What are the potential hazards that have to be guarded against in the process of cement and concrete manufacturing?
Sanjay Joshi on cement manufacturing: Main (core) processes of cement manufacturing are mining of limestone, limestone crushing/grinding, fuel preparation, burning of raw meal, cement grinding, material handling, packing and transportation of raw material and finished goods. Potential hazards in various cement manufacturing processes are mentioned below:
Mining of limestone: Potential hazards in mining process are explosion, hit by flying rocks during blasting, fall of limestone boulder during overhang boulder handling, collision between the vehicle and with structures etc and vehicle topling.
Material handling and crushing/grinding: Different size of material, including fine dust of raw meal and cement are transported. The challenges of dust emission from the transfer points and process are managed by installing bag filters. Crushing and grinding operations generate noise which has health impact on the people working in the area.
Clinkerisation process: The heart of cement manufacturing, it is where powdered raw meal is burned up to 1,480oC to form clinker. Hot meal and hot dusty gases (200°C to 1,000°C) are present in the system. They can come out of the process momentarily due to process disturbance and create a risk of serious injury or fatality (with potential damage to plant and production loss).
Coal handling: Clinkerisation process requires fine coal for continuous burning of raw meal. The coal is grounded in fine particle and stored in fine coal bin. There is potential hazard of explosion in coal shop and fine coal bin. Any explosions will cause extensive damage to plant with significant production loss; damage to property and can lead to fatality.
Uncontrolled fire: It remains a major cause in accidental loss of lives and/or property. With high heat being at the core of manufacturing process, the task of preventing and controlling fire remains a priority. Combustible material like fossil fuel including alternate fuel (AF), PP bags, lubrication and hydraulic oils inside equipment, spare part in warehouse (belts, rubber hoses, conveyor belting) are essential for cement manufacturing.
Prashant Jha on concrete segment: Potential hazards are associated mainly in three ways, namely:
I.Inside the concrete plant, where concrete is manufactured
II.During transport of concrete by "transit mixers" from plant to various construction sites
III.At the construction sites where the concrete is delivered by static or mobile pumps.
The potential hazards inside the plant are mainly during the activities related to plant mixer chipping, confined space work, electrical, working at height, loader movement, unguarded rotating parts of machines, conveyor operation.
During transport of concrete through transit mixer, potential hazards are related to high speed, sharp turning, driver fatigue, driver anticipation, and unsafe behavior of road users etc., which may result in collusion/ roll over.
At customer sites the potential hazards are mainly related to work at height, especially during pipeline erection/ dismantling, Electrical, high pressure pump operation, hitting of flexible concrete delivery hose, poor housekeeping and inadequate illumination.
What are the safety measures cement/ concrete companies have to take in their plants?
Sanjay Joshi on manufacturing: Effective control measures help us to achieve our mission of zero harm. To control risk especially in mines it is recommended to substitute explosive material with less explosive ones like Site Mix Emulsion (SME)/ANFO/cartridge. Handling of explosives is done by authorized and certified persons under proper supervision. Detailed laid down procedures including misfire handling if any are being followed. To control the risk of flying rocks, blasts are designed to ensure minimum amount of flying rocks and distances. It is ensured that nobody is within 500M of the blasting area during blasting. Probability of fall of overhung material on equipment and human is reduced by systematic inspection of rock stability before start of mining. Ensure no overhang material near the loading points and pathways/haulage roads, if observed, it will be removed in advance to avoid fall on equipment. Limestone is transported using dumpers with full payload capacity. This results into possibility of toppling and collision of dumpers. In order to control this hazard, we have implemented no overloading policy of dumpers and robust vehicle maintenance system. Vehicles are fitted with GPS to track over- speeding. Ensure Defensive Driving Training (DDT) trained operators are deployed. It is advisable to use fatigue sensors, anti collision sensors and rear view cameras.
No. 1 priority is to control the burn injury during clearing of blocked cyclone to eliminate the fire and burn hazard. Installation of automatic cleaning devices like air cannons, Instrumentation for blockage detection, automatic interlocking to stop the feed after detecting cyclone block are some of the measured to reduce the tendency of blockage and its severity. In case of blockage, it is very important to ensure trained teams are available to handle the situation with suitable personal protection equipment (PPE). These operations are supervised by senior management team of plant to get the job done safely.
