I do not think that there is any country in the world which takes " Safety" so lightly as we do. I am a seaman and had the opportunity to visit many countries of the world. I remember an incident while attending construction of an ocean going vessel in Japan. I noticed the foreman standing next to me in the scaffolding which didn't look safe. I asked the foreman whether it was safe. Quick came his reply "My weight is 75 kg and this wire will snap at 250 kg and if I slip the shock load on the wire will be maximum 150 kg. So there is still safety margin" In our country I have seen workers working at high altitude without safety harness or safety helmet. I have asked many workers as to why they do not use safety harness or safety helmets. They appeared to be totally unaware of their safety needs. There have been fire and other damage to our factories. These are being termed as accidents and no remedial action is taken. In most cases the fire damage is attributed to "electric short circuit", as if there is no antidote against electric short circuit and we have to accept it as fait accompli. The least we can do to minimise incidents of electric short circuit is to employ competent and duly certified electricians to do the wiring job.I would also suggest that each and every factory in the country has a safety department manned by competent and qualified personnel. The job of the safety department will be to ensure that the working environment in the factory is safe.
We must train our manpower in our polytechnics and engineering colleges under the subject of safety engineering where they will learn as to how a factory can be made a safe working place.
I have read about workers dying when entering underground tank. This is because of carbon dioxide that forms in the enclosed space and being heavier than air settling at the bottom of the tank. The problem can be solved by placing a caged bird in the tank and observe the effect of the atmosphere in the tank on the bird. This test can be carried out every time someone enters an enclosed space.
Finally, I would like to say that there is nothing called an accident. Some one somewhere down the line failed to do his job and the result is an accident.
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