Industrial Accidents: Major Causes and Preventive Mechanisms - Essay Example

Industrial Accidents and Engineers Introduction Industrial accidents are never scheduled or planned and thus can never be predicted but there are numerous ways in which industrial accidents can be prevented by following the safety procedures mentioned in the standard documents of manufacturing processes (Beyer, 1928). Engineers should give first priority to safety while working on industrial plants because this is the only way to minimize the happenings of industrial accidents. There are a number of causes of industrial accidents which include human error, untrained technicians and engineers, manufacturing deficit of the machinery and accidents during maintenance (Heinrich, 1959). Causes of Industrial Accidents The most common cause of industrial accidents is human errors and mistakes which are committed while working on industrial units. Very often engineers do not follow the proper safety procedures while performing a task and thus end up triggering an accident which not only affects the person but also puts the life of numerous other people at risk; economic loss is another aspect of accidents as well. Most of the time engineers fail to understand the importance of extra safety procedures and precautionary measures stated in the standard documents and tend to bypass certain important steps of safe working, merely to save time. The use of incorrect tools for certain type of works on industrial machinery is also a very common cause of industrial accidents to occur because the industrial machinery is very complicated and the guidelines provided by the manufacturer and safety standards must be followed in all circumstances. The workers and technicians working on industrial units are involved in committing human errors more frequently than the engineers however the responsibility always lies with the engineer. An engineer is not only supposed to follow the safety procedures himself but he should also supervise the working of technicians and should teach them the importance of following the safety procedures because he is in a much better position to understand them and should make his staff follow them. Remedial Measures for Eradication of Human Errors Training of employees and engineers is very important for preventing the industrial accidents from happening. Engineers learn to follow certain safety procedures during their studies but they should be trained in the field to follow the safety procedures. There are various different safety procedures for the numerous operational and maintenance processes which happen to take place regularly in the industrial units. The engineers and technicians should be well-trained in this regard and they must be well aware of each and every safety procedure specified for various processes. Knowing about the operation of a machine is not sufficient enough for being an engineer; a qualified engineer is the one who can execute the various operational and maintenance procedures safely. Health and safety should be taught to engineers during their degree programs and this subject should be given the prime importance because industrial accidents are disastrous and often result in severe loss to life and property (International Labor Office, 1991). Role of Engineers Engineers are involved in the industrial process from the very beginning till the end. The manufacturing and fabrication of industrial equipment is also very critical to the whole industrial process and industrial safety. All the manufacturing and fabrication processes are governed by certain quality control steps which are taken to ensure that the equipment being fabricated is within safety tolerances. The manufacturing processes and the quality control procedures are controlled by engineers therefore the role of engineers is imperative in avoiding industrial accidents. The various defects in the industrial equipment must be traced prior to its installation because once installed with defects, it can cause dangerous industrial accidents (Spellman & Whiting, 2009). Industrial safety is not only the job of engineers involved in the manufacture, operation and maintenance of the industrial units, the design engineers are also indirectly engaged in the whole process of industrial safety. There are certain codes and standards which govern the engineering designs and these must be followed to ensure safety during the working of industrial units. The design engineers must incorporate safety equipments in the industrial units where necessary and should also include means to minimize the damage if industrial accidents occur. Lack of preventive maintenance programs and delayed maintenance are also among the various causes of industrial accidents. A routine maintenance of industrial equipment is very important for the proper functioning of the industrial unit and thus maintenance cannot be avoided in any case. Maintenance of equipment is a very complicated task because there is a number of safety procedures associated with even the very minutest of the tasks. These safety procedures are always provided by the manufacturer of the equipment. The maintenance engineers should follow the safety procedures step by step while performing maintenance assignments on the equipment (CoVan, 1995). Lack of communication between different sections of an industrial unit during maintenance also results in industrial accidents therefore while the maintenance work is being performed on any one of the industrial unit the people working on the other parts of the industrial unit must be informed about it. Similarly once the maintenance work is performed, the equipment should be closed properly according to the guidelines provided by the manufacturer and the various checks should be made before restarting the operation of the industrial unit. Parts of industrial unit left open after maintenance is also another very common cause of industrial accidents (Ben-Daya, Duffuaa & Raouf, 2009). Conclusion and Future Measures Considering the various causes of industrial accidents, it can be concluded that the engineers cannot predict the industrial accidents in most of the cases but they can prevent these accidents in almost all of the cases. Human error and failure to comply with the safety procedures mentioned in the codes is the most common cause of industrial accidents to occur. Therefore industrial accidents can be easily avoided with increased responsibility, attention and care while handling industrial equipment (Verma, Ajit & Karanki, 2010). Almost all of the industrial accidents that occur are result of human error, negligence to follow safety procedures and unsafe behaviors on part of engineers and technicians. Considering this fact there is no such thing as an acceptable accident. With all the technological advancements, engineers are now in a very good position to avoid all kinds of industrial accidents and there are no unavoidable circumstances with regards to industrial accidents. Process improvement opportunities are always identified whenever an accident occurs, this means that the industrial processes are not devised or followed properly whenever industrial accidents occur. Since lack of care is always involved in industrial accidents therefore they must avoided by all means. Learning from mistakes is a very good thing but committing a mistake is not the necessary condition for learning something. Industrial accidents very often involve large losses of life and property therefore they are not acceptable in any circumstances. Learning something at the cost of human life and precious property cannot be encouraged and thus engineers should learn to avoid industrial accidents prior to their happenings. Engineers are in a much better condition to make the world a safer place. Engineers have a role to play in almost all of the accidents which occur on the surface of earth other than natural calamity and thus engineers are in a position to control these accidents. By properly designing engineering projects and equipment, formulating safety codes and standards and by following the safety procedures while working, engineers can avoid these accidents very easily. The work of an engineer is hard as compared to all other professions and his role the most critical to safety therefore engineers must realize this and should take the responsibility to make this world a safer place. References Ben-Daya, M., Duffuaa, S., & Raouf, A. (2009). Handbook of Maintenance Management and Engineering. Springer. Beyer, D. (1928). Industrial accident prevention. Houghton Mifflin company. CoVan, J. (1995). Safety engineering. Wiley. Heinrich, H. (1959). Industrial accident prevention: a scientific approach. McGraw Hill. International Labor Office. (1991). Prevention of major industrial accidents. International Labor Organization. Spellman, F., & Whiting, N. (2009). The Handbook of Safety Engineering: Principles and Applications. Government Institutes. Verma, A., Ajit, S., & Karanki, D. (2010). Reliability and Safety Engineering. Springer. Read More