Ah! What a bright sunny morning it is today. Today S U Rakshit makes his debut in the world of construction industry. It's a special day since he'd also be introduced to several safety practices of the industry.
He is one of the workers signing on for their new job. He has been assigned a ground breaking project work – a new Shopping Mall in Gurugram and he is visibly excited. He has also received his first set of safety shoes, gloves, helmet and a high visibility vest.
His employer has an excellent safety record and believes in ensuring safety practices. This is a very good sign since safety is a generally overlooked aspect of the industry. He watches his co-workers don their safety attire and follows suit.
The first safety gear is the high-visibility safety vest. They, as Rakshit noticed, were sometimes the only 'wearable' gear that keeps an employee visible in working conditions even in low lighting.
He also noticed that the retro-reflective tapes on the vest flash light of a definite luminosity. This way the worker can be located with ease if there's low lighting or if he is stuck under rubble. Sometimes this humble vest can prove to be quite the lifesaver.
The vest is marked with IS 15809:2008 Class 1, assuring the wearer of absolute safety. Wearing the vest, his first phase of safety gear is complete.
Safety vest donned, he now gently steps into his safety boots and it's a fine fit! The boots are however a bit heavy due to the steel toe cap.
He sees there are markings on them, a norm printed on the flap reads IS 15298 – 2:2012 which is an assurance of the quality parameters that each pair comes with.
These boots are of utmost importance since they protect the feet from every possible danger at a construction site.
With his safety boots, he is now assured about the safety of his feet even under hazardous conditions.
Now, he checks out his bright yellow safety helmet and puts it on. It also fits perfectly like the boots. It is designed and produced to protect his head from falling debris.
The helmet is marked with the required IS 2925: 2010, a parameter for great safety measures. This also shows that his new company truly cares for the safety of each of its employees. They value their workforce and want them to have the best safety equipment there is.
S U Rakshit didn't know that the helmet manufacturer has also ensured that the product gives him specific protection against live electrical wires.
This 'super' helmet also protects against high impact and high temperatures.
He now grabs the last item in his safety kit- a pair of gloves. Although the gloves come with no Indian safety standards printed on them, the safety officer ensured that they have good abrasion resistance to meet the demands of the tasks at the worksite. His hands felt a little stiff in the beginning but its a small price to pay for personal safety.
The gloves make sure that his hands are protected from any dangers related to construction.
The ever inquisitive S U Rakhshit also sees an item with many straps and a belt being handed over to some of his co-workers. He learns these“fall arresters” are necessary for people working at heights.
There are three parts to a fall arrest system. The anchorage, full body harness and a connecting device. These together form the ABC of a personal fall arrest system.
A – Anchorage
B – Body Harness
C – Connecting Device
He sees the BIS mark IS 3521:2002 etched on the label of the “full body harness” worn by a co-worker. While one end of the lanyard is secured to the full body harness the other end is secured to an “anchorage” or a fixed point, preferably at a higher level. He learned, in case of an accident, it is the strength of this attached point or “anchor” which will determine the arrest of the worker's fall.
Now after learning about all the safety equipment and donning each, S U Rakshit is ready for his new task at the worksite.
He believes in the saying “better to be safe than sorry” and is pleasantly surprised and happy to know that his new workplace truly does care about their employees. He can now concentrate on his work without worry.
An article series conceived and articulated by Giriraj Mall & Ramya Kandiyoor. For any query or suggestion mail to: su.rakshit@mallcom.in
