Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Safety and Disaster
Safety and Disaster
NOTE
On
Compiled by:
PRADIP KUMAR PAUDYAL
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION TO SAFETY ENGINEERING.
In engineering fields, many small and big works are to be executed. For the execution of
these works, skill and unskilled men power along with the various machines, tools and equipments
are employed. Machines are used much these days to increase the efficiency of the work. Along
with the utilization of various machines, tools and equipments, the number of accidents is also
increasing. It is the fact that where safety ends, the accidents start.
Safety engineering education can furnish engineers the reason for and methods of
accomplishing safe systems and indeed general safety education can improve safety attitude and
increase knowledge about accident prevention.
Protection of human life and property should be in top priority in every workshops or work
field. All workers, supervisors and engineers should be aware of possible accidents which may
happen by their negligence and consequences. Engineers are the responsible person to save the
workers from the accidents and different types of hazards. Workers and technicians should be
aware of personal safety as well as safety of the fellow workers.
a) Human Elements;
- Negligence - Fatigue
- Over confidence - Stress (Tension)
- Less skill - Frustration
- No training - Instability
- Poor sight (vision) - Inexperience
- Hearing Defect - Alcohol, Drugs etc.
- Age
b) Machinery Elements:
- Improper machines - Improper installation
- No safety guard - Mechanical fault
- Electrical Fault - Overload
c) Environmental Elements:
- Working space - Lighting
- Ventilation - Noise
- Atmospheric condition - Chemicals
- Fumes - Water
- Pollution
The machine can perform most efficiently than the individuals but a person must be adapted to
a variety of task and the environment. A suitable person can be assigned to others or sometimes
more task while the flexibility of machine is limited to the purpose of their design. The system
therefore has to be responsive to the needs of personnel as well as to the company‘s mission.
Therefore mainly there are three causes for any kind of accidents, they are;
a. Physical causes
b. Physiological causes
c. Psychological causes
Physical causes
The physical causes are related to the machines, tools, material and physical environment
etc.. The physiological causes are related to human factors.
Accidents due to machines being unsuitable for the job, due to wear and tear, due to
constant use and due to brittleness nature of used tools and due to explosive and
petroleum products handless carelessly etc.. These are the examples of physical causes of
accident.
Physical causes may be occurred due to the failure of the system also.
The only way to improve them is by practicing developed ergonomics.
a. Physiological causes
Accidents due to the poor eye sight, poor health, intoxication are the physiological
causes.
These are the causes of accidents because of the beyond control of the human. These causes
are related to the human anatomy.
b. Psychological causes
Accidents due to mental tension, emotional attitude, overconfidence, carelessness are the
causes related to psychology.
System ergonomics
Now, there is a big debate in either work perform by man is safer or by machine. In this
matter, there must always be good relationship and better understanding between man and
the machine.
Since, neither of them are complete in themselves, any organization must design such
environment and significant point at the design process is called system ergonomics.
Generally there are three types of sign and signals being used to prevent accidents;
Instructions
- General instruction are provided by machine supplier. Those instructions should be
studied carefully before installing and during operation.
- Some instruction should be given to the workers by providing training or general classes.
- Some instructions are written on board which is intended for workers as well as general
public.
Warning signals such as sirens must be sounded promptly, in case of fire hazard; blasting,
sufficient warning time should be given to enable people working at the site to go to the safe place
or to be used on highways, streets, etc.
Chapter 2
ATTITUDE TOWARDS SAFETY
The attitude of any human being drives towards its behavior. The attitude of all relevant
stakeholders plays vital role in maintaining the safety environment in any workplace. No matter
what level of investment is made, if the attitude of the workers, supervisors, managers or owner is
not positive, then there is always high chance of accident.
The questions on an employee attitude survey often are multiple choice, with employees
designating whether they strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree or are undecided about a
particular statement. Employee attitude surveys might also ask open-ended or yes-or-no questions,
or they might contain a combination of question formats. Questions often are divided into specific
sections that ask how well employees think the company is doing in certain areas. Common
measurement areas found on employee attitude surveys include overall satisfaction with the
organization, compensation, benefits and working conditions. Other measurement areas include
safety concerns, recognition and rewards, career development, corporate culture and more.
The attitude survey provides valuable answer and knowledge about the workforce. The
survey provides various information regarding varieties of safety factors.
The survey process can be further enhanced by gathering anecdotal feedback from workers
regarding their perceptions of safety in their workplace.
Survey information is normally collected in a confidential manner and results are reported as
group data - individuals are not identified.
- Engineering hazard control into the design of machines, tools, processes and facilities,
- Providing a program for inspection of machine, tools, processes and facilities,
- To act in accordance with established safety and health standard.
The effectiveness of such safety programs increases with the interaction between safety
problems and concerned parties. Here the concerned parties including safety engineers, safety
managers, safety legislatives and employees face the real safety problems. The safety problems are
taken off by the employees and the top level managers come down to workers level with their
planning. At that interaction, they can interact and discuss with each other and with their own
safety agencies. For such discussions and interactions, safety management committee can organize
such programs, meetings etc. by inviting the key persons such as executive officers, safety
engineers, specialist employees, members of workers safety committee, member of labor union,
foreman, supervisors etc.. In this way, they can work together to achieve objectives of safety
programs and finally to develop safe working system in that organization.
Chapter three
HAZARD IDENTIFICATION.
The first step in safety engineering is "hazard identification." A hazard is anything that
has the potential to cause harm when combined with some initiating stimulus.
Many system safety techniques have been pioneered to aid in the identification of potential
system hazards. None is more basic than "energy analysis." Here, potential hazards associated
with various physical systems and their associated operation, including common industrial and
consumer products and related activities, can be identified (for later evaluation and control) by
first recognizing that system and product "hazards" are directly related to various common forms
of "energy." That is, system component or operator "damage" or "injury" cannot occur without
the presence of some form of hazardous "energy."
The goal of this first step in the hazard control process is to prepare a list of potential
hazards (energies) in the system under study. No attempt is made at this stage to prioritize
potential hazards or to determine the degree of danger associated with them. That will come later.
At this first stage, one is merely taking an "inventory" of potential hazards (potential hazardous
energies). A practical list of hazardous energy types to be identified might include:
Electricity is one of the most essential means of development. It is a useful servant when
it is under control but it may create great hazard and is responsible for injury when;
Safety precautions;
a. Expert: --should follow experts suggestions.
b. Exposure: -- should not be exposed to the atmosphere.
c. Fire: -- keep away from fire.
d. Safety equipments: -- use masks, gloves, shoes and appropriate aprons.
e. Guards: -- provide guards, signboards and keep the chemicals out of public reach.
f. Ventilation: -- provide proper ventilation.
If a moving particle touches to the people that may cause injury. Moving body is dangerous.
So workers should be careful when working on machines. The metal chips, metal parts,
broken nuts and bolts from moving machine may create hazard. Machine should be well
guarded and proper supervision is required.
Open flame,
Boiling liquids,
Red hot coils.
Other common causes of thermal hazards may include;
Equipment that is indirectly heated by other equipment,
Exposed light bulb,
Metal housing on equipment,
Heat sink,
Combustible products.
