If a safety officer in a company can be accused of mishaps, municipal corporators should also be held accountable for mishaps on the roads, as they are responsible for road maintenance. In many big cities, potholes are not repaired until a fatal accident occurs.
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Hi Vaibhav,
Are you a safety officer for namesake in the company? Are your responsibilities made clear to you by management and HR?
If not, then it is an entirely different issue.
If they are clear, then as a safety officer, you should be responsible to generate, maintain, and track the safety-related procedures and guidelines. If they are not being followed by any department, then it will also be your responsibility to enforce them through various means (trainings, restrictions, penalties, etc). Your organization's safety certifications (ISO, etc) would support you in the same.
If the safety officer fails to prove that these processes are being avoided, without any action taken against it; then it is logical that the FIR (First Information Report) is logged against the SO, until further evidence is produced. I appreciate the response from Vivian in this regard.
Safety is surely everybody's responsibility, but 'everybody follows the organizational procedures' is the safety officer's responsibility. Also, if there are any flaws in the safety policies of the organization, then the safety officer is responsible for them as well.
As for the case of the Tarapur accident, the news says that the initial fire was followed by five blasts, followed by fire extending to the factory. It is not known why the firefighting equipment did not trigger the shutdown of the site, avoiding the fire spread. I am sure there would be more than one person to blame here, as in today's technologically advanced world of industries, such things cannot happen due to one person's silly mistakes.
Regards,
Amod.
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85Are you a safety officer for namesake in the company? Are your responsibilities made clear to you by management and HR?
If not, then it is an entirely different issue.
If they are clear, then as a safety officer, you should be responsible to generate, maintain, and track the safety-related procedures and guidelines. If they are not being followed by any department, then it will also be your responsibility to enforce them through various means (trainings, restrictions, penalties, etc). Your organization's safety certifications (ISO, etc) would support you in the same.
If the safety officer fails to prove that these processes are being avoided, without any action taken against it; then it is logical that the FIR (First Information Report) is logged against the SO, until further evidence is produced. I appreciate the response from Vivian in this regard.
Safety is surely everybody's responsibility, but 'everybody follows the organizational procedures' is the safety officer's responsibility. Also, if there are any flaws in the safety policies of the organization, then the safety officer is responsible for them as well.
As for the case of the Tarapur accident, the news says that the initial fire was followed by five blasts, followed by fire extending to the factory. It is not known why the firefighting equipment did not trigger the shutdown of the site, avoiding the fire spread. I am sure there would be more than one person to blame here, as in today's technologically advanced world of industries, such things cannot happen due to one person's silly mistakes.
Regards,
Amod.
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Sorry for the wrong reference. The details of the accident from Tarapur MIDC mentioned in my above post were for an accident in April 2014. The one mentioned by other posts is from March 2013.
There was an interesting comment on this news on TOI's online article. I am providing it as it is from the news website:
"Safety standards in Palghar Boisar chemical plants are a joke: If you track the history of such explosions in various factories in the Boisar MIDC, you will realize that there is almost one every month. The safety officers are surely not doing their work, and many incidents don't even get reported. I hope this time we see some strict action and not some shoddy probe." - Amod.
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There was an interesting comment on this news on TOI's online article. I am providing it as it is from the news website:
"Safety standards in Palghar Boisar chemical plants are a joke: If you track the history of such explosions in various factories in the Boisar MIDC, you will realize that there is almost one every month. The safety officers are surely not doing their work, and many incidents don't even get reported. I hope this time we see some strict action and not some shoddy probe." - Amod.
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Hi,
The Safety Officer is not the only person who needs to take care of safety aspects. Safety is everybody's concern.
It is the safety officer's responsibility to bring forward and bring to the notice of the management the potential threat perceptions, hazards, and risks found in the workplace. Additionally, they should also outline the consequences that the management might face, with legal support to prove the same.
A Safety Officer should also ensure that safety-related reports are properly generated, and training and adequate awareness are spread among the workers.
Pointing out the root causes of accidents in general, they often occur due to carelessness, ignorance, and lack of awareness of safety practices. That being said, if all safety-related activities and efforts are documented and compiled, it will always assist safety officers and the safety team as a whole in minimizing accidents/incidents in the workplace. According to Murphy's Law, if there is a possibility of a mistake/accident occurring, someday, someone, at some point in time, that mistake/accident will happen. Human errors are of such a nature.
Safety personnel are engaged in saving human lives and preventing loss or damage to the company. Therefore, feel proud to be one of the lifesaving members and do not worry. As you save lives, you are also ensuring your safety.
A career in the safety field may be an earning option or a profession, but looking at it from a broader perspective will always boost your morale. Contributing to lifesaving efforts will reward you more than anything in life.
From India, Vadodara
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The Safety Officer is not the only person who needs to take care of safety aspects. Safety is everybody's concern.
It is the safety officer's responsibility to bring forward and bring to the notice of the management the potential threat perceptions, hazards, and risks found in the workplace. Additionally, they should also outline the consequences that the management might face, with legal support to prove the same.
A Safety Officer should also ensure that safety-related reports are properly generated, and training and adequate awareness are spread among the workers.
Pointing out the root causes of accidents in general, they often occur due to carelessness, ignorance, and lack of awareness of safety practices. That being said, if all safety-related activities and efforts are documented and compiled, it will always assist safety officers and the safety team as a whole in minimizing accidents/incidents in the workplace. According to Murphy's Law, if there is a possibility of a mistake/accident occurring, someday, someone, at some point in time, that mistake/accident will happen. Human errors are of such a nature.
Safety personnel are engaged in saving human lives and preventing loss or damage to the company. Therefore, feel proud to be one of the lifesaving members and do not worry. As you save lives, you are also ensuring your safety.
A career in the safety field may be an earning option or a profession, but looking at it from a broader perspective will always boost your morale. Contributing to lifesaving efforts will reward you more than anything in life.
From India, Vadodara
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Dear All,
There are many industries that do not respect safety norms. Even though the opinion is that the payment the company has to make to the Safety Officer (SO) can be paid to the inspecting officer/government officer, and the matter can be resolved. Another opinion is that SO is not allowed in many industries to send emails, no one signs his memo, and no one refuses his comments, but they do not follow or obey him. SO faces many difficulties in keeping himself safe in many industries. Whenever safety versus production or maintenance comes in front of management, safety always loses the game.
There should be strong rules for the safety officer to keep himself safe and to make others safe.
From India, Bhopal
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There are many industries that do not respect safety norms. Even though the opinion is that the payment the company has to make to the Safety Officer (SO) can be paid to the inspecting officer/government officer, and the matter can be resolved. Another opinion is that SO is not allowed in many industries to send emails, no one signs his memo, and no one refuses his comments, but they do not follow or obey him. SO faces many difficulties in keeping himself safe in many industries. Whenever safety versus production or maintenance comes in front of management, safety always loses the game.
There should be strong rules for the safety officer to keep himself safe and to make others safe.
From India, Bhopal
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What your Safety Officer wanted.pdf