Occupational Health & Safety issues in Foundries: Cluster Approach

Introduction: Samalkha a small town in district Panipat (Haryana), India has about 30 big and small foundry units producing agricultural implements particularly chef cutting machines and cane crushers with a total production of around 3000 M.T per month employing around 2000 workers. These labour intensive family owned units operate with low technical knowledge, poor process management systems, unplanned product mix and abmissibly low occupational health and safety resources.    

Methods: An inventory of health and safety issues was prepared by randomly selecting two units by walk through survey and inputs from the workers and owners of the units. A flexible action plan was prepared and discussed with the owners. Implementation of four step strategies started in two units showcasing as model units for achieving the requisite sustainable outcomes thereby tagetting all the 30 units.    

Result: Visible improvement of physical environment by lean material management and cost saving resulted in trust and demand by the owners of 13 units to implement the heath and safety mechanisms at workplace. Following examination of 325 workers in three health camps revealed the high incidence of musculoskeletal disorders, respiratory problems, decreased vision and decreased hearing. Owner of most of units and Workers of 3 units have been provided training for reducing ergonomic burden, and use of PPE’s for respiratory, vision and hearing protection.    

Discussion: This is the first innovative cluster approach for health and safety improvement designed for foundries. Although in a nascent stage, this approach has been successful in demonstrating the need and cost –effectiveness of common pool resources for implementing health and safety systems in micro, small and medium enterprises involved in the manufacturing of similar products. However, exposure assessment, scientific correlations to detailed medical examinations and self sustainable strategies are envisaged to protect the health of these workers.