Chapter 2 - Various Safety Hazards & Preventions Flashcards
What are the different approaches that HSE managers adopt while handling hazardous situations?
• Enforcement Approach
• Psychological Approach
• Engineering Approach
• Analytical Approach
What is the enforcement approach? Provide examples.
Enforcement Approach is a simple and direct approach where managers make it mandatory to all for following certain practices with commanding words like ‘always do this’, ‘never do that’ etc.
Examples:
- Putting on PPE
- driving with seat belt ON
- driving within the speed limit.
What is the psychological approach? Provide examples.
Psychological approach is basically rewarding for safe behaviour.
Examples:
- Display of warnings
- exhibiting sign boards
- giant display in front of the main entrance showing the number of days without accidents
- safety meetings, picnics and short pleasure trips
- celebrating successes
- departmental awards.
What is the engineering approach? Provide examples.
Engineering approach is focusing on reviewing and redesigning a process with a view to ‘engineer out’ the hazard.
Examples:
- Engineering Controls
- PPE which removes or suppresses hazards
- Factor of safety while designing a system
- providing guarding to the exposure of hazard
- installation of barriers
- installing exhaust ventilation
- adequate lighting in workplace
- appropriate design of aisles and gangways.
What is the analytical approach? Provide examples.
Analytical approach is basically analyzing the historical statistics of accidents and incidents reported
Examples:
- Calculation of probability of occurrences of mishaps
- epidemiological studies, toxicological studies
- Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (FMEA)
- Event Tree Analysis (ETA)
- Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)
- classifications of hazards
- risk assessment.
What is the preferred hazard approach?
Engineering approach.
What are the requirements for work equipment to ensure the elimination of hazards and prevention of accidents?
- Work equipment must be suitable for the specific uses.
- Energy for the equipment - safe supply or emergency stoppages.
- Work equipment must be maintained in the appropriate condition.
- Equipment must be installed, located and utilized with minimum risks.
- Information & instructions must be provided along with the equipment.
- Operators must be trained in handling them.
- Periodic inspections must be carried out by authorized persons.
- Checklists to operate the equipment must be provided near them.
- Procure the work equipment from suppliers who adopt safety policies and safety & legal compliance.
- Layout must be designed by taking considerations of spacing, lighting, cables and safe access.
- Machine guarding must be in place.
- Equipment must be designed by considering the ergonomics aspects.
What are the major principles adopted for safety in manual handling?
- Proper foot positioning.
- Securing the appropriate grip.
- Bent the knees and straighten the back comfortably.
- Keep the arms close to the body.
- Keep the chin tucked in.
- Use back belts if required to handle heavy loads and long duration handling.
- Use mechanical handling devices wherever possible.
What are the potential hazards and risks in mechanical handling?
- Collision
- Overturning
- Overloading
- Structural damage
- Accidents resulting from poor visibility
- Breakage of slings
- Damage of hooks
What are the major principles adopted for safe operation in mechanical handling?
- Testing of cranes at the time of commissioning for the maximum capacity
- Testing of all handling equipment daily before operation
- Testing of brakes by raising the load to a metre height and holding it there at the beginning of the work daily
- Periodic inspection of slings, wire ropes, shackles, eyebolts, and hooks
- Periodic maintenance of the equipment must be done and a history shall be maintained
What safety measures should be in place for mechanical handling?
- Engineering controls must be in place on every equipment
- Load and load radius indicators must be in place
- Clear identifications of the control
- Overtravel switches
- Passengers must never be allowed in mechanical equipment to travel on it
- Clear visibility must be provided to the operator
- Operator must take signals only from the authorized signal man
- Operating area must be free from obstacles, overhead cables by locking off and permit to work systems
- Equipment must never be overloaded
What are the common causes of accidents while working at heights?
- Overreaching
- Overbalancing
- Slippery footwear
- Falls from platforms while in transit
- Contact with structural elements
- Climbing with load
- Inappropriate equipment
- Failure of base support
- Faulty components and failure
- Improper maintenance
- Structural failures of suspension system
What are some access equipment for working at heights?
- Ladder
- Stepladder
- Trestles
- Powered work platforms
- Scaffolds
- Suspended Cradles
What are the basic fall safety equipment?
- ABC of Fall Protection
- Anchor Point
- Safety Harness
- Fall Arrester
What are the major principles adopted to ensure safe working at heights?
- Visual inspection of ladders
- Use railing wherever possible
- Select an appropriate anchor point
- Correct positioning of ladders and angle of rest (1 unit horizontal at foot: 4 units vertical)
- No more than one person on a stepladder
- Stepladders must not be loaded on sides
- Ladders and stepladders must be levelled and stability must be ensured on the base firmly
- Platforms of trestles and scaffolds must be fully boarded
- Working platforms of trestles must be of suitable width (not less than 600 mm)
What additional safety principles should be adopted for scaffolds when working at heights?
- Scaffolds must be designed for suitable load bearing capacity
- Inspection of scaffolds must be done by a competent and qualified person
- Scaffolds must be in accordance with the safety regulations
- Suspended cradles must be capable of handling the specific loads
- Outriggers must be ensured for powered work platforms
- All the equipment must require periodic inspection and maintenance
- All the equipment must be fitted with scissor mechanisms, guarding, protection from trapping, fall arresters
- Personnel must be provided with safety harnesses for fall protection
What are the major types of accidents in transport safety within the workplace?
- Collision with pedestrians and other vehicles
- Overturning due to speeding, overloading, and surface conditions
- Impact of material falling from vehicles
- Contact with other structures
- Entanglement with rotating parts and machinery on the vehicles
What are the major practices adopted to ensure the safety of transportation with mobile material handling equipment?
- Selection of capable drivers and providing defensive driving training and certifications
- Ensuring that visiting drivers are properly instructed on safe practices
- Suitable traffic controls must be practiced in the workplace
- All vehicles must be kept in efficient condition by maintaining brakes, lights, indicators, and other major systems of vehicles
- Special purpose vehicles and drivers must be utilized for carrying hazardous chemicals, which include fuels, flammable gases, explosives, oxidizing agents, radioactive materials, etc.
What are “Dangerous materials”?
Materials that have specific physical or chemical properties that could lead to potential hazard to human safety and health if not controlled properly.
How are hazardous materials classified and identified?
In terms of the harm they might cause.
Do each hazardous material fall in one category?
No, most of them fall in more than one category.
What are the 9 classes of hazardous materials?
- Class 1: Explosives
- Class 2: Gases
- Class 3: Flammable Liquids
- Class 4: Flammable Solids
- Class 5: Oxidizing Agents and Organic Peroxides
- Class 6: Toxins and Infectious Substances
- Class 7: Radioactive Material
- Class 8: Corrosives
- Class 9: Miscellaneous Dangerous Goods
