Expressing alarm at the number of industrial mishaps in the recent past, including the fire at bio-diesel manufacturing facility, in the district, entrepreneurs felt there was a need for greater push to campaign on safety at workplace.
“Spending a few lakhs more on quality safety equipment at the time of installation is a lower cost than the losses in revenue and the human cost caused by a disaster,” V. Murali Krishna, Chairman of CII Visakhapatnam Chapter and Chairman and Managing Director of Mahatma Gandhi Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, told The Hindu . “The investment in safety is like a one-time insurance premium,” he added.
“An industrial disaster is not just restricted to loss of property of the unit, but has direct and indirect impact on everyone associated with it. To the investor first and foremost it is a direct loss of asset, which may be partly compensated by the insurance company. It is also a revenue loss for the duration of the period taken for loss assessment and construction of the new facility. The human cost of the disaster is higher. For the regular employee it is a loss of employment for the entire period the facility is closed and for casual worker it is loss of a source of employment. The humanitarian aspect of any industrial disaster is very high and every entrepreneur should ensure there are no disasters,” Dr. Murali Krishna said.
G. Sambasiva Rao, vice-president of AP Chamber of Commerce and Industry Federation, agreed that the humanitarian cost of industrial mishaps was very high and pointed out that the responsibility to minimise disasters lies on both entrepreneur and operator. “The operators should own up their jobs and do it sincerely,” he said.
Entrepreneurs should not try to cut costs when it concerns insurance and take a comprehensive insurance cover that provides for replacement cost of the equipment and also for the basic wages of workers during the period of rebuilding the facility, Mr. Rao, also the managing director of logistics company Shravan Shipping Services Limited, said.
Safety audit
The government should insist on third party safety audit and penalise companies that fail. Safety has to be taken up seriously and safety regulations be made more stringent. “There is a need for proper planning by the industrial area developers and safety equipment has to be provided. There is no fire fighting equipment in the VSEZ in Duvvada, which houses manufacturing facilities like the biodiesel unit,” B. Madhu, president of Visakhapatnam Chapter of Fire and Safety Association of India, said.
The CII Vizag Chapter Chairman says investment in safety is like an insurance premium
