24th August 2015

- The Hindu

Street-corner campaign planned to focus on safety

The Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health will screen plays on safety during street-corner campaign in and around Sivakasi, to sensitise the workers in match and fireworks industries to the importance of adhering to safety measures, said C. Gnanasekara Baburao, Director of Industrial Safety and Health.

Presiding over the conference on ‘Best safety practices’ organised by the Tiruchi Zone of Confederation of Indian Industry and the Directorate here on Saturday, he said that the State government had opened a training centre at Sivakasi recently for imparting training on safety to those working in fireworks and match industries. Incidentally, a compact disc containing a play was prepared by the Tiruchi chapter of the National Safety Council and it depicted the importance of safety, he said.

Worker-friendly ‘patti mandram’ would form part of the show.

Mr. Baburao said the Tiruchi NSC unit had been adjudged the ‘Centre of Excellence’ and has been selected for a rolling trophy for safety instituted by the directorate. The directorate would hold a workshop for doctors attached to Occupational Health Centres of various hazardous industries across the state. “Physicians of these centres play a key role in checking occupational health hazards and the workshop will evolve a strategy for guiding doctors towards achieving the desired goals” he said. The workshop would sensitise both doctors and employees to the importance of ensuring physical fitness.

He appealed to executives and boards of directors of various industries in the central region not to be complacent on investment in safety. “Investment on safety ensures productivity, profitability and promotes quality,” he said.

B. Alagesan, Additional Director, Industrial Safety and Health, said there was an overwhelming response from industries in Tiruchi region for the competition on ‘best safety practices’. More than 50 papers were received for the contest of which 18 were shortlisted for today’s workshop.

V. Sundararaju, former Joint Chief Inspector of Factories, said executives should adopt a critical analysis of safety aspects at their units. “Sustained effort should be taken for identification of hazards, failure mode analysis, preventive measures, implementation of safety aspects,” he said.

R.A. Krishnakumar, Chairman of Tiruchi Zone of CII also Executive Director of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited, said a closer interaction between the Directorate of Industrial Safety, health and industries was being witnessed in the recent years.