truck are provid-
4. How the Earth-Rite RTR ensures static electricity cannot build-up on the tank truck
Tank Truck....(Contd. from previous page)
ed by the static grounding system.
To comply with this requirement,
the RTR has two volt free con-
tacts that can interface with con-
trol circuits for pumps, valves and
PLCs.
If the RTR determines that
the tank truck has lost its connec-
tion to ground, the volt free con-
tacts can be used to halt the
transfer process. The benefit of
halting the transfer process re-
moves the charging mechanism
that would otherwise charge up
the tank truck while it has no
active static grounding protection
in place.
* “earthing”: the equivalent term is
“grounding”.
14
CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY 1:
FLASH FIRE DURING
CHARGING OF FLAM-
MABLE POWDER
Description of Incident
An operator was pouring a sack of
chemical powder manually into
the hopper of a blending machine.
The charging process took place
while a welder was installing a
product specification board (sign
board) within the vicinity of the
hopper. When the welder started
a test spark, a spark fell into the
hopper and a flash fire occurred.
The operator who was loading the
chemical powder suffered burns
and sustained cuts while escaping
from the fire.
Possible Causes and Contribut-
ing Factors
Medium
The chemical powder being
charged into the hopper was flam-
mable.
Management
• There was no PTW issued for
this hot work to ensure that
the necessary checks were
made before commencing the
welding works.
• There was no enclosure to iso-
late the welding sparks from
the hopper.
• Proper means of communica-
tion (e.g., via walkie-talkies)
were not provided to the
workers.
Recommendations and Learning
Points
• Conduct a general workplace
risk assessment to identify all
sources of flammable material.
• A PTW must be issued to en-
sure that the necessary
worksite checks are made, a
gas test is performed and the
work has been authorised be-
fore any hot work is allowed to
proceed.
• Set up a fire blanket enclosure
around the hopper opening to
shield against sparks generated
from any nearby welding
works.
Causal Analysis
Evaluation of loss • One worker injured
Type of contact • Flash fire
Immediate cause(s) • Introduction of sparks into a flammable atmosphere
Basic cause(s) • Failure to conduct risk assessment
Failure of OSHMS • Hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control
• Operating procedures and safe work practices
• Consultation and communication
• Control of hazardous substances
Accident location at the top of the blending machine.
1. Product specification board.
2. Hopper of the blending machine.
3. Position of the welder.
4. Position of the injured.
• Improve communication and
coordination between differ-
ent teams of workers by pro-
viding walkie-talkies or por-
table radio handsets to the
workers.
• Equip all workers handling
flammable substances with
suitable PPE (e.g., a fire retar-
dant uniform) for basic protec-
tion against fire.
15
IN THE NEWS
Introducing the World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2019
Inspired by the ILO centenary anniversary and discussions on the future of work, the world day this
year attempts to take stock of a 100 years of work in improving occupational safety and health and
looks to the future for continuing these efforts through major changes such as technology, demographics,
sustainable development including climate change and changes in work organization.
The official World Day on 28 April 2019 will only be the beginning of worldwide events and activities
to continue throughout the rest of the year, around the theme of safety and health and the future of
work, celebrating and building on the wealth of knowledge and action accumulated over 100 years
as we get ready to face and appreciate the changes brought forward by the future of work we want.
The ILO will launch a global report to that effect, sharing the story of a 100 years in saving lives and
promoting safe and healthy working environments. The report attempts to capture the evolution of safety
and health from before the inception of the ILO in 1919 to date, going through the major turning points
that have influenced this field and have influenced the way ILO has contributed to improving safety
and health at work.
More importantly, the global report will touch upon the changes in work arrangements, technology
(digitalisation and ICT, platform work, automation and robotics), demographics, globalisation, climate
change, and other drivers that are affecting the dynamics of safety and health and the nature of
professions in this area, notwithstanding the persistent traditional and re-emerging risks and variations
across developing and developed countries.
To add further depth to the discussion, the ILO will feature 33 original think pieces from the real faces
of the occupational safety and health community from around the world who will share strong messages
and testimonials on OSH and the future of work from a variety of expert and practical aspects.
Major construction projects can play a critical role in
improving workers’ understanding of occupational health risks
Major construction projects can play a critical role in improving workers' understanding of health risks
and championing 'universally high standards' across the industry, new research suggests.
A three-year research project, funded by IOSH, aimed to explore the management of health, safety
and wellbeing interventions on the Thames Tideway Tunnel project.
Members of the research team from Loughborough University were integrated into each of the
construction teams working on the Tideway project and monitored key health and safety processes,
personnel, documentation, events and activities.
In a paper titled 'Raising the bar for occupational health management in construction, published in
the Institution of Civil Engineers' journal Civil Engineering, the research team highlights practical
measures from the Tideway project to help stakeholders improve the management of health risks in
construction.
The Loughborough team suggests major projects have an important role to play in up skilling the
workforce, and that construction managers must take responsibility for health risk management,
supported by skilled OSH and health professionals.
Interventions included working with occupational hygienists to improve understanding about health risks
and how to manage them and coordinating training sessions for project managers, engineers,
supervisors and others who contribute to risk assessments focusing on practical control measures.
16