To control the potential hazard of explosion in coal shop, fine coal bin, bag houses etc., process controls play an important role. Some of the protection systems provided by Nuvoco in coal shop are control instrumentation like pressure, temperature, oxygen detectors etc., with alarm and tripping at predefined set points. Purging of inert gas system is provided to control fire and explosion. Quick acting valves are installed to isolate bag filter area and to reduce the impact of explosion among other areas.
Prashant Jha on concrete: Plants are established considering engineering and administrative control of all hazards like fixing of fool-proof captive keys in mixers, adequate guarding of rotating machines and machine parts, proper electrical systems with RCCB / ELCB with double earthing, efficient layout and circulation for vehicle movement etc. Every employee is trained and explained the hazards in their respective fields before engaging to work. All standard operating procedures (SOPs) and rules are clearly communicated and followed by the people.
What is the equipment you are using for improving the safety in cement / concrete manufacturing environment?
Sanjay Joshi: We use best quality equipment for execution like boom lift/cherry picker for safe access to the work area, erection of scaffolding for WAH, use of high pressure water jet pump to clear cyclone jamming in preheater, line detector to detect the underground live electrical cable, use different types of PPEs and Energy Isolating devises.
Prashant Jha: In concrete mainly Energy Isolation method is used to isolate all hazardous energy during maintenance of the equipment by following fool-proof LOTOTO (Lock Out / Tag Out / Try Out) system.
What are the measures cement/ concrete companies have to take to guard manpower against dust, heat, particles and noise pollution?
As a responsible organisation, Nuvoco regularly monitor dust, heat and noise pollution for identifying exposure and accordingly immediate control measures are taken. Statutory requirements for monitoring ambient and stack emissions are in place and are maintained as per required standards.
Dust control measures:
Heat control measures: Clinkerisation area is identified as hot area. Entry is restricted in these areas for authorized persons to minimize the exposure of hot environment. Appropriate signage like "Hot surface, Do not touch" are installed. People working in this area are provided with appropriate PPEs. Jobs are carried out under strict supervision. Sufficient drinking water provisions are made in this area.
Noise control measures: Signages are displayed to communicate the use of earplug/muff. Ear plugs are provided to all people visiting the noisy area and proper training is imparted. Periodic audiometric test is conducted of people working in noisy areas and appropriate action is taken (job rotation) based on the test report. As an engineering measure our endeavour is to procure equipment generating less noise. Prashant Jha: The steps taken by Nuvoco to safeguard manpower against dust, heat, particles and noise pollution is eliminating them from source followed by engineered control dust collector/ exhaust system. To reduce dust emission water sprinkling is done in plants and aggregate stock area. Getting cement in bulker rather than bags also helps to control dust emission. By undertaking all these practices Nuvoco contributes in reduction of pollution as well as keep the environment clean.
What is the level of hazard communication followed in the Indian cement industry and how it compares with the international best practices?
Internationally, OSHA Hazard Communication Standard or the Right to Know Law says that you have a right to know what chemicals you are working with or around. According to OSHA, the purpose of the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) is to ensure that the hazards of all chemicals produced or imported are evaluated and details regarding their hazards are transmitted to employers and employees. Important provisions of HCS states that employers using hazardous chemicals have four main requirements: ensuring proper chemical labeling; providing safety data sheets; training employees; and creating a written hazard communication programme.
Safety culture in Indian cement industry is improving. The workmen engaged in cement industries are trained and informed about hazard related to chemical used referring MSDS. It is envisaged that use of MSDS for all types of chemical irrespective of quantity being used in industry needs further improvement. But by and large whenever bulk chemical are being used in industry MSDS is referred and hazards are communicated to the workmen.
In concrete, the hazard communication is done to the lowest level of employee before he is engaging in any task. In this communication it is ensured that workforce is aware about the existing risks and what are the control measures provided to safeguard them. Every task is being carried out by following proper Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and risk assessment. We can compare these initiatives of employee rights with international best practices. Also frequent VFL (Visible Felt Leadership) engagements are carried out at all levels by managers to improve understanding and agreement in carrying out the job safely.
What is the level of accident reporting standards adopted in India in comparison with global benchmarks? How we can bridge the gap?
Sanjay Joshi: Today the Indian cement industry have defined the procedures for reporting and recording of accidents for further course of action, so as to improve H&S performance.
Currently, the situation in Indian industry needs a lot of improvements. The statistics on occupational accidents and diseases are often incomplete because of under-reporting and do not cover all categories of workers. To obtain a fuller picture, other indicators also need to be used, such as compensation data, disability pensions and absenteeism rates, although these too provide incomplete data.
