Chapter 20

A Safe and Healthy Environment

Learning Objectives

• Understand the nature of safety and its role• Describe accidents and their types• Design a safety programme• Identify dangers to health of employees and

suggest ways of eliminating the dangers

Major Accidents in the Last Decade• Bhopal, December 1984 In the world’s worst chemical disaster, a

methylisocyanate gas leak from the Union Carbide plant in the city killed over 4000 people. Thousands suffered irreversible health damage.

• Delhi, December 1985 An oleum gas leak from the Sriram Foods and Fertilisers plant in Delhi severely affected workers and those living in the neighbourhood.

• Rourkela, December 1985 Blast furnace accident in Rourkela Steel Plant, 18 workers affected.

• Durgapur, June 1987 Chlorine leak at Durgapur Chemicals Factory created panic all around. Long distance trains were halted. Over 100 were affected.

• Bombay, November 1988 Fire at the Bharat Petroleum Refinery at Mahul, North-East Bombay, killed 32.

• Ramagundam, September 1989 Major gas leak at Fertilisers Corporation of India unit at Ramagundam, killed 7.

Accidents (contd..)• Nagothane, November 1990 Explosion at the Indian Petrochemicals,

Nagothane Complex, 35 persons killed, over 50 suffered 70 per cent burns.• Bombay, July 1991 Accident in a Hindustan Organic Chemicals unit near

Bombay kills 7 workers.• Gwalior, December 1991 Blast at the dyeing department of GRASIM unit at

Gwalior, 14 killed and 22 severely injured.• Panipat, August 1992 Ammonia leak at the National Fertilisers plant, Panipat,

killed 11, many injured.• Kahalgaon, October 1992 Boiler explosion in the National Thermal Power

Corporation (NTPC), 11 killed and several injured.2• Ahmedabad, August 3, 2003 Over 30 persons were killed and several injured

in an explosion in an old three storeyed building that housed an industrial unit to manufacture equipment for a diamond cutting and polishing industry.

Accidents (contd..)• Bhadravati, Karnataka, August 1, 2003 Eight employees of VISL, including

two officers, died on the spot and nine others were injured when a powerful explosion occurred in a converter in the steel-making section (SMS) of the plant.

• Mumbai, August 11, 2003 23 employees of ONGC were killed in a helicopter crash in the offshore Heera Panna Oilfield’s Neelam area.

• Kolkota, November 6, 2003 19 people were burnt alive when a mob of nearly 400, mostly tea garden workers, set ablaze house of a trade union leader in the Dalgaon tea estate in north Bengal’s Jalpaiguri District.

• S Manjunath, an office of IOC was murdered on Nov 19, 2005.

Types of Accidents

6

Accidents

Internal

Major

Fatal

Temporary

External

Minor

Disability

Permanent

Partial Total Partial Total

Accidents – Estimated LossDate of

OccurrenceName of the Organisation

Estimated Loss(Rs. In crore)

29.10.1987 Madras Ref., Manali 4.85

11.11.1987 HPL Refinery, Vizag 3.40

09.01.1988 JK Synthetics 6.92

20.09.1988 Monica Electronics 3.86

05.05.1988 Zenith Chem., Tarapur 4.00

30.08.1988 IOC, Mathura 4.63

07.09.1988 IEL, Gornia 5.00

09.11.1988 BPCL 9.00

02.02.1989 IPCL, Baroda 41.82

09.02.1989 IAAI, Bombay 43.00

23.02.1989 Voltas, Warora 5.00

08.01.95 to 02.03.1995

ONGC, Pasarlapudi well blowout 41.44

Source: The Economic Times, March 10, 1995

Safety Process

Strategic ChoicesDevelopment of

Safety PolicyOrganisation for

Safety

Evaluation of Effectiveness

Implementation of the Programme

Analysis of Causes for Accidents

Causes of Industrial Accidents

Unsafe acts of persons Unsafe Mechanical or Physical Conditions

1. Operating without clearance, failure to heed warning.

1. Inadequately guarded, guards of improper height, strength, mesh, etc.

2. Operating or working at an unsafe speed. 2. Unguarded, absence or required guards.

3. Making safety devices inoperative.3. Defective, rough, sharp, slippery, decayed,

cracked, etc.

4. Using unsafe equipment, or using equipment unsafely.

4. Unsafely designed machines, tools, etc.

5. Unsafe loading, placing, mixing, combining, etc.

5. Unsafely arranged, poor housekeeping congestion, blocked exits, etc.

6. Taking an unsafe position or posture. 6. inadequately lighted, sources of glare, etc.

7. Working on moving or dangerous equipment.

7. Inadequately ventilated, impure oil source, etc.

8. Distracting, teasing, abusing, startling, etc.8. Unsafely clothed, no goggles, glares or

masks, high heels, etc.

9. Failure to use safe attire or personal protective devices.

9. Unsafe processes, mechanical, chemical, electrical, nuclear, etc.

Inadequate InspectionState Number of Inspectors Factories per Inspector

Andhra Pradesh 92 233

Assam 1.2 212

Bihar 46 1038

Gujarat 103 144

Haryana 15 255

HImachal Pradesh 1 529

Jammu & Kashmir 4 180

Karnataka 38 315

Kerala 65 186

Madhya Pradesh 50 156

Maharashtra 130 184

Manipur 1 357

Orissa 24 94

Punjab 33 304

Rajasthan 40 232

Tamil Nadu 131 100

Tripura 4 175

Uttar Pradesh 48 135

West Bengal 62 138

Chandigarh 1 284

Delhi 22 208

Goa 3 140

Pondicherry 5 171

All India 903 6004

Source: The Economic Times, November 8, 1992

Employees’ Health

• Physical health• Mental health• Noise control• Work stress• AIDS• Alcoholism and drug abuse• Violence in the work place

