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: seaindiachennai@gmail.com

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