How Can We Make Our Safety and Health Forum More Engaging and Inclusive?

Dear Friends, There seem to be very few safety professionals in this forum. Almost all the posts are from the same few individuals—mostly from HR—with their issues being seen repeatedly. Many posts are irrelevant, and the discussion is almost dry.

I appreciate the youngsters like Mr. Dilip Kumar and Ms. Hansa Vyas who are always contributing their best. However, it is not enough. We have a beautiful forum. Can any of the friends suggest ways and means to make it more effective and lively, please?

Regards,
Kesava Pillai

Dear Sir, Thank you for showing your concern openly. In my opinion, one should communicate with all known Safety Professionals regarding the site, whether it's HR or a Safety Pro. I have done the same with my group of Safety Pros, but the response is very poor. No one is actively coming forward. I don't know the reason and I don't know how to increase participation.

Additionally, I have posted in many groups, including Orkut, about the forum. I am certain that if everyone with a positive intention of spreading awareness on Safety, Health, and Environment (SHE) starts engaging in such communications about the forum, we will see higher participation soon.

Regards,
Dipil Kumar V

Please suggest some colleges that offer courses in safety and EHS through correspondence.

Thank you for your concern on safety and health. The reason for low participation, in my opinion, is the demoralizing state of safety affairs in most companies. With the exception of a few good Indian and all foreign companies, safety is given low priority treatment by other Indian companies. It is ironic that this highly serious field is not being taken seriously. The fault lies on both sides. Rampant corruption in the system allows companies to escape punishment by paying off authorities, so they do not allocate a big budget for this department. On the other hand, the labor force also shows no interest in safety. They undermine the safety staff by disregarding safety protocols. They fail to understand that all safety measures are for their own welfare and safety. This predicament faced by safety officers demoralizes them in many setups, including my own. Your enthusiasm gets caught between two unwilling parties. At least I would like to pursue something else.

Kind regards

Dear Jitender, Thank you for noticing the post. We have achieved a lot, and the records speak for themselves:

DEATH/100,000 Statistics

- Ag, Forestry, Fishing: 1945 - 53, 1990 - 42
- Mining: 1945 - 187, 1990 - 43
- Construction: 1945 - 126, 1990 - 33
- Manufacturing: 1945 - 19, 1990 - 6
- Transportation: 1945 - 52, 1990 - 22
- Wholesale Retail: 1945 - 10, 1990 - 4
- Services: 1945 - 20, 1990 - 4

From somewhere, we are stagnant. We may have to struggle a lot, but we are definitely improving, though slowly. Let us move forward and try to do our best for the great cause. Hope you will be there too!

Regards, Kesava Pillai

Dear Deepak,

You are most welcome, friend. Try to involve in the discussion; we are sure to gain.

Regards,
Kesava Pillai

Dear all,

Nice to see a lot of new faces coming forward. Welcome all, and please participate in the group discussions with the same enthusiasm.

Kesav, sir, great work by welcoming and motivating everyone.

Regards,
DIPIL

Dear Sir, For improvement in safety and health, untiring work and patience are most required. Like training, some will give lip service to this concept. But of late, things have been changing, and all organizations are forced to implement safety measures. One has to improve their knowledge on safety matters, and this is not a one-time affair; it is an ongoing one. By sharing their experiences, everyone can benefit. However, there is also the string attached to the defensive confidence surrounding safety affairs. Let us try our best.

In my experience, valid and useful suggestions given in safety are always welcomed and implemented by organizations, whether small or big.

Regards,
T.S. SRINIVASAN

Dear Friends,

Thanks for your nice post, Mr. TSS. I take this opportunity to bring out some criticism on the working of safety departments or safety staff.

Challenges in Safety Departments

I have always found that the chief executives are never averse to implementing essential safety measures. When the safety department wants something done and if it is recommended to do so, the originator often fails to convince the decision-maker. If the decision-maker seeks clarifications before approval, the originator fails to provide them. Probably, it will not come back to the decision-maker with the sought clarifications, and it gets dropped. The reason safety recommendations are not approved is often due to the lack of acceptable reasons provided with the recommendation initially. Executives are not puppets to approve whatever is submitted from safety or any other department; they too are accountable and require reasoning for approval.

For the failure on the part of safety personnel to convince the management, we often blame the management for not being interested in safety. If the decision-maker asks for three points, often safety personnel are not equipped to answer even one convincingly.

Effective Safety Departments

On the other hand, in organizations with effective safety departments, we can see that the personality of the safety staff propels it to the top and engages the executives significantly in the activities. Safety personnel also require very good communication skills as they are supposed to deal only with top management personnel to obtain policy decisions.

Self-Assessment for Safety Personnel

How many of our safety personnel are capable of doing justice to their roles? I assure you, not many, and this situation has to change.

Let safety personnel assess themselves:

- Am I equipped with the required knowledge?
- Am I fully conversant with the statutory requirements?
- Am I aware of the modern techniques of safety management?
- How are my communication skills?
- What am I lacking in my approach to management?
- Am I doing justice to the profession?

There are many more aspects to consider. We need to rethink before blaming management for a lack of interest in safety.

A reminder: While I am pointing one finger at others, three remain pointed towards me.

Regards,
Kesava Pillai

Dear friends,

I am looking forward to the details on the factory board as per the Factory Act. Kindly help me.

