The safety audit of factories involved in hazardous processes and hazardous occurrences has been established in India. All credit is due to the 1987 amendments to the Factories Act 1948 which we know as Chapter IVA which prescribes provisions relating to hazardous processes.
It was the 1984 Bhopal disaster that claimed 16,000 lives and crippled more than 500,000 people, prompting a serious review of existing safety laws. Safety Audit has now become one of the spearheads to achieve a safe and healthy environment in industrial establishments.
In the years since the tragic incident in Bhopal, the accident rate, the rate of dangerous occurrences and dangerous disasters have dropped dramatically. While production and productivity are reaching new heights with their graph always pointing up, this achievement is becoming more pronounced. Ruthless globalization and competition have changed the definition of an accident from “no risk or danger” to “acceptable level of risk”. But it is a complement to regulatory monitoring coupled with management’s concern that despite the new dimensions achieved in risk-taking activities; as is evident in upcoming technological achievements and, of course, in the bloated Guinness World of Records, we haven’t heard of any major misfortune or tragedy related to industrial activity since 1984.
The safety audit begins with the self-assessment of an individual employee. You are encouraged to check his credentials against unsafe acts committed knowingly or unknowingly. The factory carries out its internal safety audit as they are aware that an accident or a dangerous event delays productivity and increases loss, while an accident-free period becomes a marked added value. They adhere to the golden principle of “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Society has also been elevated to an accident-free environment. They have whistleblowers and NGOs protected with the latest “Right to Information (RTI) Rules”. Various statutory authorities in India are also equipped with state-of-the-art hardware and software to monitor and identify any malpractice leading to accidents and happenings. For example, satellite images, at the same time, reveal where there is smoke in the sky and brown water gushing into streams and rivers.
External security audits and internal security audits have their own intrinsic qualities. An internal safety audit, conducted by a committee made up of experienced factory experts, reveals most of the unconcealed unsafe acts and conditions. After all, the occupant and his employees know better than others the conditions of his factory. An external safety audit, carried out by experts constituted from other factories, academic professionals or registered with the DGFASLI, yields a non-compliant, non-corrupt perspective report, along with solutions and reference advice.
By far the best type of security audit could only take place when both internal experts and invited experts mingle to review and improve a standi locus Y modus operandi.
Under the guidance and umbrella of a regular safety audit with religious follow-up measures, the factories are slowly but steadily moving towards a benchmark of zero accidents and zero pollution.
The objective of a comprehensive safety audit is to systematically and independently examine whether activities and related results conform to planned arrangements and whether these arrangements are safely and effectively implemented to achieve the company’s written health and safety policy. organization. The effort would be to collect independent information on the efficiency, effectiveness, and reliability of the total health and safety management system and to suggest plans or corrective actions for improvement. The objective is to examine each stage of the health and safety management system to measure compliance with the controls that the organization has developed, with the ultimate goal of evaluating their effectiveness and validity for the future.
The objective is to carry out our systematic critical evaluation of all potential hazards involving man, machine and material, which also includes plant services and method of operation. In general, the objective is to cover the examination and qualitative evaluation of all facets of safety in each activity that includes research and development, design and distribution, occupational health and hygiene, environmental characteristics and control, plant safety, product safety and the process, employees and public safety. It involves a review of the health and safety aspect in production, technical operation, maintenance, authorization certificates, emergency procedures, job description, operating instructions, training, cleanliness, personal attitude, manager-worker relationship, worker participation in health and safety matters. etc.
The office of the Chief Factories Advisor, now called the Director General, Institute of Factory Work, Services and Advice, has developed a comprehensive format for conducting a factory/workplace safety audit. A professional security specialist or a team of security experts can base their exercise on the format mentioned below. They can improvise to enrich it even more. The safety audit report will be considered complete if each and every item is reviewed and supplemented with expert advice and findings for future course correction.
The security audit format is as follows:
1.0 GENERAL INFORMATION
has) WEBSITE INFORMATION
Site area (site design and drawing radius 10 km area.
