Over view of the Industrial Fabrication Yard & Wielding Facility:

On 10 of February, I visited a fabrication facility of M/S Gupta & Sons. They are mainly in to the business of welding & Fabrication of various industrial needs of Pipeline construction and Structural installations. The Facility is very big and provides space to Wielding activities as well as Pipe cutting and Support Fabrications. There is one Facility Supriendent who has three supervisors under him. There are around 25 wielders and 12 fabricators. These wielders and fabricators are also provided with some helpers who assist them with the manual lifting and movement of logistics inside the yard facility. There are four office porta cabin and a Pantry. A recreation and resting facility is also available for the workers.

1. Summary of the Inspection:

The Safety Statistics board shows that the facility has achieved one year without LTI and has a record of 390 Safe working days. Even though the workforce has finished significant days without injury some of the workers were lacking the knowledge of behavioral safety. Improving the attitude of the workforce towards a positive Safety Culture will have a major effect in safe execution of Job as well as a high percentage of output. This will also result as a proactive step instead of reactive action when an incident happens. A Healthy workforce with a Positive attitude towards Safety will lead the way in the compliance of National Safety Standards as well as International Safety Standards as per OSHAS 18001.

Some of the observations are as follows: 1. HSE Policy and HSE Management System
The Office had the HSE Policy of the company displayed and it was signed by the Chief Executive officer. It detailed type of job which was carried out by the company and its commitment towards the Health and Safety of the Workforce as well as an healthy Environment. It emphasized that the company complied with the requirements of the OSHAS 18001 as well as ISO 14000-14001.

The HSE Management System was in place and covered the following Elements 1. Management Commitment. 2. Company Policy. 3. Planning and Resource. 4. Hazard Awareness & HSE Trainings. 5. Audting 6. Review of Performance. The Management System was in place but during the site visit some of the Non compliances were noticed mainly with the use of PPE and Manual Handling of the Materials. Lack of Supervision was noticed in one or two area where workers were working in Hazardous conditions. Details of these observations will be outlined with necessary recommendation.

2. Safety Induction and Emergency Response:

The Safety induction provided by the Safety Supervisor for the visit was too generic and limited to use of PPE. The Supervisor failed to brief on the emergency exists and actions to do in case of an emergency such as any injury at site during the visit or evacuation in case of a fire etc. I. II. III. IV. V. VI. The Safety Induction briefing could have been much better if it included the Site Facility Map and the Emergency Exits marked in it. Fire alarms and incase of a fire. Emergency contact numbers of Paramedic or a trained first Aider inside the Facility. Location of eye wash in case of a projectile hitting an Eye or Red eyes due to Wielding flame Exposure. Assigned Smoking areas where a person can smoke. Locations of Overhead cranes in the yard were not briefed in the Safety Induction.

Route Map leading to the Emergency Exits of the facility can be very helpful for the persons visiting the site as this will prevent the visitors from trespassing into unknown areas and risk an injury.

3. Activities inside the workshop

The workshop is basically shared by two working groups, Welders and the grinders. Since the workshop is spacious there is rarely any conflict of work activities. The common hazards for both groups should be outlined and discussed to avoid any incident due to lack of knowledge of the hazards involved in the others activities vice versa. Safety Signage displaying the Hazards and preventive measures should be displayed at various places to cascade the message to the workforce as well as the visitors arriving to the Workshop.

4. Crane inside the workshop

Only trained and competent persons should be allowed to operate the cranes inside the workshop. Unsafe or unauthorized use of the crane can easily result in a Major incident. Hence Proper management system should be evolved to assign the task of operation as well as maintenance of the Mono cranes to avoid incidents at site. Regular inspection of the lifting tackles should be the part of the maintenance. Certification of Safe for Use should be provided by a proper recognized agency for inspection and certification.

5. Conclusions :
There are many notable efforts from the management for the HSE Management at site. Some of them are listed below: I. II. III. IV. V. Work force is provided with PPE and other facilities at the workshop. Recreation and rest shelter are provided to the workforce. Management encourages good safety culture and conducts Health Campaigns. Facilities are clearly marked. Ablution blocks are clean and hygienic.

Along with these noteworthy efforts there as some issues which requires an immediate attention from the management to be proactive and avoid incidents at site. These issues are listed below as recommendation.

S.no

Recommendations

Implications Company will incur cost on training the workforce but this will certainly help In raising the competent workforce.

Priority

Target Date

High

2 Months

1.

Competency Trainings for the Workforce has not been identified.

This will certainly effect the output as the trained worker will minimize the wastage and carryout a safe job. Competent Person will always carry out the Activity in a safe manner. Plan a Schedule for Emergency Mock Drills.

2.

Mock Drills and Emergency Response

Assign roles and responsibilities in case of an Incident or Evacuation. High Maintain a Chart for number of worker Present in a shift. Mock drill once in a month will not cross one Man hour for each employees. JHA are too generic and do not cover all the Hazards especially the Health Hazards. High

1 Month

1 Month

3.

Job Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessments

RA should be carried out for each activity Emphasizing the eminent risk and the Preventive measures. This will improve the safety behavior and Will certainly avoid incidents at site.

4.

Hydraulic Trolleys

Workforce is engaged in manual lifting of the Materials this can be avoided with the use of Small hydraulic trolleys.

High

1 Month

The cost of the trolley will be much less that The amount spent if somebody get injures. It will also save a considerable time for the Execution of job. 5. Wooden Pallets for Storage of Metal Sheets Storage of sheets on metal sheets will not only save the workers from injury but also save the metal sheets from getting Damaged on the edges. Wooden Pallets are long lasting and a One time investment. All the equipments using domestic plugs should be replaced with standard Industrial Plugs. Use of Male & Female Industrial Plugs for Electrical Tools. This will save the equipment as well as the workforce from Electric Shock. This is a Mandatory requirement as per OSHA 18001. 7. Combined HSE meeting for all the Workforce. There should be a common HSE meeting for All the workforce so that they are aware of the hazards other than their job activities. Leather aprons save the welder from many hazards. It provides shield against the harmful UV radiations. 9. Scrap is scattered around as there is no Waste Management Plan. If Scrap is segregated and reused it may save a huge amount of money for the Company. Medium 1 Month Low 1 Month Medium 1 Month

6.

High

1 Month

8. Leather Aprons for the Welders

Medium

1 Month

Waste Management

Segregation of Metallic & Non metallic scrap is part of Environmental Management and a requirement as per ISO 14000. All the flammable gases should carry the MSDS sheet as it will guide the proper Usage and transportation of the gases. 10. Transporting Trolley & MSDS for Flammable Gases Carrying the cylinders in a trolley will not only make it safe for moving but also Save a lot of time and manpower for transportation. This is one time investment but will meet the required international standards for Handling the flammable gases. Low quality grinding wheels will break during the activity and can cause a serious Injury. Use of genuine and high standard Grinding wheels. The consumption of grinding wheel is more as they easily get worn out. Whereas use of Standard and Quality grinding wheel will not only has a longer utility but is also very safe during Activity. Management can introduce a Behavioral Based Safety incentive program and award the best Safety Performer this Will certainly raise the safety standards. High 1 Month Medium 1 month

11.

12.

Encourage the workforce for Proactive behavior safety behavior and award them.

Medium

1 Month

Positive behavior from workforce will save lot of money for the company.