The severity of an injury due to thermal hazard depends on the,
Sources intensity,
Contact time, specific heat of the affected tissue.
The types of injuries that a thermal hazards produce are;
Burns: It is the injuries that hot thermal hazards can cause, and skin is the part of the body
that is the most susceptible to burns. Burns are categorized as first, second or third degree.
However, burns injuries can be combinations of all three types of burns.
* First-degree burns are superficial but can be painful because these burns usually do not
damage the nerves. These types of burns will cause outer layers of skin to redden or
discolor and to swell slightly.
* Second-degree burns penetrate skin more deeply and are more severe than first degree
burns. In addition, second degree burns affect skin by creating a red or mottled appearance,
blisters, and swelling. These burns are also very painful because the nerve endings are still
intact.
* Third-degree burns are the most sever burns and have the deepest penetration of the
types of burns. Third-degree burns may appear white charred. They may even look like
second degree burns but they extend through all skin layers. In addition, third-degree burns
destroy nerve endings, so third-degree burns can be less painful than second-degree burns.
The following table provides the durations of contact that skin can endure with a thermal
hazard at specific temperatures before injury results;
Cold thermal hazards may result Frostbite. It is dangerous because it can result in damage to
cell structure and cell organs, protein denaturation, and in the dehydration of cells as well as
in other type of damage. The severity of damage to body tissue depends on how long an
area is frozen. In addition, injuries such as gangrene and capillary and vessel collapse can
occur as frozen tissue thaws.
Frost bite must also be treated by medical personnel. However, the best treatment for frost
bite until professional help arrives is the rapid rewarming of affected tissue with 32.2 C –
41.1 C (90 F – 106 F) water. Do not try to keep the affected area frozen or use excessive
heat (greater than 48.8 C (120 F). These techniques produce more tissue damage and
possibly burns.
Thermal Stress:
Apart from energy hazards, various other terms are also used for hazard;
Physical hazard
A substance is classified as a physical hazard if it ignites and burns easily, has the potential to
explode, or can cause a violent reaction. Organic peroxides, oxidizers, and water-reactive
substances are examples of materials that could be involved in violent reactions. A water-reactive
substance is a chemical that reacts with water to release a gas or vapor that either is flammable or
presents a health hazard. Physical hazards are grouped into four categories:
fire hazards
compressed gases
explosives
reactive/unstable chemicals
Fire hazards
Fire hazards are substances that can ignite and burn easily. These substances are classified
by their flash point-the lowest temperature at which a liquid will give off vapors in sufficient
concentrations to ignite. Combustible liquids have flash points above 100°F but below 200°F.
Pyrophoric substances ignite spontaneously in air at a temperature of 130°F or below. Flammable
liquids have flash points below 100°F. Chemicals with flash points above 200°F are considered
nonflammable.
Compressed gases
Compressed gases are contained gases with pressures greater than 40 psi (pounds per square
inch). Propane cylinders and welding gases are compressed gases that may be used for building
maintenance. If a container with compressed gas is not secured properly, it may fall and sustain
damage. A damaged container could become a projectile and cause property damage and/or injury.
Some gases are colorless and odorless. If these gases are released, they may pose a serious health
hazard, because they displace oxygen or cause reactions at low-level exposures.
Explosives
Explosives cause a sudden, almost instantaneous release of pressure, gas, or heat. Very few,
if any, explosive substances should be used for building maintenance. Some epoxy systems use
materials that may be an explosive hazard if improperly used or stored.
Reactive/unstable chemicals
Reactive or unstable chemicals are substances that produce or release energy in the form of
heat or an explosion when under pressure, exposed to light, or subjected to friction or ignition.
These materials may also develop toxic or flammable vapors when mixed with water.
Chapter four
EVALUATION
A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause harm when combined with some initiating
stimulus. The evaluating stage of safety engineering i.e. hazard evaluation process has the goal of
prioritizing or ordering of the list of potential system condition or physical stage of hazard that are
identified in hazard identification process. The mare pressure of potential hazard tells us nothing
about its potential danger. To know the danger related to the particular hazard, one must first
examine associated risk factor. Risk can be measured as the products of 3 components;
1. The probability that an injury or damage producing mishap will occur during any one exposure
to the hazard.
2. The potential severity or degree of injury or damage that will likely result after a mishap
occurrence.
3. The estimated number of times a person or persons will likely to be exposed to the hazard over
a specific period of time.
In the evaluation of hazards, consideration should be given to horizontal incident data and
reasonable methods of prediction. An accident event can have less probability of occurrence during
any single exposure or during any finite period as a result of exposure to the particular hazard and
could be certain to occur if exposure to that hazard is allowed to be repeated over a long period of
time. Therefore a long term or large sample of probability should be taken for proper evaluation.
Determination of severity potential should centre on most likely resulting injury or damage as well
as the most sever potential outcome. Severity becomes the controlling factor when sever injury or
death may occur as a result of mishap. The risk associated with such hazard must be considered as
being unaccepted and strict attention should be paid to the control of such hazards and related
mishaps.
Exposure evaluation should consider the typical expectancy of the system containing a
particular hazard, the number of systems in use and the number of individuals who will be exposed
to these systems overtimes.
In any investigation, “never accept anything as fact until it has been proven”. The most useful
word in an investigation is “Why?”. In safety engineering the questions like; - Why plan?, design?,
operate?, provide?, guides?, signals?, safety equipment? etc.. are very important. Too often,
hazardous, inefficient operations and arrangements are permitted to exist simply because “they
always been that way”.
In hazard evaluation and injury investigation, the investigator should attempt to know;
Hazard evaluation process with ultimate severe can be divided as a group of acceptable
hazards and unacceptable hazards. Acceptable hazards are those, which are associated with
acceptable risk factors and unacceptable hazards are associated with unacceptable risk factors.
The evaluation stage of the safety engineering process has as its goal the prioritizing or
ordering of the list of potential system condition or physical state hazards, or potential system
personnel of human factors compiled in Step #1.
The mere presence of a potential hazard tells us nothing about its potential danger. To know the
danger related to a particular hazard, one must first examine associated risk factors. Risk can be
measured as the product of three components: (a) the probability that an injury or damage
producing mishap will occur during any one exposure to the hazard; (b) the potential severity or
degree of injury or damage that will likely result should a mishap occur; and (c) the estimated
number of times a person or persons will likely be exposed to the hazard over a specific period of
time. That is...
Use of this equation must take into account that an accident event having a remote probability
of occurrence during any single exposure or during any finite period as a result of exposure to a
particular hazard IS CERTAIN TO OCCUR if exposure to that hazard is allowed to be repeated
over a longer period of time. Therefore, a long term or large sample view of probability should be
taken for proper evaluation.
Determination of severity potential should center on the most likely resulting injury or
damage as well as the most severe potential outcome. Severity becomes the controlling factor when
severe injury or death is a likely possibility among the several plausible outcomes. That is, even
when other risk factors indicate a low probability of mishap over time, if severe injury or death may
occur as a result of mishap, the risk associated with such hazards must be considered as being
"unacceptable," and strict attention given to the control of such hazards and related mishaps.
Exposure evaluation should consider the typical life expectancy of the system containing a
particular hazard, the number of systems in use, and the number of individuals who will be exposed
to these systems over time.
