MT130 – Module 3 – Health Safety and Environmental Issues

Safety is a shared responsibility. When employers and employees work together toward a
common goal, the result is a safer, more productive workplace.
To create a strong security program which integrates both prevention and response we use the
4 P's: policy, procedure, plan, and practice.
The HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) training programmes educate trainees on how to Page | 1
work safely in many environments and industries. This course is personnel working in
confined spaces or that similar hazards environments.
It is mandatory for every employee in many industries to go through these HSE programs on
regular basis.
The Constitution of India provide detailed provisions for the rights of the citizens and also lays
down the Directive Principles of State Policy which set an aim to which the activities of the
state are to be guided.
On the basis of these Directive Principles as well as international instruments, Government is
committed to regulate all economic activities for management of safety and health risks at
workplaces and to provide measures so as to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for
every working man and woman in the nation.
Government recognizes that safety and health of workers has a positive impact on productivity
and economic and social development.
Prevention is an integral part of economic activities as high safety and health standard at work
is as important as good business performance for new as well as existing industries.
In the year 2021, the Indian Parliament combined 25 labour laws into three codes, i.e.,
the Social Security Code, the Code on Industrial Relations and the Code on
Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions. The Code on Wages, enacted in
2019, also amalgamated four relevant labour laws.

In accordance with the Factories Act 1948, an occupier of an establishment has to ensure
the health, safety and welfare of all the workers while they are at work in the factory.

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (OSH) is a bill,
currently under consideration for enactment by the Indian Parliament.

As per the draft Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2019, every
employer shall ensure that workplace is free from hazards which cause or are likely to
cause injury or occupational disease to the employees. The OSH Code (2019) adds
specific provisions for owners and agents of mines, docks, plantations, and expands the
regulations to cover architects, designers, project engineers, etc.

It is obligatory for an employer/occupier to ensure the provision and maintenance of

plant and systems of work that are safe and without health risks. Arrangements should
be made to rectify risks involved in use, handling, storage and transport of articles and
substances.

According to the OSH Code (2019), every employer is liable to comply with the
Occupational Safety and Health standards made under this Code and of the regulations,
rules, bye-laws and orders made thereunder. Furthermore, every employer must provide
and maintain, as far as is reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and

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 MT130 – Module 3 – Health Safety and Environmental Issues

without risk to the health of the employees and the regulation expands to designers,
importers and suppliers of equipment in establishments must take reasonable steps to
ensure the safety of the worker.

The establishment should be monitored to check the quality of the premises; cleanliness;
disposal of wastes and effluents; ventilation and temperature; dust and fume; artificial Page | 2
humidification; overcrowding; lighting; clean drinking water; latrines and urinals; and
spittoons.

The Code also specifies that there should be accommodation in all establishments for
separate latrines and urinals for male, female and transgender employees. There should
also be arrangements for the prevention of overcrowding.

Safety of the worker must be ensured by installing and maintaining the machinery,
mechanisms, transmission apparatus, tools, equipment and machines in best possible
safety conditions. Tools, equipment, machines, or products used must be organized
properly guaranteeing the safety of workers.

The employer is obliged to take care to protect the worker’s health and safety by
providing the means of rescue, the first aid, and the clean - up; and arrangements and
organization of the workplace. Further, the employer is obligated to ensure that no
charge is levied on any employee, in respect of anything done or provided for
maintenance of safety and health at workplace including conduct of medical
examination and investigation for the purpose of detecting occupational diseases.

A. Safety: Responsibility and Rights

Till now, we have come across many reasons why an engineer needs to be responsible. The
responsible engineers follow the codes of ethics to avoid unnecessary problems.
The problems majorly occur in two different ways.
 One of them is when you can assess and the other is when you cannot.
 A mistake made by an engineer at work may result in huge losses.
 An engineer is supposed to assess the risks of his experiments.
 The disasters do occur at times, though enough care is taken, as stated in the examples
given in previous chapters.
But knowing all the possibilities, if an engineer neglects the precautions, the results can be
really disastrous. So, let us try to analyze the importance of safety in engineering.
Safety and Risk
The terms of safety and risk are inter-related. It is amazing to know that what may be safe
enough for one person may not be for someone else. It is because of either different perceptions
about what is safe or different predispositions to harm.
For better understanding, let us explore safety and risk further.
Safety
“A thing is safe if its risks are judged to be acceptable.” - William W Lowrance, the famous
consultant of those times

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 MT130 – Module 3 – Health Safety and Environmental Issues

To be more clear on this, let us consider three cases.

