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The
safety philosophy at the Mithapur facility is
simple: every employee, not some company department
or outside authority, is responsible for safety
At
Tata Chemicals' Mithapur plant, safety is accorded
the highest priority and responsibility by the
top management. A corporate safety department,
working from the TCL headquarters in Mumbai, is
responsible for steering the company towards excellence
in safety by introducing and tracking new safety
initiatives across the organisation.
A
strong safety and occupational-health programme
is in place to ensure the safety of employees
as well as equipment and machinery at the multi-product
facility. The complex itself is ISO:14001-certified
and has achieved OHSAS-18001 standards.
The following are some of the significant initiatives
that the Mithapur facility has undertaken in recent
times:
British
Safety Council's five-star grading
To
benchmark its safety-management system with the
best international standards, the Mithapur unit
is working toward this world-class standard in
safety. The safety audit is carried out by representatives
from the British Safety Council (BSC). The Mithapur
facility has worked out and put in place the principles
and systems to meet the 82 requirements of the
BSC code.
Responsible
Care
The
Mithapur facility is a signatory to
this
voluntary initiative
of the chemicals industry. In order to align
with the requirements listed out in its various
codes, code drivers have been identified along
with team members who lead the process.
Safety audits
Apart from periodic internal-safety audits, external
audits are also carried out. The gaps identified
in the audit are rectified after making an action
plan.
5-S and TPM
The Japanese 5-S and TPM (Total Productive Maintenance)
concepts have been adopted in the unit to ensure
the maintenance of quality standards and safety-management
norms. After covering staff at all levels in the
unit, these are being implemented in various departments.
Behaviour-based safety
Most unsafe incidents are a result of unsafe behaviour.
Training and awareness in the plant as well as in
the township, the use of safety equipment, a ban
on smoking, various safety publications, some 1,000
billboards, daily safety reports, and interdepartmental
safety audits have all been introduced to improve
safety standards.
Near-miss reporting
A system of reporting and recording all near-miss
incidents helps in preventing accidents and in identifying
root causes. A committee, comprising a chairperson,
a secretary, and seven members, has been constituted
to administer the near-miss scheme. As an incentive
to the staff, an award is given to the three most
important near-miss reports of the year.
Safety promotion
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A
number of safety-promotion activities, such
as quiz competitions, the screening of video
films, slogan contests, safety exhibitions,
etc, are organised during Safety Week, which
commences every year on March 4, the National
Safety Day. |
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In
line with the guidelines of the Tata Group,
TCL is working on a corporate sustainability
and reporting process. Under this the company
will, from 2004, report its economic, environmental
and social performance according to Global
Reporting Initiative guidelines. |
Achievements
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40
per cent reduction in accident rate from 1999-2000
to 2000-2001. |
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Certificate of honour from the Gujarat Safety
Council for completing 3 million man-hours
without any reportable accident. |
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