Our intention is not to promote a single and specific system across cement industry. We hope that any such system which may be established should not only be able to accommodate all information commensurate to the scale of the problems and the needs for prevention, protection and compensation, but also be effective and sustainable.
The following points will bridge the gap of global benchmark for accident reporting standards:
Prashant Jha: Every incident is taken very seriously and is reported well within time, so that it can be investigated. Each incident act as a key learning experience for the team to avoid any future events.
What are the benefits that high safety standards bring in for a corporate entity?
Sanjay Joshi on manufacturing: High safety standards result in increased manhours, decrease in number of incidences, avoid loss of life, damage to property, loss of production and good stakeholder relationship. This also builds up a robust emergency response plan as required by law. It helps to manage staff more effectively by defining acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in the workplace. Clarify functions and responsibilities at all level and guide the future actions of workers in a formal way. Ensure fulfillment of legal requirement. Basis our thrust on health and safety, recently Nuvoco has won the globally acclaimed Golden Peacock Occupational Health & Safety Award 2019, which was presented for 'integrated approach and making significant achievements in the field of Occupational Health and Safety'.
Prashant Jha: High safety standards make the people more disciplined, helps in planning the job properly, safely and timely completion without any incidents. We also won several accolades like the prestigious OHSSAI Gold Award for maintaining high standard of Occupational Health, Safety & Environment. But the best reward is employees going back safe and happy each day. Nuvoco is well known for following HSE procedures, which is related to the company's core value of care.
Is there a concept called 'Total Safety Management, and if yes, what are its components?
Sanjay Joshi: Total Safety Management (TSM) is a performance-oriented approach to health and safety management system that involves the entire organisation in establishing and maintaining a healthy and safe work environment. In Nuvoco TSM includes eight elements as mentioned below:
Focus on the long-term goals for developing a robust safety system
Discard the philosophy of accepting accidents
Use statistical techniques to identify sources of accidents: system and human error
Institute job skills training to meet the competency requirement
Proactive approaches such as behavioural sampling, fishbone diagrams, flow charts, etc., are used to reveal system flaws and achieve continuous system improvement
Provide supervisors with knowledge of accident investigation techniques, root-cause analysis and statistical tools to identify gaps and plan for corrective and preventive actions for the future
Reduce fear throughout the organisation by encouraging all employees to report system defects and help find solutions
Reduce accidents by incorporating safety systems at the designing stage
TSM favours a safety control system that does not rely on frequent safety inspection.
Instead, leadership and training are employed to the system to minimize dependency on control. TSM requires effective safety inspection and auditing that can identify underlying safety problems and drive continual improvement. Statistical analysis on safety performance as obtained through inspections and audit, such as accident rate or frequency of observed unsafe behaviour, the root cause of an accident and aims at continual improvement. TSM is a truly systemic approach in which effective safety coordination is enabled, with an effective communication system that enables the free communication of ideas for improvement. There is proactive safety leadership that interacts effectively with other functions. The policy encourages personnel at all levels to participate in protecting and advancing safety. Operational practice is to use positive signals to boost safety morale for the promotion of safety culture. Operations under TSM are free of unrealistic numerical targets and are managed by facts and effective leadership that drives daily improvement to all processes at all levels.
Prashant Jha: Yes there is a concept of TSM being followed in the concrete plants in the form of:
More proactive approach development in the team rather reactive
Hands on training provision.
Technical training provided to the team
Designed own standards to minimise the risk of the accidents like LOTOTO
Involving Safety team in the designing/ planning stage while establishing plants
Are there any estimates on savings due to high standard of safety measures at the national and global levels?
Sanjay Joshi: The economic impacts of failing to invest in worker health and safety is very high. The impacts range from affecting individuals, industries and even the countries with respect to damage of life, property and resources.
International Labour Organization (ILO) Director - General Guy Ryder said during the opening ceremony of the XXI World Congress on Safety and Health at Work on September 3, 2017, at the global level, the impact of not investing in safety nearly equals to the combined gross domestic product of 130 poorest countries in the world. ILO also unveiled estimates showing that, worldwide, 2.78 million workers die each year as a result of occupational injuries and illnesses. Of those, approximately 2.4 million are linked to work-related disease. The total cost of illnesses, injuries and deaths was 3.94 per cent of the global GDP, or $2.99 trillion.
Prashant Jha: firstly, accident cost is always higher by considering its direct and indirect costs. Secondly, the morale of the employees goes down in case of any accidents and thirdly, with proper planning safety increases productivity, there is no material damage loss and job execution timing is minimised.