 Let the first case be where we seriously underestimate the risks of something. Buying
a non-brand electric dryer from a local market without any guarantee, may eventually
send us to a hospital with a severe electric shock or burn. While buying this dryer,
according to Lowrance definition, this is quite safe, as the risks are judged to be
acceptable. Page | 3
 Let the second case be where we grossly overestimate the risks of something. If we
suddenly know that the consumption of carbonated beverages like cola are the cause of
cancer for 5% of the world’s cancer patients, then we start worrying considering Cola
as a poisonous drink. So, in this case, according to Lowrance definition, the Cola
becomes unsafe the moment we judged the risks of using it to be unacceptable for us.
 Let the third case be a situation wherein, a group makes no judgment at all about
whether the risks of a thing are acceptable or not. As defined by Lowrance, this is the
position where the thing is neither safe nor unsafe with respect to that group. Just like
using the products of certain brands are considered safe, while others are not where
nothing seems to differ.
Safety is frequently expressed in terms of degree and comparisons.
The words like fairly-safe and relatively-safe are used where an individual is judged on the
basis of settled values and it is further decided that the risks of anything are more or less
acceptable in comparison with the risks of the other thing. For example, the consideration that
road travel is safer than air-travel.
Risk
Any work which might lead to harm us and is not considered safe.
“A risk is the potential that something unwanted and harmful may occur.”
Potential for the realization of unwanted consequences from impending events. - William
D Rowe
Risk is a broad concept covering many different types of unwanted occurrences. When it comes
to technology, it can equally well include dangers of bodily harm, of economic loss or of
environmental degradation.
These in turn can be caused by:
 delayed job completion,
 faulty products or systems or
 economically or environmentally injurious solutions to technological problems.
With the advancement in technology, people are now aware of all that goes into a process.
Further, risks are understood as those that can be identified.
Acceptability of Risk
Lowrance in his definition observed safety as acceptable risk.
“a risk is acceptable when those affected are generally no longer apprehensive about it”.
- William D Rowe
Influential factors that lead to such apprehension are −
 Whether the risk is accepted voluntarily.

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 MT130 – Module 3 – Health Safety and Environmental Issues

 The effects of knowledge on how the probabilities of harm (or benefit) are
known or perceived.
 If the risks are job-related or other pressures exist that cause people to be aware
of or to overlook risks.
 Whether the effects of a risky activity or situation are immediately noticeable or
Page | 4
are close at hand.
 Whether the potential victims are identifiable beforehand.
The acceptability of risk depends upon;
 the types of risks such as voluntary and involuntary risks,
 short - term and long-term consequences,
 expected probability,
 reversible effects,
 threshold levels for risk,
 delayed and immediate risk, etc.
Voluntarism and Control
In our daily life, we come across many such things where the scopes of risk might or might not
be low.
The person who breaks a red signal, is prone to be a victim of an accident, but risks. A person
who lives near a dumping yard is prone to ill-health, but neglects. A boy who rides a vehicle at
a high speed cannot rely on the perfect functioning of the brakes. But these people
take voluntary risks thinking they can control.
In this manner, they may well display the characteristically unrealistic confidence of most
people when they believe hazards to be under their control.
Enthusiasts worry less about the risks they might face and hence neglect the dangers behind
them.
The chance of getting affected is unpredictable in such cases.
Effective information on Risk assessment
The acceptance of risks also depends on the manner in which information necessary for
decision making is presented.
A person can be motivated to violate the safety rules by explaining the higher probability of
success, whereas the same person can be demotivated from such task, by explaining the
probability of failure and the fatal effects of it.
Hence, options perceived as yielding firm gains will tend to be preferred over those from which
gains are perceived as risky or only probable. Emphasizing firm losses will tend to be avoided
in favor of those whose chances of success are perceived as probable.
In short, people tend to be more willing to take risks in order to avoid perceived firm losses
than they are to win only possible gains.
Job-related Risks
In some jobs where the workers are exposed to chemicals, radiations and poisonous gases etc.,
they are not informed about the probable risks the workers would be facing, in doing their jobs.
These are such dangers where the toxic environments cannot readily be seen, smelled, heard or
sensed otherwise.