An acceptable risk can be thought of as a risk that a group of rational, well informed ethical
individuals would dear to expose themselves in order to acquire the clear benefits of such exposure.
An unacceptable risk can be thought of as a risk that a group of rational, well informed ethical
individuals would not dear accept to expose themselves in order to acquire the exposure benefits.
Hazard associated with an acceptable risk are traditionally called “Safe”, while hazard associated
with an unacceptable risk are traditionally called “Unsafe”. Therefore what is called a safe does not
mean that it does not contain elements of risk. It is just that such elements have been judged to be
acceptable once again. The mere presence of hazard does not automatically mean that the hazard is
associated with any real danger. It must first be measured as being an acceptable. The result of this
evaluation process will be the compilation of a list of hazards or risks or dangers that are
considered unacceptable. These unacceptable hazards are then carried to the third step of safety
engineering process called “Hazard control”.
No
Yes
Provide hooks in pre-cast slab Reduce Reduced
No
Yes
Use safe methods of works Manage Managed
No
Yes
Provide safety equipment Protected Protected
It shows that risk elimination is difficult but could be managed to acceptable (tolerable)
condition by using different methods and equipment. Acceptable level depends upon different
factors. It varies with situation and time.
Degree of control;
Total cost
Total Cost of control
Cost
Degree of control
Chapter five
HAZARD CONTROL.
The primary purpose of engineering and design of products and facilities is the physical
control of various material and process to produce a specific benefit. The central purpose of safety
engineering is the control of system hazard which may cause system damage, system user injury or
otherwise decrease system benefit. Current and historic safety engineering references have
advocated a specific order or priority in which hazards are best controlled. Listed in order of
preferences and effectiveness, these control methods have come to be called “Cardinal rule of safe
design” or “the cardinal rule of hazard control”.
1. The first cardinal rule of hazard control: It is concerned with the hazard elimination or
inherent safety, i.e. if practical; one should avoid producing potential hazardous components
while designing them “on the drawing board”. This is accomplished through the use of such
interrelated techniques as hazard removal, hazard substitution and hazard attenuation through
the use of the principle and techniques of system and product safety engineering, system and
product safety management, human factor engineering, beginning with the concept and initial
planning stages of the system design processes.
2. The second cardinal rule of hazard control: It is concerned with the minimization of system
hazard through the use of “add-on-safety device” or safety feature engineering or facilities on
the drawing board to prevent the exposure of product or facility users to potential hazards. This
preplanned hazard control is called “Extrinsic safety”. A sample of such devices would include
screens or barriers which will guard or enclose hazardous components. Interlock, pressure
relief valve, stairway handle, speed limit etc. could be introduced for hazard minimization.
3. The third cardinal rule of hazard control: It is concerned with the control of hazard through
the development of warnings and instructions, i.e. through the development of effective
communication for safe system use, method and procedures. First, warn persons of the
associated system, regarding dangers that may potentially be encountered under reasonable
foreseeable condition of system use or misuse of service and then instruct them regarding the
precise step that must be followed to cope with or avoid dangers. This third approach must only
be used after all feasible design and safeguarding have been exhausted.
A principle that applies equally to the first two cardinal rule of safe design and
minimization of hazard is that of passive Verses active hazard control.
Simply, a passive control is a control that works without requiring the continuous or
periodic involvement of system user. An active hazard control, in contrast requires the system user
or operator to do something before system use, continuously or periodically during system
operation in order to avoid injury. Passive controls are automatic controls whereas active controls
can be thought of as manual control. Passive control is unquestionably more effective than active
control.
Chapter six
Safety Performance
Accident Vs Injury
An accident is a non-deliberate, non intentional, unplanned event which may produce
undesirably effects and is predicted by unsafe acts and condition. It is also defense as a
harmful encounter with the environment, a danger not adverted. An accident is subjected to
prediction and control.
An injury is the outcome of accident and accident are caused due to the pressure of potential
hazard at that place or system or equipment. So each injury itself proof that hazards or
combination of hazards has not been adequately controlled, injury are mainly of two kinds:
Disabling injury
This injury which disable the injured workers to work for more than the day or shift
during he is injured is known as disabling injury
Lost time injury
This injury which does not disable the injured workers to work for more that day or
shift during his injury is known as lost time injury.
Example 1
What are the injury frequencies and severity rates of a firm with 80 workers averaging 40 hours a
week each if in 6 months 4 workers were injured and if they lost jointly 103 days from work?
Solution
IFR= No. of injuries*10, 00000 = 4 * 10, 00,000 = 52.09
Total no. of man-hours worked 80 * (6 * 4) *40
ISR= No. of days lost * 10, 00,000
Total no. of man-hours worked
= 1341
Example 2
What are the IFR and ISR for a firm with 120 workers working 40 hrs per week in average
20 workers are injured in a year and they lost 116 days from work.
o Given
No. of workers =120
No. of injury = 20
Working hrs = 40
No. of days lost= 116 days
= 8.012
ISR= No. of days lost * 10, 00,000
Total no. of man-hours worked
Example 3
Firm A has 115 workers working 40 hrs a week each. In 9 months, 3 workers were injured. Firm B
has 132 workers averaging 37 hrs a weak each. In 10 months, 3 workers were injured. Which firm
has the better Injury Frequency Rate and Injury Severity Rate if both firm lost 100 days from work?
Solution:
Firm A
Injury Severity rate (ISR) or Severity Frequency Rate = 100 x 10, 00,000
115 x 40 x 9/12 x 52 = 557.4
Firm B
Injury Frequency Rate (IFR) = 3 x 10, 00,000
132 x 37 x10/12 x 52 = 14.7
Injury Severity rate (ISR) or Severity Frequency Rate = 100 x 10, 00,000
132 x 40 x 10/12 x 52 = 472.5
* Both IFR And ISR of firm B is less than firm A, so firm B has better frequency rate.
6.2 Factors to be considered for operating plant condition
o House keeping
o Maintenance
o Adequacy of safety equipment.
o Provision for work comfort
o Safety training program
o Machinery safe guard
a. Housekeeping: Good housekeeping is equally essential for every industry or construction sites.
It is the measure of good work environment. Building codes and fire regulations must be
observed. For wiring, a qualified technician must be utilized. No smoking sign should be places
where necessary. Materials should be placed in proper location so that it does not create any
hindrance in smooth movement.
b. Maintenance: Good maintenance of plant and equipment is an essential part of good
management. The machines, equipment and tools should be in proper condition all the time to
minimize the injury.
c. Adequacy of safety equipment: Depending the work condition and situation, proper safety
devices must be made available in the site. It should be easily accessible and easy to use. The
workers should be given proper instructions for use of safety gadgets in advance.
d. Provision for work comfort: It is difficult to show the relation of facilities with rate of
accident. But, workers facilities, like toilets, wash rooms, drinking water, lunch rooms etc.. may
change workers attitude to work efficiency and safety.
e. Safety training program: Training for safe work practice is an essential of good safety
program. Safety training should be provided to each worker from time to time. The appraiser
should find out what provisions have been made for the safety training.
f. Machinery safeguard: Machines are one of the major sources of hazard. They should be used
safely. Provision of necessary safeguard is must for the machineries to reduce the serious
disabilities.
