Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

“Safety should become part of lifestyle”

Photo:M. Moorthy

BE SAFE: Joint Executive President of Grasim Industries, Ariyalur, S. Natarajan, second from right having a look at safety materials in Tiruchi on Thursday . —

TIRUCHI: With corporate social responsibility poised to become mandatory in future, industries have started according high importance to safety, environment and health concerns, according to S. Natarajan, Joint Executive President, Grasim Industries Ltd., Ariyalur.

He was inaugurating a two-day training course on ‘Health, Safety and Environment in Cement Industries’ organised by the Tiruchi Action Centre of National Safety Council – Tamil Nadu Chapter in association with the Factory Inspectorate, Tiruchi, on Thursday.

Mr. Natarajan observed that safety had now been integrated into the system of automation in industries, compared to dependence on safety actions based on individual expertise a couple of decades ago. However, training programmes were essential for dissemination of knowledge on areas of manual intervention in industrial processes.

Accidents that happen despite safety efforts could be related to unskilled or contract labourers.

Safety practices of foreign players of cement industry that adopt the philosophy of safety, quality and productivity have to be learnt, he said.

There should be an inbuilt system to ensure safety and prevent accidents, he said. The system had been developing over the last 10 to 15 years.

There had been a tremendous development over the past five to six years owing to instrumentation and automation, he said, emphasising the need for industries to complement the efforts of Government departments to improve safety.

Presiding over, P.P. Janarthanam, Joint Chief Inspector of Factories and Chairman, National Safety Council, Tiruchi, said accidents would mean substantial loss of equipment, materials and manpower, erosion of profitability and competitiveness of the industry.

Factors in cement industries that cause respiratory, digestive, neurological and skin disorders should be identified and controlled. Learning to live with hazards had become inevitable, and hence safety should become part of lifestyle, he said.

S. Rathinam, Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories, Tiruchi, welcomed the gathering.

The inaugural was followed by technical sessions on Basic Philosophy of Accident Prevention; Overview on ISO 14001 and OHSAS (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Sequence) 18001 certifications; Health and Hygiene for Cement Plant, and Lightning Protection.

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