CAUSES OF ACCIDEENTS
The accidents may take place due to human causes, environmental causes and mechanical causes. These causes are discussed as under.
Human Causes
1. Accidents may occur while working on unsafe or dangerous equipments or machineries possessing rotating, reciprocating and moving parts.
2. Accidents occur while operating machines without knowledge, without safety precautions, without authority, without safety devices.
3. Accidents generally occur while operating or working at unsafe speed.
4. Accidents may occur while working for long duration of work, shift duty etc.
5. Accidents commonly occur during use of improper tools.
6. Accidents may occur while working with mental worries, ignorance, carelessness, nervousness, dreaming etc.
7. Accidents occur because of not using personal protective devices.
Environmental Causes
1. Accidents may occur during working at improper temperature and humidity causes fatigue to the workers so chances of accidents increases with workers having fatigue.
2. The presence of dust fumes and smoke in the working area may causes accidents.
3. Poor housekeeping, congestion, blocked exits, bad plant layout etc. may cause accidents.
4. Accidents occur due to inadequate illumination.
5. Improper ventilation in the plant may also leads to industrial accidents.
Mechanical Causes
1. Continued use of old, poor maintained or unsafe equipment may result in accidents.
2. Accidents commonly occur due to use of unguarded or improper guarded machines or equipments.
3. Unsafe processes, unsafe design and unsafe construction of building structure may lead to accidents in the plant.
4. Accidents occur due to improper material handling system and improper plant layout.
5. Accidents may occur due to not using of safety devices such as helmets, goggles, gloves, masks etc.
However the other general causes of accidents in workshops are listed under:
1. Because of ignorance to work with equipments, hand tools, cutting tools and machine tools.
2. Operating machine and equipments without knowledge.
3. Extra curiosity to work without knowing.
4. Due to poor working conditions.
5. Because of speedy work.
6. Improper method to work.
7. Due to use of improper tools.
8. Because of lack of discipline.
9. Uninterested in work.
10. Due to carelessness.
11. Due to over confidence.
12. Bad working environment.
13. Because of excessive over times duty by industrial workers.
14. Dangerous materials with which to work.
15. Lack of cleanliness.
16. Due to poor planning.
In a conducted survey, it was observed that most of the accidents, to the tune of 98%, could be easily avoided provided due precautions and care were adopted well in time. It was stressed that accidents do happen but are caused due to the failure of one element or the other. The most unfortunate and most common factor in occurring accidents is the human
element which occurs due to non-observance of the safety measures or safety rules. The past statistics also reflects that the causes of accidents as well as the nature of accidents depend entirely on the extent to which safety measures are adopted and not the manufacturing processes or operation. The common causes which lead to accidents may be improper acts by industrial personnel which result in violation of safety rules and non -observance of safety precautions, due to improper tools, machinery and equipments or their unsafe or improper use due to unsafe working position and unsafe working conditions in manufacturing areas. Some major factors namely technical, unsafe working conditions, mechanical, environment, human cause, unsafe acts and other personal factors are most responsible for accidents. Technical causes or unsafe conditions involves deficiencies in plant, equipment, tools, machinery, materials handling system, general work environment etc. Mechanical causes involve unsafe design and construction of tools and devices, cutting tools, machines tools and mechanical equipments, hazardous arrangement such as piling, over-loading etc, improper guards a against dangerous machine components, defective tool and equipments, improper material handling, leaking valves of acid and poisonous gases, and use of untested boilers and pressure vessels. Environmental factors indicate improper physical and atmospheric surrounding conditions of work which indirectly promote the occurrence of accidents These factors include too low temperature to cause shivering, too high temperature to cause headache and sweating, too high a humidity (in textile industry) to cause discomfort, fatigue and drowsiness, inadequate illumination causing eyestrain, glares, and shadows, presence of dust, fumes and smokes in industries such as foundries, chemical , paper and sugarcane etc. Lack of adequate ventilation, high speed of work because of huge work load, more number of working hours and over and above them the tendency of the employer to insist for over time work, inadequate rest periods in between works, noise, bad odor and flash coming from the nearby machinery, equipment or processes, and poor housekeeping are also personal factors.
A large number of accidents can be avoided if proper safety measures and safety rules are adopted in manufacturing areas. Some of the important causes of accidents involve violation of safety rules, not using of safety devices, improper use of gadgets and machine controls, non-development of safety working habits, ignorance of the operation of tools, machine and equipments operation, unsafe working conditions, monotony and work-relating stresses, wear and tear of the functional components, explosive and inflammable material etc.
Reference Introduction to basic Manufacturing Processes and Workshop Technology by Rajender Singh.
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