Management must accept the responsibilities for the safety and must lead and direct the
preventive effort.
Chapter seven
SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARD
b. Biological Hazards:
They are presented by exposure to infections micro-organisms to natural substances of
biological origin as animal attacks. Excavation works, for example, can develop histoplasmosis, an
infection of the lung caused by common soil fungus. Since there is a constant change in the
composition of labor for in any one project, individual worker come in contact with other workers
and as a consequence may become affected with diseases like influenza, T.B. etc.. Workers may
also be at risks of malaria, rheumatic fever etc.. Sometime the work may need to be conducted in
areas where there may be dangerous insects like scorpion, snacks and other poisonous creature.
These can be great threat for the safety of the workers.
Some substances of plant origin can cause skin eruption. Some wood dust are carcinogenic
(cancer causing diseases) and some are allergic.
Attack by animal is rare but may occur. Whenever a construction project disturbs them or
encroaches their habitat, it may become aggressive. Underwater workers may be at risk from attack
by danger fishes, crocodiles etc.
c. Social Hazards:
Construction sites are normally close to some society. Workers may have to be recruited
within from this community or may require to be brought from other community. Locals will
consider others as outsiders and sometimes it is difficult to internalize all the workers.
The expectation and demand of local people may cause conflict in construction projects.
Since the workforce is constantly changing and the hour as well as location of work is also
changing, many project require living in work camp, away from the family. These workers may
lack stable and dependable networking of social support. Feature of construction work such as
heavy work load, limited control and limited social support are associated with increased stress
which vary from other industries. These hazards are not unique to any trade but are common to all
construction works in one way or others.
d. Chemical Hazards:
In the construction work, the workers come in contact with various chemicals. The engineer
must know about the type and effect of the chemical that they have to face with. Cutting fluid used
during metal cutting process, fumes released during welding, cement, lime etc.. are hazardous if
came in contact with skin or inhaled during breathing. Proper precaution must be taken while
handling various chemicals.
Due to use of various heavy machineries, handling of construction material and different
level of labor forces in mass, the construction industry is considered as accident prompt region. The
various sources of hazards in construction industries are as follow;
i. Hazardous fields;
- Road and Highway construction,
- Bridge construction,
- Dams and tunneling,
- Electrical powerhouse and towers,
- Electrical and mechanical plants installation,
- Construction of high rise buildings etc..
ii. Some hazardous equipments;
- Cranes - Dozer - Loaders,
- Earth roller, - Earth mover, - Graders
- Excavators, - Trippers - Electrical machines,
- Mechanical machines etc.
iii. Unhealthy environment in indoor industries;
- Uneasy floors, - Different floor levels, - Slippery floor
- Narrow doors, - Narrow pass ways, - Inadequate ventilation
- Inadequate storage space - Poor house keeping - Poor control of dust/fumes.
Basic safety standards are basically the same in all countries, but some are detailed out to suit
national requirements. The safety and health standards are based on the following bases;
a. Accountability in health and safety:
- Worse working place, working environment, working process and worker's protection.
b. General duties of employers, employees, designers, manufacturers.
Voluntary standards are developed by the various interest groups and individuals, who were
involved in accident prevention work. The standards were developed by the experienced persons,
so, that was practicable and accepted by many people although that was not compulsory.
These self applied standards were developed after the production failure of many weapons
during First World War In 1918, the five leading engineering societies of US initiated to form a
national organization to work in the field of health and safety. With the help of government
departments, they formed the American Engineering Standard Committee.
In 1928, the scope of the work was broadened and the name changed to American Standard
Association (ASA). In 1948, ASA was incorporated under the laws of the state of New York. There
are hundreds of technical societies and thousands of companies as the member of ASA. It has
approved more than 2000 standards as American standard.
b. Standard for harmful agents (physical, chemical, biological) exposure limits, measurements,
working with dangerous substances.
c. Standard for materials used in industries.
d. Standards manufacturing practices, including technical lay outs, duties and responsibilities ,
worker's protection and supervision.
The following points should be considered in developing the safety rules and standard;
a. Every rule be practical with the view point of those to whom it applies,
b. Each hazard condition should be definitely demonstrable as unsafe,
c. Rules should be limited to safety matters, that should not be diverted to other matters,
d. The work men affected must have a full part in developing the rules.
Chapter eight
INDUSTRIAL SAFETY
8.1 Introduction.
The industrial revolution was brought about by the development of mechanized equipments
and applications of steam and electrical energy. Up to this point, the industry was primarily
interested in improving productivity with a little thought to human society.
The new technology brought about a concern for the working conditions and fatal injuries of
workers. Labor unions, newspaper men, and humanitarians raised voices about the industrial safety.
They focused mainly on the following two issues;
a. Installation of safety guards on equipment and
b. Compensation for accidental victims and their dependents.
Installation of safety guards on hazardous machinery was developed in 1970s in Europe and
America. But, the compensation issue was remained unsolved for many years. “Employer
Liability Law” was the first step, which intended to provide the compensation for the accidental
victims due to employer’s negligence.
Although the employer liability law initiated to provide compensation to victims in the
industry, it was difficult to prove employer’s negligence. So, this law also could not be effective
and the “Worker’s Compensation Law” came into existence.
a. Ministry of Labor
b. Department of Labor and Transport
c. Labor Trade unions
Employee Welfare:
* provision for employee welfare fund (37) – section 6,
* Compensation for injury or loss of body part,
* Gratuity, Provident Fund, Medical expenses (39),
* Leave – Public holidays, study leave, home leave, maternity leave, mourning leave, special leave,
* Housing arrangement (5% of the annual profit to be used for gradual development of housing
facility),
* Childcare provision ( if more than 50 women employee),
* Rest rooms and canteen (if more than 50 employee are working).
Employers: Employers have the right to hire and fire them. Management can also affect workers’
interests by exercising their right to relocate, lose or merge the factory or to introduce technological
changes.
Employees: Workers seek to improve the terms and conditions of their employment. They
exchange views with management and voice their grievances. They also want to share decision
making powers of management. Workers generally unite to form unions against the management
and get support from these unions.
Government: The central and state government influences and regulates industrial relations
through laws, rules, agreements, awards of court ad the like. It also includes third parties and labor
and tribunal court.
Employer’s
Employer Association.
The concept of industrial relations has a very wide meaning and connotation. In the narrow
sense, it means that the employer, employee relationship confines itself to the relationship that
emerges out of the day to day association of the management and the labor. In its wider sense,
industrial relations include the relationship between an employee and an employer in the course of
the running of an industry and may project it to spheres, which may transgress to the areas of
quality control, marketing, price fixation and disposition of profits among others.
Industrial relations is a multidisciplinary field that studies the employment relationship. Industrial
relation is increasingly being called employment relations because of the importance of non-
industrial employment relationships. Many outsiders also equate industrial relations to labor
relations and believe that industrial relations only studies unionized employment situations, but
this is an oversimplification.
Industrial relations has three faces: science building, problem solving, and ethical.
The Nepalese political history took a new turn in 1960 when the King staged a putsch,
banned the political parties and trade unions and established a partyless Panchayat system in 1962.
