Industries Told To Boost Workplace Safety
Minister Gaddam Vivek Venkat Swamy urged industries to strengthen workplace safety through regular training, modern technologies and stricter safety practices.
SHAKTI and mines and geology minister Gaddam Vivek Venkat Swamy on Wednesday urged industries to conduct regular safety training programmes for employees and adopt new technologies and best practices to strengthen workplace safety.
Inaugurating a two-day workshop on “Process Safety of Combustible Dusts”, the minister directed the Director of Factories to frame rules incorporating best practices to address dust-related hazards.
He said the government was committed to preventing industrial accidents and would make no compromise on the safety and lives of workers. He also instructed industries not to deploy contract workers in hazardous operations.
The workshop was organised by the Telangana chapter of the National Safety Council in collaboration with the department of factories. It was attended by about 300 representatives from chemical, pharmaceutical, food-processing, cement, coal-mill and other dust-prone industries across the state.
SHAKTI department secretary Harichandana Dasari advised industries handling combustible dust to adopt a systematic approach to hazard identification and risk management. She said industries should move beyond conventional compliance and adopt an integrated system covering preventive maintenance, process safety management and emergency preparedness.
Y. Mohan Babu, director of factories and chairman of the National Safety Council’s Telangana chapter, said the department had conducted a training-of-trainers programme through which nearly 70,000 factory employees across Telangana were trained.
A special handbook on combustible dust safety was released on the occasion.