Number of employees
Products manufactured and capacity
Weather data for the area
b) PRODUCTION INFORMATION
· Processed products
Process details (extensive) with specific reference to steps/hazardous areas
Raw/intermediate materials with inventory
Hazardous material used with inventory
· Material storage – capacity, location, storage conditions and details.
against) COPIES FOR REFERENCE
Recent security audit report
risk analysis
Risk analysis
On-site plan and mock trials on it
· Exterior map of the area.
2.0 MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
has) THE SECURITY POLICY
Policy Content
· Traffic
Promotions/awareness building
b) ATTITUDE
Awareness at various levels
Willingness to learn/change
Recognition of security as an important function
against) SECURITY STRUCTURE
Organization structure – reporting relationship
Qualifications/experience of key people
Functions and responsibilities
Specific knowledge of auditing/hazard analysis, etc.
Responsibility of line managers for safety
Safety as a factor in performance evaluation
Role of security in MES
3.0 SECURITY SYSTEMS
has) SAFETY FUNCTION
Role of security versus other functions
Site safety procedure
Training provided to security staff/other employees
b) SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
Work Footing Instructions
area instructions
Warnings/Legal Instructions
against) DOCUMENTATION
Manuals (Security/Fire/Others)
MSDS
Audit
Legal compliance
d) FIRE PROTECTION
· Organization
Roles and responsibilities
Detailed installation
FEA Schedule / Protective Equipment (detectors) etc.
Fire load evaluation
fire alarm/siren
Arrangement of firefighting (Water, tender, etc.)
external support
· Codes and standards.
me) WORK PERMIT / AUTHORIZATION
Work order
work permit system
Authorities
Monitoring/Controls
F) SECURITY INSPECTION
Inspection Frequency
constitution of the team s
· Results report
Action on deficiencies
security sampling
gram) RESEARCH
accidents
Abnormal incidents/deviation
· Teamwork
Sample Report Examination
g) AUDIT/INSPECTION
security audit
Inspection of security elements.
Frequency
Agencies used (internal/external)
Action derived from audits
i) COMPLIANCE
Regulatory Compliance Status
Compliance Record
· Surveillance
g) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
risk analysis
site plan
Development of vulnerable scenarios
offsite plan
mock trials
· Check
Mutual aid scheme
k) COMMUNICATION/TRAINING
safety communication
Security Committee
Warning signs/posters
The exchange of information
Training program (Security/Fire/First Aid)
· Motivation
4.0 TECHNICAL SYSTEMS
has) DESIGN
Documentation Design
Adopted codes and standards
Document update
plant mods
Identification of vessels, pipelines, etc.
b) OPERATION
· Operating procedures
· Staff training
Operational Security Consideration
against) MAINTENANCE
maintenance procedures
Vessel/Equipment/Pipe Inspection – Condition Monitoring
story cards
Job security analysis
Electrical area classification
Safety protectors (relief valves, rupture discs, trigger systems, etc._
Corrosion and monitoring
Codes and standards
Compliance
d) PERSONAL PROTECTION
Area Classification
Toxic in the workplace
Noise
Personal protection equipment
Employee health monitoring
5.0 HUMAN FACTOR
has) COMMUNICATION
Join/Relationship Type
work problems
Communication on safety issues.
Participation in security
b) TRAINING
Safety training programs
Frequency
· Contents
Stake
Evaluation of effectiveness
against) MOTIVATION
Suggested schemes
Prize/penalties
·Competition
d) REVIEW PROCESS
Security review
Participant Reviews
Improvement plans
6.0 FACILITY SAFETY AUDIT
Visit the site to physically assess the security status, including cleanliness.
A well-executed safety audit and religiously adopted follow-up safety measures would spontaneously result in the achievement of a healthy factory index. A safety index is the ratio of the safety status of the previous year to the current year. This index would be less than 1. The more a factory is concerned about safety, the occupational health of its employees and the maintenance of the environment, the lower and healthier the safety index will be.