This system limited the freedom of expression and association but envisioned creating exploitation-
free society through the harmonization and co-ordination of the interests of different classes. For
this, six different class organizations including Nepal Labor organization were created. As this
organization was controlled by the system and also that the central body was heavily politicized,
the objective of ensuring the labor welfare remained unfulfilled. Still, some of the noticeable
achievements were also made during this period in the field of labor administration, such as,
establishment of a separate labor ministry, department and some labor offices and the admission of
Nepal into the International Labor Organization (ILO) as a member.
Multi-party democracy was restored in the Spring of 1990 in the country after the success of
people's movement, in which many professional organizations, including workers had actively
participated. The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 guaranteed multi-party parliamentary
system, human rights, constitutional monarchy and the sovereignty of people. It also granted the
freedom of expression and association, which inspired the formation of trade unions. At an early
stage, there was mushrooming growth of trade unions. They were heavily divided in the line of
political ideologies. Each party has its own unions, if not general federation. With the passage of
time, most of these unions could not exist and some of the unions were merged.
Three major federations existing in the country are Nepal Trade Union Congress
(NTUC), Democratic Confederation of Nepalese Trade Unions (DECONT) and General
Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT).
* Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC) was established in 1947 with the objectives of promoting
workers rights. The labor movement in Nepal started on March 4, 1947 in Biratnagar against the
hereditary Rana rule for the establishment of democracy and advancement of workers’ rights.
The ideology of NTUC was based on democracy, nationalism and socialism. After the
establishment of democracy in the country in 1950, NTUC became active in the promotion of
workers’ rights to organize, express and struggle for their collective welfare. In 1960 with the
dissolution of multi-party democracy in Nepal, trade unions were banned along with political
parties for almost 30 years of Panchayat system. With the overthrow of Panchayat polity in 1990
following popular movement for the restoration of democracy, freedom of expression and
organization became a part of national life. Nepal Trade Union Congress also revived its
organization in 1990 and now works closely to ruling Nepali Congress party in general and
current prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala in particular.
* General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) was established in July 20, 1989
with four founder federations: Nepal Independent Workers Union (NIWU), Independent
Transport Workers’ Association of Nepal (ITWAN),Nepal Independent Workers’ Union
(NIHWU) and Trekking Workers’ Association of Nepal (TWAN). It is affiliated to Communist
Party of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist party (CPN-UML). A small faction splinted from
GEFONT formed Independent Confederation of Nepalese Trade Unions (ICONT) on March 14,
1998. ICONT is affiliated to CPN Marxist-Leninist party (CPN-ML).
These representatives work together to formulate safety rules, control the industries to
operate and workers to follow the same. They also work to provide the facilities which have to be
obtained by the employees.
Chapter nine
SAFETY MANAGEMENT
In safely management, the management in any organization concentrates on the safety of its
people. Management concentrates on safety because of the following reasons.
1. People of the organization are the organizational assets (resources), it should not be lost in any
way,
2. Human resources are on top of the priority of any other resources on any ground- cost wise and
humanitarian wise,
3. The government and the court consider the injured people to get penalties from the organization,
4. The organization loses its name and fame form the losses of its people and people’s lives, which
are the intangible assets of the organization,
5. People fear of joining the organization, from which the organization faces shortage of qualified
and active staffs.
The management can initiate to make the employees aware of the hazards in the working fields by,
1. Communicating them
2. Assigning responsibilities to them
3. Granting authorities to them
4. Seeking accountability from them
The management thinks that its employees have become aware of the hazards in their work
fields from the above initiations, which is in fact not true. Individual employees and the group of
the people working together have been influenced from different factors. Those factors can be used
by the management to educate them for the safe working conditions. The influences on the
employees so far found effective have been listed below:
1. The influence of the attitude of the group towards the safety,
2. The influence of selection and placement,
3. The influence of training and education,
4. The influence of supervision,
5. The influence of special-emphasis programs,
6. The influence of media.
There are many methods of training and following may be needs for employees:-
1. Orientation for new employees,
2. OJT for new employees,
3. Upgrade/change/refresh/new techniques for experienced,
4. New jobs training for transferred employees,
5. Group toolbox meeting,
6. Other employees as need arise.
Objectives of training decide the type of training. So, the management must be clear of the output
of the employees after training. The objectives must be clear and well defined for all the
management, trainers and the trainees/ employees.
6. Safety Media
Safety media are extremely valuable only when they are heard by receptive ears and seen by
receptive eyes. One should utilize media properly. Media alone does not motivate individuals. In
the industry, the employees are considered having motivators and dissatisfiers in the work field.
Herzberg propounded it and hence it is known Herzberg’s dual factor or Motivation- hygiene
theory. With the fulfillment of dissatisfiers, employees do not become motivated, but these are
necessary to avoid dissatisfaction. These factors relate to the job context. They are hygiene factors.
They are;
1. Company policy and administration,
2. Technical supervision,
3. Interpersonal relation with superiors, peers and subordinators,
4. Salary,
5. Job security,
6. Personal life,
7. Work conditions
8. Status, Motivational factors or motivators:-
a. Achievement,
b. Recognition
c. Advancement,
d. The work itself
e. The possibility of personal growth,
f. Responsibility
In most industries, lack of knowledge of safety is not a problem. Usually, line managers
know far more about safety knowledge than they apply. In case the first managers or supervises
have little safety knowledge; the situation can be handled through training.
2. Role perceptions
Line manager's role in safety determines the direction in which they will apply their efforts.
Role perception is more important that ability. In safety, role perception has to do whether line
managers(supervisors) know what management wants in accident control and with whether they
know their duties are. In the area of role perception, the safety professional should search for
answers to some questions about the organization and about each line managers in it. Those
questions concern the content and effectiveness of management's policy on safety, the adequacy of
supervisors' training, company safety procedures, the system used to fix accountability etc..
3. Effort
The following two factors determine how much effort should a supervisor put into a job
1. His/her opinion of the value of the rewards, and
2. The connection the person sees between efforts and those rewards.
The supervisor will decide whether his effort put on the job reward him or not at first. The
supervisor considers if the value of rewards obtained from the management for achieving the goal
is great, s/he will decide to expend effort much on his/her job.
"Rewards" here means much more than just financial reward. It includes all the things that motivate
people, recognition, opportunity for advancement, increased pay etc.. Research shows that the
rewards of Advancement and Responsibility are two greatest motivators.
If the rewards consist of advancement and additional responsibility, the supervisor will put more
effort on the job.
Safety Measurement system needs to be devised to measure a line manager's safety performance in
term of ability, effort and role perception. Such system would enable the management to decide
what level of safety achievement should be expected from the line manager (supervisor). Such a
system of measurement would have been based on self-rating or management's rating.
A system of rating the three elements that go in to safe performance(in term os points,
percentage points, whatever seems logical) would help to identify supervision performance in
safety. A equation can be developed as below:-
Effort X Ability X Role Perception=Safety Performance.
A rating system can be devised for each of the three factors, resulting in a final number
which could be an indicator or manager's safety performance.
Responsibility growth:
Supervisors should be given free hand in how they control accidents and retain
accountability in the work fields. They should be encouraged to maintain low accidents records in
the work field.