Arun Singhal

Dear All,

Please find attached an excellent eBook on IMPROVING SAFETY CULTURE - A PRACTICAL GUIDE. A must-read for all safety professionals.

Regards,
Firoz
Bangalore

Dear Keshav,

It's good to see the beginning of safety topics being discussed in this forum. When looking at the figures (accident data), calculating them in percentages would reveal the true statistics. The personnel strength in terms of numbers has significantly increased, and as a result, the rate of accidents has decreased drastically.

Keep up the good work.

Regards,
Neeraj

Dear Firoz,

Quite nice of you with your post. This booklet "Improving Safety Culture - A Practical Guide" will be quite useful for many in the forum.

Again, thanks for your valuable contribution and request to continue with your support for the cause.

Regards,

Kesava Pillai

Dear All, Thanks to all of you for encouraging your juniors in this profession and starting valuable discussions apart from data-related help.

Dear Kesava Sir, I am now working as a safety executive. I think we (Juniors) should be able to make our small world safe by gaining experience in companies with an improved safety culture, guided by seniors such as safety managers. This is a matter of chance but not related to ability and justice in the profession. Required knowledge, familiarity with statutory requirements, and communication skills are things that can be quickly learned in the new corporate era where training in these areas is a core function of the organization. In our Learning & Development department, various programs, including safety (HSE & Legal), are arranged to develop employees as assets.

- Negotiation Skill
- Advanced Excel
- Business/Email Etiquette
- Decision Making and Problem Solving
- Stress Management
- Being Assertive for Results
- Conflict Handling
- Aerodynamic Concepts

Thanks and Regards,

Dilip Kasar

[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Dear Dilip Kasar, if you are motivated, learning is easy, and resources are plentiful. Some are a bit lucky to be with organizations having a training culture. Consider all those trainings you receive from the organization you work with as an incentive. Unlike other departments, in safety subjects, there are very many, each having absolutely no connection with others in most cases. With determination, I am sure you can enrich your knowledge, develop your skills to be a successful safety man. Of course, your attitude always counts. Let us do our part diligently.

Regards,
Kesava Pillai

Dear Sagar Chandrakanth,

Welcome, friend. This forum is all for you to share and gain. I am sure your contributions will help keep this forum lively!

Regards,
Kesava Pillai

Dear All,

I'm also here, part of this team. Actually, when I see unrelated posts, I get irritated and choose not to comment on anything. From now on, I will actively participate in our discussions.

Regards,

Hazard Identification and Risk Control Measures

It is quite interesting that the subject has been aroused. The simplest method is provided by management systems like OHSAS 18001 and BS8800. These management systems require us to conduct hazard identification of our process activities, which is simple and vital. If anything goes wrong in our quality activities, the product quality is affected. Similarly, if there are issues in our activities related to the environment, it will impact the environment. Likewise, if there are errors or if we fail to follow the necessary safety procedures, it will affect the employees working in the workplace. Therefore, let us first identify hazards and then implement risk control measures. This is the minimum requirement and a simple approach instead of conducting accident investigations and implementing corrective measures.

Regards,
T.S. SRINIVASAN

Dear Mukesh,

You are most welcome. Of late, we see more and more participation. It seems like a good sign. Let us work together to make the forum a useful one for all.

Regards,
Kesava Pillai

Dear All, Thank you for showing your support and encouragement in the Occupational Health and Safety topics. I am forwarding this message to invite all my safety professionals to join and share the EOHS (Environment Occupational Health & Safety) News. This initiative aims to prevent incidents in various sectors such as industry, society, and transportation, among others.

Warm Regards, Maloji Patil

Dear Ms. Hansa, I am just seeking some pleasure by participating in this interesting forum. What I gained through years of working in safety, I am trying to impart now to youngsters. I am really afraid for youngsters being shy to ask questions. The foolish pride makes them shy and keeps them ignorant.

We are not here to worship what others have preached. We are here to question, get fully convinced, and develop our capability to convince others on safety matters. For writing in this forum, we have constraints. However, we should not relax.

Let us continue with our little contribution for the sake of this divine profession.

Regards,
Kesava Pillai

One of the reasons for less participation, I feel, is that if someone posts a query in the forum, whether they are a new member or an existing one, and does not receive a satisfactory answer, they may become desperate. This could be a factor causing people to hesitate to come forward. Therefore, we should make an effort to answer every safety-related question to encourage more participation.

Regards,
Dipil Kumar V

I don't know how I missed you in this forum. I am a Chemical Engineer and then passed a Diploma in Industrial Safety way back in 1990 while working at a chemical factory near Baroda. I was then elevated to be a Safety Officer. I established Vyavsayik Swasthya Suraksha Mandal in 1986 to generate awareness among workers. In 1992, I established the Peoples Training & Research Centre (PTRC). I joined the organization to work full-time in 1998. I have been editing a bimonthly magazine in Gujarati that exclusively focuses on OHS (Occupational Health & Safety). We can initiate discussions on many topics.

Regards

Dear PTRC,

Thank you very much. Let us join hands to do our best by participating in this interesting forum. It will be a pleasure to have professionals like you coming forward and raising the level of discussion, thus making it purposeful.

Regards,
Kesava Pillai