Health HazardsHealth Hazards Causes

Lung cancerCoke oven emissions, asbestos, active or passive cigarette smoke

White lung disease Asbestos

Black lung disease Coal dust

Brown lung disease Cotton dust

Leukemia Benzene, radiation

Cancer of other organsAsbestos, radiation, vinyl chloride, coke over emissions

Sterility/reproductive problems

Radiation

Deteriorating eye-sight Chemical fumes, office equipment

Hearing impairment High noise levels

Relationship between Stressors and Stress

• Perception• Past Experience• Social Support• Individual Differences

StressorStress

The EnvironmentThe Individual

A Model of Occupational Stress

14

Individual Level• Personality• Role Overload• Role Conflict• Role Ambiguity• Task-Characteristics

Group Level• Managerial Behaviour• Lack of Cohesiveness• Intra-group conflict• Status Incongruence• Sexual harassment• Work place violence

Organisational Level• Climate• Management styles• Organisational life cycle

Extra- Organisational• Family• Economy• Lack of mobility• Quality of Life

Moderating Variables• Perception• Past Experience• Social Support• Individual Differences

Behavioural• Satisfaction• Performance• Absenteeism• Turn over• Accidents• substance Abuse

Physiology• Increased-blood

pressure• High cholesterol heart

disease• Burnout

Cognitive• Poor Decision-making• Lack of concentration• forgetfulness

Stressors

Stress

Outcome

Stress Vs. BurnoutStress Burnout

The person feels fatigueThe individual encounters chronic exhaustion

The person is anxious The individual is hypertensive

The person is dissatisfied with his or her job

The individual is bored and cynical about the work

The person’s job commitment has dropped off

The individual's job commitment is virtually nil; he/she is mentally detached from the organisation

The person feels moodyThe individual feels impatient, irritable and unwilling to talk to others

The person feels guiltyThe individual encounters mental depression

The person is having difficulty in concentrating he/she tends to forget things

The individual does not seem to know where he/she is; forgetfulness is become more frequent

The person undergoes physiological changes such as increased blood pressure and heartbeat

The individual begins to voice psychosomatic complaints

Source: Richard M. Hodgetts, Organisational Behaviour, p.345

A Model of BurnoutEmotional Exhaustion

Depersonalisation

Feeling a lack of personal

Accomplishment

Personal, Job and organisational

stressors

Attitudinal and Behavioural symptoms of

Burnout

Signs of StressPhysical

signsEmotional

signsMental signs

Relational signs

Spiritual signs

Behavioural signs

Appetite changes

Bad temperLacking humour

IsolationA feeling of emptiness

Pacing

Headaches Anxiety Dull senses Defensive Apathy Swearing

Fatigue Nightmares Lethargy IntoleranceInability to forgive

Substance abuse

Insomnia Irritability Boredom Resentment Cynicism Nail biting

Indigestion DepressionIndecisiveness

LonelinessLoss of direction

Slumped posture

Cold Frustration Forgetfulness Nagging Doubt Restlessness

Weight change

Over sensitivity

Poor concentration

Lower sex drive

Need to prove self

Risk aversion

Teeth grinding

Mood swingsPersonality change

Aggression Negative lookEating disorder

Tension Fearfulness Stuck in past abuse Gloom Headaches

Source: Suzanne C. De Junasz, et al., Interpersonal Skills in Organisation, p.72

Taking Time to Manage Time• One of the major causes of stress for managers comes from time

pressures. No matter how fast some managers work and how much time they put in, they are still unable to get all their work done. One of the most effective ways of dealing with this problem is the use of time management technique. Today many organisations are training their managers how to get more done in less time. Some of the most helpful guidelines for effective time management are:– Make out a ‘to do’ list that identifies everything that must be done during the

day. This helps keep track of work progress.– Delegate as much minor work as possible to subordinates.– Determine when you do the best work—morning or afternoon and schedule

the most difficult assignments for this time period.– Set time aside, preferably at least one hour, during the day when visitors or

other interruptions are not permitted.

Time (contd..)– Have the secretary screen all incoming calls in order to turn away

those that are minor or do not require your personal attention.– Eat lunch in the office one or two days a week in order to save time

and give yourself the opportunity to catch up on paperwork.– Discourage drop-in visitors by turning your desk so that you do not

have eye contact with the door or hallway.– Read standing up. The average person reads faster and more

accurately when in a less comfortable position.– Make telephone calls between 4.30 and 5.00 pm. People tend to keep

these conversations brief so that they can go home.– Do not feel guilty about those things that have not been accomplished

today. Put them on the top of the ‘to do’ list for tomorrow.

Targets of Organisational Stress Management Programmes

Organisational Stress Management Programmes

Work Stressors• Workload• Job Conditions• Role Conflict and Ambiguity• Career Development• Interpersonal Relations• Aggressive Behaviour• Conflict between Work and

other Roles

Outcomes of Stress• Physiological• Emotional• Behavioural

Employee Perceptions/

Experience of Stress

Targeted at

HIV Growth in India

Workplace Violence - Levels

A. Moderately Injurious B. Highly Injurious

Property damage, vandalism Physical attacks and assaults

Sabotage Psychological trauma

Pushing, fist fights Anger-related accidents

Major violations of company policy Rape

Frequent arguments with customers, co-workers or supervisors

Arson

Theft Murder

Source: Bernardin, et al., op. cit., p.419

Smoking Related CostsInsurance costs are higher

Ventilation costs are greater for smoky atmosphere

Absenteeism-smokers take 50% more sick leave

Cleaning costs – dirty ceilings, etc

Fire risks – 15% of all industrial fires arise from smoking

Time spent smoking