Training
Training is a source of motivation to Supervisors as to employees in addition to
knowledge and skill imparting. There are many sources of help for Supervisory training, including
training packages, self- study courses, programmed courses, an discussion courses.
The institutions that provide training to supervisors are Universities, vocational schools,
government schools, insurance carries, Trade associations or others.
There is a number of courses bout the selection of the course should be made to
fit intended program with specific objectives. At first, it is to determine whether training is the
answer to your defined problem. In case if it is the answer, you should the objective of the training
to specifically solve the problem.
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It will be effective if the management conceive the need of the training to particular group of
workers and present the training, implying the importance of aura of training.
Motivation is as the willingness to exert high level of efforts towards organizational goals,
conditioned by the effort's ability to satisfy some individual needs (Robbins, p.169).
Needs mean some internal state that makes certain outcomes appear attractive. Therefore,
the motivating agencies identify the needs of managers so that the agencies may help to fulfill the
needs and the managers can be motivated to exert high level of effort to their works.
Mangers, system or knowledge represents managements, which is responsible for all policy and
rules and regulation that links external and internal environment of the organization sphere. There
are basically three managerial roles played by the management:-
From the above roles of management, it can be assumed that management plays an important
roles in the organization. Unless management is not satisfied with what it has to play because of de-
motivation, the outcomes shall be extremely undesirable.
With the roles of interpersonal roles, the management maintains integrity, leadership and
liaison in the organization. Unless the organization has sound integrity, visionary leadership and
relationship with inside and outside environment, it will be lost. Integrating the efforts of the efforts
of the organizational staff, leading towards the goal of the organization and maintaining hormonal
roles with the external agencies makes the organization popular and efficient.
With the informational role, the management plays informational center, spokesman ad
disseminator. The management is the only authentic body for accepting or rejecting information.
Outer world believes on the news disseminated by the management. A hearsay information about
organization is not authentic. Whenever outer world seeks information about the organization, it is
only the management that can play as an authentic spokesman.
With all those very important roles that the management has to perform, makes the people,
appointed at the management positions very crucial on the part of organization. They are in fact at
the driving seats of the organization. If they feel de- motivated, certainly their performances
directly affect the organization's existence. Therefore, they must be all the time motivated.
The major two motivating factors to the management are profitability of the organization and
the well being of employees. Therefore, management is interested in the relationship of the safety
professional's ideas to the profits of the organization. Whenever one talks to management, s/he
should be dollar-oriented.
It is natural to worry about the safety of the employees who works for the organization. They
are the costliest resources of all in the organization.
Work performers, who intend to have safety management, will encourage the management,
but management is the one who lifts the panics of safety management in the organization. The
management becomes motivated if the employees initiate safety management, because its roles
become fulfilled.
If we know the traits of executives, it will be easier to switch on them for making them
motivated. The following traits have been identified as traits of executives;
1. They are usually family oriented and have happy home lives,
2. They are educated and intelligent,
3. They are interoperated in further self-development,
4. They have many outside interests,
5. They are usually religions,
6. They are vitally interested in people,
7. They enjoy good health,
8. They take risks after through study of facts,
9. They are interested in new and different approaches to problems,
10. They are objectives in their approaches and straightforward in their relationship.
Annual report
Every safety professionals ought to utilize the tool of the annual report to
motivate management. Often management does not ask annual report, but it should be submitted
anyway. Appointed for safety maintenance needs to project him/him self before the management of
the expense n its activities.
The safety professional would want the management to know the following through annual report:-
1. How did we fare last year? (give results expressed in management's terms).
2. What did we accomplish last year? In what ways are we stronger than we were before?
3. What are our objectives for next year? How will we be stronger at this time next year?
4. What do we need from management? What is it letting us down?
Management Motivators
For the management, there are only two concerns-employees oriented and production
oriented as per Michigan University Research in behavioral theory.
This states the concern of safety professionals with the top management. Management is
mainly interested in the relationship of the safety professional's ideas to the profit of the
organization. Management always wants to be in the best position, which is High/High at right
hand top corner. Here both production and employee concerns are high/high.
1. Anticipatory Stress
It is one's response to expected stresses. For example, Mind and body prepare in advance
for a change, crises or challenges or tension before test. It is useful in moderate amount because
it prepares one's body and mind for events that are about to happen. Thus, Anticipatory stress
can be positive. But, it can also interfere with the life in present, as a person might pay more
attention to what might happen than to what is happening.
2. Current Stress
It occurs during an experience; for example, mental alertness in the midst of debate, the
surge of energy in the final 100m of race. Current stress if harnessed effectively is vital for
optional performance.
3. Residual Stress
It occurs after the experience has passed. The body remains in a state of alarm for some
time after a near collision on the highway. Over stimulation, whether pleasant or unpleasant, can
have the same effect (Schafer, 1992).
Stress management is an adaptive process in which one's body and mind prepares or adjust to a
threatening situation from environment. Stress is manifested in physical, psychological and
behavioral deviation.
Positive stress is known as Eustress. It is needed for people to grow to their full potential. It
is something people should seek out rather than avoid.
Negative stress is known as distress. It has dysfunctional consequences. It should be presented or
effectively controller.
Work
load
Eustress Distress
ss
Sources of stress
The following are the sources of stress;
1. Individual stressors,
2. Group stressor
3. Organizational stressor
4. Extra Organizational stressor
1. Individual Stressors
The following are the individual stressors:-
Body oriented:- Sudden appetite loss, sleepless, unfit, feeling of lethargy of tense,
Psychological
2. Group stressors
The following are the causes of group stressors:-
1. Lack of group cohesiveness,
2. Lack of social supports,
3. Intra-individual, interpersonal and inter-group conflicts,
4. Goal incompatibility,
5. Unclear roles,
6. Overconfidence.
3. Organizational stressors
1. Administrative policies/ strategies: Staff cutoff, competitive pressure in job enrichment,
work shift, over or under work, new technology, pay plans to remuneration, bureaucratic
rules and procedures.
2. Organizational structure/design: Line staff conflicts, poor promotion opportunity,
centralization/ specialization, untrusting culture, Role ambiguous.
3. Organizational processes: One-way communication, lack of participation, tight control, and
defective performance appraisal system.
4. Working condition: Noise, heat, cold, poor lighting, polluted water, air, stinking toilet,
crowded work area, physical/mental strains, health hazards in the job, poor quality of work
life.
Consequences of Stress
The following may be the consequences of stresses:-
1. Physiological impact: The conditions resulting from stress can be;
Alcoholism, arthritis, asthma, cancer, diabetes, eating disorder, hair loss, headache, heart
disease, heart burn etc..
2. Psychological impact: Absenteeism, fatigue, dissatisfaction, anxiety, depression, frustration,
conflicts, irritability, or even suicide, drug addiction etc..
3. Organizational impacts: low motivation, low job performance, low productivity, high turn over,
high absenteeism, lower quality of interpersonal relationship, quality degradation etc..
So, implement strategies for stress management in any organization for sound, hormonal and
efficient utilization of resources for better productivity.