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 MT130 – Module 3 – Health Safety and Environmental Issues

The workers at such places are simply bound to their work and what they are told to do. The
health condition of a person who gets affected under such environments cannot be neglected
because that will be the future condition of co-workers.
Magnitude and Proximity
It is unfortunate that most of us, realize the magnitude of risk only when we ourselves or the
Page | 5
person who is in our close proximity or a relative, gets affected. A group of 20 friends
including us, if gets affected or if had a narrow escape from death, affects us more than the
incident occurred to a group of 50 strangers, in a group of a 1000. This proximity effect arises
in perceptions of risk over time as well.
A future risk is easily dismissed by various rationalizations including −
 The attitude of “out of sight, out of mind”.
 The assumption that predictions for the future must be discounted by using lower
probabilities.
 The belief that a counter-measure will be found in time.
A continuous enthusiasm that fosters us to do such task without thinking is really dangerous.
Either the attitude that everything is under control and nothing is going to happen or the
negligence upon the number of accidents occurred is equally risky. It is important that
engineers recognize as part of their work such widely held perceptions of risk and take them
into account in their designs.
Risk Analysis
The study of risk analysis covers other areas such as:
o risk identification,
o risk analysis,
o risk assessment,
o risk rating,
o suggestions on risk control and
o risk mitigation.
In fact, risk analysis can be deeply discussed with a view on risk management study. The risk
management study also includes residual risk transfer, risk financing, etc.
A step-wise risk analysis includes −
 Hazards identification
 Failure modes and frequencies evaluation from established sources and best
practices.
 Selection of credible scenarios and risks.
 Fault and event trees for various scenarios.
 Consequences-effect calculations with work out from models.
 Individual and societal risks.
 ISO risk contours superimposed on layouts for various scenarios.
 Probability and frequency analysis.
 Established risk criteria of countries, bodies, standards.
 Comparison of risk against defined risk criteria.
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 MT130 – Module 3 – Health Safety and Environmental Issues

 Identification of risk beyond the location boundary, if any.

 Risk mitigation measures.
All of these again depend on how the risk is compared with the benefit in doing the work with
some risk. How far it is beneficial to risk also counts the actions of a person while coming out
of the safety bounds.
Page | 6
Risk – Benefit Analysis
As per the famous saying, “A Ship in harbor is safe. But that’s not what ships are built
for” risk is somewhat common to be accepted.
The most common risk we all take is driving an automobile in a traffic. Though we are not sure
about the perfect functionality of the brake system and the timings of other drivers’ responses,
we take risk. The controlling factor appears to be their perception of their individual ability to
manage the risk-creating situation.
Just like the above instance, people mostly calculate the ratios of risk to benefit, while accepting
the risks.
The risk to benefit analysis is made depending on the types such as the ones mentioned below.
 The risk to be occurred in future is completely known after it gets fully
developed. It is called as Real future risk.
 If the idea of risk is developed using current data, such one is called
as Statistical risk.
 The risk which is analytically based on system models structured from historical
studies is called as Projected risk.
 The risk which is intuitively seen by individuals is called as Perceived risk.
If risks of traveling on an air-plane is considered for observation, then the flight insurance.
company can observe it as a statistical risk, while the risk the passenger faces is Perceived Risk
and the Federal aviation administration, faces a Projected risk. Hence, the view of accepting
the risk and the idea of risk to benefit ratio motivates the individual.
Risk Reduction
The risks we generally face can be reduced to a great extent by proper analysis with steps. as
mentioned below −
 Define the Problem.
 Generate Several Solutions.
 Analyze each solution to determine the pros and cons of each.
 Test the solutions.
 Select the best solution.
 Implement the chosen solution.
 Analyze the risk in the chosen solution.
 Try to solve or move to next solution.
The Government’s Approach
The risk management has to be viewed in a wider angle at times when sudden disasters occur
due to lack of proper care and assessment. The government which has the responsibility to take

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 MT130 – Module 3 – Health Safety and Environmental Issues

care of all the public needs to take some risk. The government’s approach towards the public
lies in saving as many lives as possible.
The two major approaches of the government are −
 Lay person − Wants to protect himself or herself from risk.
 The government regulator − Wants as much assurance as possible that the Page | 7
public is not being exposed to unexpected harm.
For example, at the times of flood or some fire accident, the government of any place should
aim at protecting as many lives as possible rather than looking for a benefit or protecting some
property. It will count as a successful attempt towards facing risk if the authority is able to
protect its people even after the destruction of property.

B. Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility influences the development of health and safety management
within an organisation, and is an important part of integrating it into a company’s overall
management.
In its report, the European Agency of Safety and Health at Work in 2004 has clearly stated:
“There can be no doubt that safe and sound working conditions and good worker health belong
to the social responsibilities of companies and can be regarded as an integral part of CSR” and
emphasized that “companies cannot be socially responsible externally without being socially
responsible internally”
But what does this really mean?
Health And Safety and Corporate Social Responsibility
Occupation health and safety (OSH) covers issues related to the social, mental and physical
well-being of workers, something that we have covered in previous articles.
Health and safety were for a long time seen as protecting only the physical, but we know now
that looking after and being more aware of the effects of work on mental health pays dividends
for our most important asset in business: its people.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is defined by the International Labour Organisation
(ILO) as “a way in which enterprises give consideration to the impact of their operations on
societies and affirm their principles and values, both in their own internal methods and
processes and in their interaction with other actors”.
In other words, CSR is how you, as a large organisation, interact with everything and everyone
around you as part of what you do every day.
This is voluntary driven, with initiatives not construed or contrived for your own purpose, but
to simply ‘give back’.
The European Commission defines CSR as a concept whereby companies and organisations
recognise concerns about their impact on the environment and social aspect of the local
community, making it part of their business structure.
By doing so, a large company goes above and beyond what is expected in law, such as
minimising environmental damage and so on, and being an active member of the community.
In other words, as a business, you are not just doing something because you have to by law,
you are doing so because you understand the need for your business to protect the environment,
society, community and so on.

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 MT130 – Module 3 – Health Safety and Environmental Issues

The Link between CSR and (Health and Safety)

Health and safety within an organisation is about worker health and well-being, but it expands
beyond that, something recognised within CSR. Some people suggest dropping the work
corporately, opting instead to refer to social responsibility and health and safety because by
doing so, it recognises;
Page | 8
 Sustainable development includes the health and welfare of society
 It takes account of stakeholder expectations
 Companies are compliant with not just current OSH laws but the ‘norms’ of society
too.
Closely Intertwined
There are numerous case studies that clearly demonstrate the close link between health and
safety and social responsibility.
Various agencies have commented on this link but all agree – there is no doubt, that safe and
practical working conditions and good worker health belong to the social responsibilities that
companies and organisations have.
And you can’t have one without the other.
To be socially responsible, you must start with health and safety within your business and from
there, the impact on the community at large will be clearly felt.
C. Occupational Hazards and Health Issues
Corporate social responsibility can influence development of occupational safety and health
management and contribute to integration of safety and health into overall company’s
management.
It is of particular importance when managing psychosocial risks.
Various instruments have been created to support the implementation of corporate social
responsibility into management practices, including among others codes of conduct and
different types of guidance and standards.
A lot of them can be used to develop occupational safety and health management in the
framework of corporate social responsibility.
Occupational safety and health as a part of corporate social responsibility
Occupational safety and health (OSH) cover issues related to the social, mental and physical
wellbeing of workers.
For many years these issues have been recognized as main aspects of corporate social
responsibility (CSR), which is based on voluntary integration of social and environmental
concerns into the companies’ decision-making.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has defined CSR as “the
continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic
development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as
of the local community and society at large.
International Labour Organisation (ILO) has defined CSR as “a way in which enterprises
give consideration to the impact of their operations on society and affirm their principles and
values, both in their own internal methods and processes and in their interaction with other

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 MT130 – Module 3 – Health Safety and Environmental Issues

actors”. According to ILO, CSR is a voluntary, enterprise-driven initiative and refers to

