INTRODUCTION OF HSE (Health, Safety and Environment)

1. INTRODUCTION TO HSE

HSE is the abbreviation of three worlds Health, Safety, and Environment.

· Health: Absence of physical and mental disease is called Health.

· Safety: The state of being safe from injuries, illness, sickness, accidents, incidents, and loss is called Safety.

· Environment: Operational surrounding of an organization is called Environment.

2. JUSTIFICATION OF HSE

· MORAL: The society in general and the employers, in particular, must take measures to protect the workers from avoidable risks.

· Legal: Government law demands that workers be provided safe workplaces.

· Economics: Accidents cause financial loss.

1. OBJECTIVES OF HSE

· Maintenance of workers physical mental and social well being and the absence of disease or other abnormal condition.

· The freedom from being exposed to risk, danger or harm at a workplace.

· Concern for surroundings that influence the performance of a worker.

· Zero accident, zero injuries, and no damage to the plant, tools, and equipment, no damage to the environment.

Interview Question: Who implements HSE regulations?

Ans: All workers and HSE inspectors are responsible for ensuring to implement HSE rules.

1. SAFETY INSPECTOR

Job description/responsibilities of HSE Officer

· Create HSE awareness through training

· Arrange safety meetings and safety talks

· Carry out safety inspections

· Visit site prior to starting of work to identify potential hazards, carry out risk assessments and take care of hazards

· Manage accident reporting and investigation

· Handle work permits when required

· Ensure HSE procedures are followed all the time and maintain violations records

· Maintain regular channel of communication with customers to achieve HSE objectives

· Oversee disposal of wastes

· Maintain first aid facilities

Qualities of an HSE Officer

· Communication skills: Good in delivering what he wants to convey the workforce on different occasions

· Leadership skills: Possesses skill to convince, lead and control the people.

· Exemplary person: Abides by all of the rules and regulations which present him an exemplary person.

· Technical skills: Be specialized in the knowledge of job and expert to carry out particular techniques and procedures.

· Human relation skills: Possess ability to work effectively with the other people i.e. team.

· Conceptual skills: Must have the ability to assess the hazards and its precautions.

· Decision-making skills: Must have the ability to analyze information and reach good decisions.

· Knowledge skills: The ability to utilize various communication technologies to manage and distribute the continuous stream of data.

1. HSE TERMS

· SAFETY: The state of being safe from injuries, illness, sickness, accidents, incidents, and loss is called safety.

· HAZARD: Anything with a potential to cause harm is called Hazard.

· RISK: Likelihood that harm will occur and severity harm is called Risk.

· ACCIDENT: An unwanted, unplanned event which results in some loss is called Accident.

· INCIDENT: An event which had potential to cause harm or damage is called Incident.

· NEAR-MISS: An event which has the potential to cause harm but luckily escaped is called Near-miss.

2. HAZARD REDUCTION

The best way to fix the hazard is to get rid of it, but as it is not always possible so, there are some ways to make hazard less dangerous:-

To remember the steps we will learn them as a formula of ERICPD

E for Elimination

R for Reduction

I for Isolation

C for Control

P for PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

D for Discipline

Substitution, Engineering control, and Administrative controls are also used in Hazard Reduction.

Interview Question: What is Hazid?

Ans: Hazard Identification is called Hazid.

1. RISK MANAGEMENT

This is generally accomplished in 5 steps.

a. Identify Hazards

o Conduct a walk through survey of the work place.

Hazards would be found around:

Ø Motion, extreme temperatures, electrical circuits/equipment

Ø Chemicals, harmful dust, radiations

Ø Falling objects, piping, leakage, spilled liquids

o Review accident, injury data record.

o Listen for unusual sounds and vibrations

o Smell for unusual odor.

o Ask questions when you talk with the people you observe.

b. Analyze Hazards

o Severity: How much damage will result from an occurrence?

o Probability: How likely is an accident from the Hazard?

o The possibility of exposure to several hazards simultaneously should be considered.

c. Develop Controls

o Engineering controls: Install machine guards, shields, use the proper personal protective equipment.

o Administrative Controls:

Ø Limiting the number of time workers spend at a hazardous job.

Ø Moving a hazardous work process to an area where few people would be exposed.

Ø Changing a work process to a shift when few people are working.

o Administrative controls only reduce the amount of time you exposed to a hazard, they do not eliminate exposures.

o Education controls training.

o Avoidance: Prevent contact with hazard; barriers, security guards, signs etc.

d. Implement Controls

o Through simple Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and language understood by all.

o By monitoring Training Performance Standards.

e. Supervise and Evaluate

o Continuous assessment: ensure workers understand instructions.

o Constant Supervision: Ensure subordinates are complying with controls.

2. ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION

Domino’s Effect: Cause of the accident is due to the series of events, for example falling of books standing in a row.

The accident investigation is used to avoid recurrence or we can say that main reason of accident investigation is to prevent further accidents, at least those of similar nature.

a. Objectives of accident investigation:

· TNA Training Need Analysis

· Raise awareness of potential accident

· Review existing controls

· Recommend corrective actions

· Show company’s concern for workers

· Useful for cost analysis

a. The accident investigation process:

· Collection of Information: This is the most important phase of investigation and must be done with great care.

Ø Preserve and seal the accident scene till the arrival of investigators.

Ø Collect information before the evidence starts disappearing.

Ø Investigators must use proper PPE during their job.

· Required Information

Ø Type, cause and time of injury

Ø Was medical treatment required/ given/

Ø Was emergency response effective/

Ø Witnesses statements

Ø Working environment and implementation of safety procedures

Ø Personal factors

Ø Review relevant records

· Analysis Information

Ø Task: Was it an authorized job being done according to the correct procedure?

Ø Equipment: Was the equipment in proper working order?

Ø Environment: Consider weather, working surface, the presence of gases/fumes, etc.

Ø Personal: Worker’s experience, health, drugs, stress

Ø Organisational: Safety procedures, supervision, maintenance, previous accident record

· Recommendations: Fix responsibilities and suggest corrective actions.

1. INJURY:

Damage caused to the body by an outward force is called an injury.

· TYPES OF INJURIES

a. Lost Time Injuries (LTI): A work injury or illness resulting in an inability to work for at least one full day or shift whether medical treatment was involved or not is called Lost Time Injury.

b. Restricted Work Injuries (RWI): A work related injury which results in the injured being able to return to work to perform regular duties and instead perform light duties or work.

c. Medical Treatment Injuries (MTI): A serious work injury requiring defined prescribed medical treatment by a Registered Medical Practitioner, which is beyond the scope of normal first aid.

Following types of injuries and treatment must be classified as MTI:-

Ø Fracture of the bone

Ø Injuries requiring sutures

Ø Administering of prescribed medication, e.g. cream, drops, tablets, injections etc.

Ø Repeat administering of physical treatment etc. as a treatment for an injury e.g. physiotherapy.

Ø Admission to the hospital for observation for a minimum of 24 hours.

a. First Aid: Any one-time treatment for the purpose of minor scratches, cuts, burns, splinters or other minor injuries which do not ordinarily require medical care.

1. CIRCUMSTANCES CREATE HAZARDS THAT LEAD TO ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES

a. Unsafe Conditions

Ø Incompetence of workforce

Ø Insufficient supervision

Ø Hazardous arrangement of tools, machines, equipment, supplies etc.

Ø Inadequate warning system

Ø Inadequate guards of barricading

Ø Access/ egress not clear

Ø Fire and explosion hazards

Ø Noise, poor illumination, poor ventilation, congestion, bad weather

Ø Poor housekeeping

Ø Worksite poorly built, uneven surface