Stressors:- Stressors relate to any factor within the individual or from the external environment,
which is conductive to stress. Stressors are either Episodic disruption or Chronic condition, which
causes one's automatic nervous system and Endocrine gland system to disrupt one's normal
biophysical equilibrium in preparing one to " fight or flight". Stressor is also defined as a factor,
which produces stress.
Strains:- Strain is the state of being stressed; and it can be physiological, psychological or
behavioral, but it is by definition an indicator of ill health of the individual. In other words, stressor
usually refers to environment stimulus and the term 'Strain' to individual response.
Planning
Leading Organizational
Organizational goals
goals Organizing and
Staffing
Controlling
Management skills:
Conceptual
Conceptual Conceptual
Human
Human
Human
Technical
Technical
Technical
Safety programs.
So, management has every possible opportunity in the organization for attaining
organizational goals. If management involves employees in attaining goals from the very beginning
of setting goals, the employees will become committed to the attainment of goals. As a result,
MBO has been emerged. Employees should be involved in a participatory ways in setting goals,
monitoring progress, implementing feedback of the performances.
Safety Management is in fact implementing safety programs. The National Safety Council,
India suggests the following objectives of safety programs:-
1. Gaining and maintaining support for the safety programs at all organizational levels,
2. Motivating, educating and training programs for participants to know, recognize and correct or
report hazards,
3. Engineering hazards control in to the design of machines, tools, processes and facilities,
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Safety engineering and disaster risk management
1. Secure full support of the top management:- The top management has the obligatory
responsibility towards the promoting of safety programs. So, the construction site should secure
the support from top management.
2. Deputation someone to direct safety programs at site:-Some one, as specific person should be
deputed to look after safety programs in the construction site.
3. Publicizing safety programs:- every employee should be made conscious of the fact that safety
is not the responsibility of a person. Safety is every body’s job.
4. Develop a safety program to each job:- Since each job has its own safety hazards, it is not
possible to develop a standardized safety program, which is equally effective for all types of
construction.
5. Install a safety program on a competitive basis:- there should be a system of providing awards
to the supervisor for having the best safety record every year.
6. Indoctrinate new employee:- The physical condition of a new employee must be thoroughly
checked by a medical examination prior to employment and at the same time, he should also be
informed of the hazards of his job.
8. Promote good housekeeping:- Good house keeping means clan job and so promote clean job
everyday in al jobs.
9. Maintain adequate first aids facilities and other infrastructure:- the following infrastructures
should be available at site as far as possible:-
- Telephone service,
- Vehicles,
- Sufficient numbers of fire extinguishers,
- Sufficient nos. of safety accessories to each worker,
- Proper communication system.
3. An offer made to a definite person. To some definite class or person or to the world at large.
Specific offer to some person and general offer to all people.
4. Clear terms: offers to should be in a clear term without ambiguity.
5. An intension to purpose is not a proposal.
6. Knowledge of offer must be known to offeree.
7. Standing contract or open proposal.
8. An invitation o make an offer is not offer.
9. Legal relationship-offer should intend to establish legal relationship.
10. Communication of proposal can be made through any channel. It cannot be a contract
without knowing an offer.
Termination of offer;
1. by notice of revocation,
2. By lapse of time,
3. By non fulfillment of condition,
4. Death or unconsciousness offeree before the acceptance of offer.
Contract law, 2023 governs the contracts in Nepal till today. The law has been named as
“The Contract Law 2023, Nepal,” This law shall be regulated throughout Nepal kingdom, It has
been regulated on 1 Paush 2023 in Nepal.
The law has defined contract as “the agreement made between two or more than two parties to
do or not to do any work”.
Similarly, the law has defined Proposer as the person or party who propose something to the
Propose with the view of being acceptance to do or not to do it.
Acceptance means, according to the law, as the acceptance agreed upon with the view of the
proposer by the propose.
The parties or persons except the following can make contract:-
1. Below 16 years of age,
2. Unconscious persons
The guardian, on behalf of the person who is below 16 years, can make contract for the benefit of
the person.
In case, if the proposer has asked to get information within certain dates of the rejection of the
proposal and if the propose fails to inform the proposer within that dates will automatically
mean to have accepted will not mean accepted either.
If the proposer dies or lost consciousness before the proposal being accepted, the proposal shall
be considered in valid.
Propose accepts the proposal and dies or lost consciousness before the proposer receives the
acceptance, such contract shall be in valid.
If the propose accepts the proposal along with alternation or change of certain condition shall
be considered in valid.
Voidable contracts;
1. Contract under forceful compulsions,
2. Illegally agreed contract,
3. Forgery contract,
4. Deceivable contract.
Cancelable contracts;
1. Any contract that Nepal laws restrict profession, business, trade from doing it. Unrestricted
marriage by Nepal Laws but the contract restricts them,
2. Any contract that restricts the use of facilities which Nepal Law allows common people to use
them
3. The contract that restrict to use the existing legal rights by using any court or law offices,
4. Any contract that has been made against the existing law of Nepal,
5. Any contract that has been made to obtain unethical or against public interest,
6. The contract that was made without knowing the conditions of contract to complete them by all
parties involved in it and has reached at the condition of impossibilities,
7. Any contract that was impossible during signing the contract or it is now impossible to complete
it,
8. Unclear and unable to give reasonable meaning of the contract
Chapter ten
Disaster management
Disaster
Disaster is defined as a crisis situation causing wide spread damage which far exceeds out
ability to recover. Thus by definition, there cannot be a perfect ideal system that prevents
damage because then it would not be a disaster. It has to suffocate our ability to recover.
Only then it can be disaster
Disaster is sudden events that has very unfortunate consequences for those affected by
Three aspects need to be considered when a disaster occurs, its origin , the vehicle and
victims including both natural and human factors
When dealing with natural disaster , it requires scientific planning and the coordination or
human activities to eliminate, to lessen or to avoid of the origin of the disaster, to regulate
control or divert the vehicle to protect displaced victim and to increase victims capacity to
withstand the disaster
o Prevention
o Mitigation
o preparedness
o Response
o Recovery
o Rehabilitation
Chapter 11
Guidelines for Hazard risk assessment and vulnerability
Hazard
A hazard is threat , future source of danger which has potential to cause harm to
People death, injury, diseases and stress
Human activity, economic, education etc.
Environment : loss of fauna and flora, pollution, loss of amenities
Hazard assessment
Hazard assessment is first step for hazard mitigation planning. It prioritizes hazards so
that a community or government may use discretion to the plan and implement hazard
mitigation action.
It needs different information like location, severity, frequency and probabilities of
occurrence of hazardous event
Location is easiest for the planners to find, the rest can often be obtained from sectorial
agencies, natural hazard research and monitoring centers and integrated development
planning studies
o Aerial photography provides the closest approximation of what the human eyes
sees
Special hazard mapping techniques
o The use of mapping to synthesize data on natural hazards and to combine these
with socioeconomic data facilitates analysis
o It improves communications among the participates in the hazard management
process and between planners and decision makers
o Under this technique, the two important mapping are used
Multiple hazard mapping
Critical facilities mapping
Risk assessment
Risk refers to the possibility of something bad happening in near future , possibility of
something loosing, possibility of something bad outcome.
