INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT

ACCIDENTS

Definition:

An individual accident may be defined as an event, detrimental to the health of man, suddenly occurring and originating from external sources, and which is associated with the performance of a paid job, accompanied by an injury, followed by disability or death.

Economic aspects of accidents:

An accident can be very costly to the employee as well as the employer

There are definite costs associated with the accident

i. Direct costs.

ii. Indirect costs.

DIRECT COSTS

• Compensation.

• Insurance.

• Wage loss for the employee.

• Medical cost.

INDIRECT COSTS

• Cost of damage to equipment, materials & plants.

• Cost of wages paid for time lost by workers not injured.

• Cost of wages paid to injured worker.

• Cost of replacing the injured employee.

• Cost of delay in production.

• Cost of lowered production by substitute worker.

• Cost of reduction in efficiency of the injured worker.

• Cost of safety engineers, supervisors, and staff in investigating recording and reporting of accidents & its causes.

Causes of accidents

1 Technical causes             1.A) mechanical

1.B)  environmental

2 Human causes

Mechanical causes (or) factors

• Unsafe mechanical design or construction.

• Hazardous arrangement (piling, overloading, etc.)

• Improper machine guarding.

• Unsafe apparel.

• Defective devices.

• Improper material handling.

• Broken safety guards.

• Protruding nails.

• Leaking acid valve.

• Untested boiler vessels.

Environmental factors:

• Too low temperature causing shivering.

• Too high temperature causing headache& sweating.

• Too high temperature causing uncomfort , fatigue & drowsiness.

• Defective & inadequate illumination causing eyestrain, glass, shadows, etc.

• High speed of workload.

• Presence of dust, fumes & smokes.

• More no of working hours.

• More overtime.

• Poor housekeeping etc.

Personal factors

• Age.

• Health.

• No of dependents.

• Financial position.

• Health environment.

• Lack of knowledge and skill.

• Improper attitude towards works.

• Incorrect machine habits.

• Carelessness.

• Recklessness.

• Day-dreaming.

• Inattentiveness.

• Fatigue.

• Emotional stability.

• High anxiety.

• Mental worries.

• Unnecessary exposure to risk.

• Non-use of safety devices.

• Working at unsafe speeds.

• Improper use of tools.

Accidents prevention:

Essentials:

• Humanitarian concern.

• Prevent injury.

• Prevent premature death of employees.

• Reduce operating & production costs.

• To have good employer-employee relations.

Methods of prevention:

Layout:

• Enough space to operate.

• Unobstructed passage ways between working places.

• Adequate lighting, ventilation, etc.

• Preventing insure of hot/cold air.

• Floor-nonskid, easy to cleanse, & sound proof.

• Proper windows.

• Proper no of doors & gates.

• Installing fire extinguishers.

• Easy to access safety switches.

Working conditions:

• Controlled air temperature.

• Air purity.

• Air velocity.

• Humidity of air.

• Proper ventilation.

• Sufficient illumination.

• Adequate colors of light.

• Using machines of less noise.

• Isolating noise producing machines.

• Use of silencers.

Safety material handling:

• Using fully mechanized material handling equipment.

• Insisting workers not to life beyond permissible loads.

• Using mechanical means of conveyance.

• Sharp materials, sharp edged poles, goods etc. should be covered.

• Proper piling of goods.

• Using container, vessels to transport liquids.

• Prompt repairing and maintenance of material handling equipments.

Personal protective devices:

a) Protection of heads

Using hard hats, rubberized hats, ear protectors etc.

b) Protection of face

Using face masks, shields, welding helmets.

c) Protection eyes

Using goggles.

d) Protection of lungs

Using of airline respirators, cartridge respirators, oxygen apparatus, gas mask.

e) Protection of body parts

• Protective asbestos clothing.

• Gloves, safety shoes- foot guards,

• Aprons etc.