ACCIDENTS AND THEIR TYPES:

The accidents are the mishaps leading injury to man, machines or tools and equipment and may cause injury and result either death or temporary disablement or permanent disablement of the industrial employees. A survey was conducted in 1952 in America which specified that approximately ten thousands industrial persons were killed in accidents and more than lakhs were injured in a year. The accidents are unwanted events or mishaps that result in some sort of injury to men, material, machines, tools, equipment and semi or finished product hence, a loss to the whole establishment. There are various types of common accidents needing due attention to prevent them which are as follows:

1. Near Accident

An accident with no damage or injury is called near accident.

2. Trivial

An accident with very less damage is called trivial.

3. Minor Accident

It is an accident with damage and injury more than trivial.

4. Serious Accident

An accident with heavy damage and lot of injury is called serious accident.

5. Fatal

It is an accident with very heavy damage. There may be loss of lives also.

Effect of Accidents:

The adverse effects of the accident are given as under—

(A) Effect on the owner of factory:

(i) Direct cost of an accident

1. Cost of the compensation paid to the workers.
2. Cost of the money paid for treatment.
3. Cost of the monetary value of damaged tools, equipments and materials.

(ii) Indirect cost of an accident

1. Cost of the lost time of injured worker.
2. Cost of the time lost by other employees.
3. Cost of the delays in production.
4. Cost of the time lost by supervisors, safety engineers etc.
5. Cost of the lowered production due to substitute worker.

(B) Effect on worker:

1. The industrial workers may get temporary or permanent disability.
2. If the industrial worker dies, his family loses the earner and the compensation never equals to his earnings.
3. Accident also affects the morale of the employees working in the manufacturing environment.

(C) Effect on society:

Work connected with injuries put a considerable burden on society also as given as under:

Every care and prevention therefore should be evolved adopted to prevent accidents to the maximum possible extents. Accidents do not just happen but they are caused because of failure to follow the needed safety precautions and safety rules. If someone is honest with himself, he cannot think of a single accident that could not have been prevented by care.

CAUSES OF ACCIDEENTS:

The accidents may take place due to human causes, environmental causes and mechanical causes. These causes are discussed as under. Human Causes:

1. Accidents may occur while working on unsafe or dangerous equipments or machineries possessing rotating, reciprocating and moving parts.
2. Accidents occur while operating machines without knowledge, without safety precautions, without authority, without safety devices.
3. Accidents generally occur while operating or working at unsafe speed.
4. Accidents may occur while working for long duration of work, shift duty etc.
5. Accidents commonly occur during use of improper tools.
6. Accidents may occur while working with mental worries, ignorance, carelessness, nervousness, dreaming etc.
7. Accidents occur because of not using personal protective devices.

Environmental Causes:

1. Accidents may occur during working at improper temperature and humidity causes fatigue to the workers so chances of accidents increases with workers having fatigue.
2. The presence of dust fumes and smoke in the working area may causes accidents.
3. Poor housekeeping, congestion, blocked exits, bad plant layout etc. may cause accidents.
4. Accidents occur due to inadequate illumination.
5. Improper ventilation in the plant may also leads to industrial accidents.

Mechanical Causes:

1. Continued use of old, poor maintained or unsafe equipment may result in accidents.
2. Accidents commonly occur due to use of unguarded or improper guarded machines or equipments.
3. > Unsafe processes, unsafe design and unsafe construction of building structure may lead to accidents in the plant.
4. Accidents occur due to improper material handling system and improper plant layout.
5. Accidents may occur due to not using of safety devices such as helmets, goggles, gloves, masks etc.

However the other general causes of accidents in workshops are listed under:

1. Because of ignorance to work with equipments, hand tools, cutting tools and machine tools.
2. Operating machine and equipments without knowledge.
3. Extra curiosity to work without knowing.
4. Due to poor working conditions.
5. Because of speedy work.
6. Improper method to work.
7. Due to use of improper tools.
8. Because of lack of discipline.
9. Uninterested in work.
10. Due to carelessness.
11. Due to over confidence.
12. Bad working environment.
13. Because of excessive over times duty by industrial workers.
14. Dangerous materials with which to work.
15. Lack of cleanliness.
16. Due to poor planning.

Some major factors namely technical, unsafe working conditions, mechanical, environment, human cause, unsafe acts and other personal factors are most responsible for accidents. Technical causes or unsafe conditions involves deficiencies in plant, equipment, tools, machinery, materials handling system, general work environment etc. Mechanical causes involve unsafe design and construction of tools and devices, cutting tools, machines tools and mechanical equipments, hazardous arrangement such as piling, over-loading etc, improper guards a against dangerous machine components, defective tool and equipments, improper material handling, leaking valves of acid and poisonous gases, and use of untested boilers and pressure vessels.

Environmental factors indicate improper physical and atmospheric surrounding conditions of work which indirectly promote the occurrence of accidents These factors include too low temperature to cause shivering, too high temperature to cause headache and sweating, too high a humidity (in textile industry) to cause discomfort, fatigue and drowsiness, inadequate illumination causing eyestrain, glares, and shadows, presence of dust, fumes and smokes in industries such as foundries, chemical , paper and sugarcane etc.

Conclusion:

large number of accidents can be avoided if proper safety measures and safety rules are adopted in manufacturing areas. Some of the important causes of accidents involve violation of safety rules, not using of safety devices, improper use of gadgets and machine controls, non-development of safety working habits, ignorance of the operation of tools, machine and equipments operation, unsafe working conditions, monotony and work-relating stresses,wear and tear of the functional components, explosive and inflammable material etc.