Greater the hazard probability = greater will be the risk
Hazard ( probability × loss expected)
Risk =
preparedness (loss mitigation)
Risk as a function of hazard , loss and preparedness
Vulnerability
Vulnerability is the susceptibility of human settlements to harmful impacts of natural
hazards
Vulnerability is a measure of the degree of the susceptibility and resilience of a disaster
prone community, vulnerability determines how well a community can cope with a
disaster
This in return depends upon the a magnitude of the disaster , the disaster awareness of
the community and the topographic infrastructure social and economic factors which
determine the social economic disruption caused by the hazard
Vulnerability is a measure of the level of exposures of the people and property to the
various hazards. Vulnerability can be measured as follow:
o Physical vulnerability which relates to building, infrastructures and agriculture
o Social vulnerability which relates to the impact of hazards will have on various
social groups
o Economic vulnerable which relates to the losses of economic assets and process
Vulnerability studies estimate the degree of loss or damage that would results from the
occurrence of natural phenomena of given severity
Chapter 12
Impact of disaster on environment and development
Nepal is mountainous country boast seven of the world’s eight highest peaks, including
Mount Everest.
Rugged and fragile geographical structures, steep slopes , complex geology , variable
climate conditions , active tectonic processes, unplanned settlement , dense and increasing
populations , poor economic conditions and low literacy rate have made Nepal Vulnerable
to various types of natural disasters
Chapter 13
disaster mitigation
The main objectives of disaster mitigation are as follow:
To establish a system for natural disasters , prevention and control
To promote scientific research into natural disaster with a view towards better
understanding
To make effort to reduce losses, minimize its effects avoid catastrophic
consequences
13.5 Fire
Most fires occurs during summer between April and June, particularly in the terai
region when the temperature are higher than 35 degree Celsius.
It seldom rains and strong wind occurs. Some of the reasons for the fire outbreaks
are poor use of fire for cooking and other purpose and lack of adequate fire safety
measures. Forest fires also common in the hilly areas of terai forests
13.6 Avalanche
As the northern part of the country is covered with the snow peaks, avalanche is
very common and sometimes it cause harm to us. The avalanche of November ,
1995n killed 43 including some foreign trekkers at Khumbu and Kanchhanjunga
areas
Chapter 14
Disaster management cycle: prevention, Preparedness, disaster response
and recovery
Disaster Management Cycle
The natural hazard management process consists of a number of activities carried out
before, during and after a hazardous event in order to reduce loss of life and destruction of
property
The natural hazard management process can be divided into pre-event measures ,actions
during and immediately following an event and post-disaster measures
The process of disaster management is as follows:
1. Pre-event measures
Prevention
Mitigation natural hazards
Data collection and analysis
Vulnerability reduction
Preparation of natural disasters
Prediction
Emergency preparedness
Education and training
2. Measures during and immediately after natural disaster (Response)
Rescue
Relief
3. Post disaster measures (Recovery)
Restoration
Rehabilitation
Reconstruction
2. Mitigation
The forms of specific programs intended to reduce the effects of disaster on a nation
or community falls under the mitigation program
For example, the development of building codes can reduce the damage and loss in
the event of earthquake is a part of mitigation program
3. Preparedness
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Safety engineering and disaster risk management
Activities and measures taken in advance to ensure effective response to the impact
Disasters, including the issuance of timely and effective early warnings and the
temporary removal of people and property from a threatened location
The activities under the preparedness are to be done
o Warning
o Thread
o Precaution
4. Disaster impact
The impact of disaster is the time at which the disaster event occurs. For example
when a cyclone strikes a country or particular area. However its inclusion serves as a
reminder that, impact can very between different types of disaster.
For example, an earthquake gives no warning and its impact time can be short, but
the result can be very sever indeed.
5. Response
Activities undertaken to address the immediate and short term effects of an
emergency or disaster to save lives, protect property and meet basic human needs.
In addition to managing response, actions can include firefighting, protective actions
by law enforcement, warning emergency public information search and rescue,
health and medical care, resource management and other activities
6. Recovery
The process of restoring community infrastructure and social and economic systems
following and emergency or disaster is called recovery. These activities and
programs are long term activities beyond the initial crisis period of an emergency or
disaster and designed to return all systems to normal status or to reconstitute these
systems to a new condition that is less vulnerable.
The following activities are done in recovery segment
a. Restoration
b. Rehabilitation
c. Reconstruction
d. Post disaster review should also be included as part of recovery process. it
should take place as soon as practicable after the disaster event.
7. Development
It provides the link between disasters related activities and national development.
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Safety engineering and disaster risk management
Chapter 15
Disaster management in Nepal
Nepal is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods, landslides, fire, drought and
epidemics killing hundreds of people each year. The country is also vulnerable to seismic activity
from the Indian and Tibetan plate. Nepal’s geography is an obstacle fro improving transportation
and utilities throughout the country. The Himalayan mountain in the north along with High
Mountain pose the physical hurdles. The southern part of the country also hurdles such as lowlands
plains and rivers originating from the mountains. The country’s vulnerability to disaster is
associated with poor human development indicators, population growth, conflict, poor construction
practices due lack to adherence of building codes and climate change impacts. Due to bumpy
topography, limited roads and being a landlocked country, transportation in Nepal is challenging at
times and depends on India for transit facilities.
Preparedness at the national level is a priority for Nepal and government’s vision is to
transform the country into a disaster resilient nation. Through the Natural Calamity Relief Act, the
central Natural Disaster Relief committee is the primary committee to implement policies and
programs for disaster response. There are relief committees at all levels in the government with
coordination between all of them
Nepal is prone to various types of natural disaster due to her rugged and fragile
geophysical structure, very high peaks, high angle of slopes, complex geology, variable climatic
conditions, active tectonic processes, unplanned settlement, increasing population, weak
economic condition and low literacy rate. Apart from the above reasons, the lack of
coordination among the agencies related to disaster management, no clear cut job description in
view of above situation, formulation of Natural Disaster Management Regulation and
amendment in the existing Act is needed to clarify the job and responsibilities of the agencies
related to disaster management. Well trained technical manpower advanced technology and
sufficient means and resources are also needed to reduce the natural disasters. More ever
disaster management course has to be included in the school and university curriculum and
various types of programs are to be launched in order to raise the public awareness. For an
effective early warning system, it is needed to develop a scientific detection system to monitor
changes in the physical environment. The system of hazard mapping, vulnerability assessment
and risk analysis has to be developed as all these sectors are still undeveloped in Nepal. For all
this, there is the necessity of strong political determination and effective policy formulation and
their implementation of those agencies resource constraint, the lack of technical manpower, the
lack of public awareness, very remote, rural and difficult geo-physical situation of the country,
absence of modern technology and so on and other factors are the other major obstacles to cope
with the natural disasters in Nepal.
Despite the above problems and limitations, Nepal is gradually picking up the momentum
towards improving the disaster management situation. Policy makers have shown interest to
look into the problems of disaster management from the point of view of economic
development which is gaining strength in the country. Such interest of the policy makers might
improve to the conductive to use existing scientific and technical knowledge to reduce
vulnerability to natural disasters and environmental hazards. Being a developing country Nepal
needs assistance and supports from international communities and friendly nations to strengthen
the capabilities for natural disaster prevention and reduction making early warning system as
key element