activities that are considered to exceed compliance with the law.
European Commission has defined corporate social responsibility as "a concept whereby
companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their
interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis".
Page | 9
Socially responsible companies aim to go beyond minimum legal requirements and obligations
stemming from collective agreements in order to address societal needs. They invest in human
capital,
o enhance health and safety using voluntary schemes (e.g. OSH criteria in certification of
management systems, procurement, labelling, etc.) and
o manage change in a socially responsible manner.
The current international approach to corporate social responsibility is presented in the standard
`ISO 26000 “Guidance on social responsibility”, published in November 2010.
In order to emphasize that social responsibility is applicable to different types of organizations
(not only the business organizations), the term “social responsibility” instead of “corporate
social responsibility” is used in this standard.
In the ISO 26000, social responsibility is defined as the responsibility of an organization for
the impacts of its decisions and activities (products, services and processes) on society and the
environment, through transparent and ethical behaviour that:
 contributes to sustainable development, including health and welfare of society,
 takes account of the stakeholders’ expectations,
 is in compliance with the applicable law and consistent with international norms of
behaviour,
 is integrated throughout the organization and practiced in its relationships.
According to the ISO 26000, socially responsible organizations:
 are willing to incorporate social and environmental considerations in their decision-
making processes and be accountable for the impacts of their decisions and
activities on society and the environment,
 follow the general principles of social responsibility which include: accountability,
transparency, ethical behaviour, respect for stakeholder interests, respect for the
rule of law, respect for international norms of behaviour, respect for human rights.
Developing occupational safety and health management in the framework of corporate
social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can influence development of occupational safety and
health (OSH) management and particularly contribute to:
 integration of safety and health into business processes,
 developing strategic approach to OSH that is compatible with strategic
management,
 developing strategies that improve OSH but also foster innovation,
 combining the rational logic of prevention and safety management systems with
ethical or value-driven approaches,

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 MT130 – Module 3 – Health Safety and Environmental Issues

 developing the external stakeholder perspective for OSH, and involve and commit
new powerful stakeholders in safety and health programs,
 developing more integrated approaches to safety and health, whereby occupational
safety and health are no longer isolated from public safety and health, product
safety, and whereby the safety and health responsibilities of companies are no
longer limited to their own site. Page | 10
Supporting development of integrated approaches to occupational safety and health, corporate
social responsibility can link occupational safety and health management with human
resources, environment, profitability and productivity.
CSR can also help to mainstream occupational safety and health management activities aimed
at providing reasonable working hours, ensuring a proper work-life balance, promoting health
and well-being, preventing harassment in the workplace, appropriate protection of vulnerable
groups such as e.g. migrant workers and workers with disabilities, young workers and elderly
people etc. At the same time, development of OSH management system supports
implementing Management systems CSR-related activities in the area of OSH.
Supporting development of occupational safety and health management in the framework
of corporate social responsibility
Since the 1990s various instruments have been created in the world with the aim of
implementing CSR into management practices.
The main instruments supporting socially responsible management are particularly codes of
conduct and different types of guidance and standards.
Some of them refer to specific areas of company’s management (quality, environmental or
OSH management).
The others indicate a way of integrating CSR issues within company’s management and can
be implemented in different areas, including occupational safety and health.
The guidelines related to sustainability reporting (such as the Global Reporting Initiative
guidance) and the indexes developed to measure the sustainable performance of companies
(such as Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes) can also contribute to improved OSH management.
Codes of conduct
A code of conduct is a formal statement defining principles, values, standards or rules of
behaviour that guide the decisions, procedures and systems of an organization in a way that
contributes to the welfare of its key stakeholders, and respects the rights of all constituents
affected by its operations.
Codes can refer to different CSR-related issues, including occupational safety and health, and
can be developed by different bodies. The European Commission has grouped the codes in the
following main categories:
 inter-governmental codes developed by international organizations (e.g. ILO
Tripartite declaration of principles concerning multinational enterprises and social
policy, ILO Declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work, OECD
Guidelines for multinational enterprises, UN Draft guidelines for companies);
 model codes which can support developing companies’ codes (e.g. UN global
compact, Amnesty International Human Rights Principles for Companies and the
International Confederation’s of Free Trade Unions Basic Code of Labour
Practice);

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 MT130 – Module 3 – Health Safety and Environmental Issues

 multi-stakeholder codes developed jointly by companies, trade unions and NGOs

(e.g. Ethical Trading Initiative, Voluntary principles on security and human rights
for the extractive sector);
 international and European codes negotiated by the ‘social partners’ (e.g. European
codes in the sectors of trade, textiles, wood and sugar, and framework agreements
negotiated between multinational companies and international labour Page | 11
organisations);
 trade association or sector-specific codes adopted by a group of companies in a
particular industry;
 company codes (adopted by a company).
International standards related to the area of occupational safety and health
The commonly known international standards which can support the implementation of
CSR within the OSH area are:
 ILO-OSH-2001 Guidance on occupational safety and health management systems,
 OHSAS 18 000 Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (including
OHSAS 18001 and OHSAS 18 002);
 SA 8000.

D. An Overview of Waste Management

E. Sustainable development: Environmental sustainability, Economic Sustainability

and socio - political Sustainability

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