I did my internship in Badarpur Thermal Power Station (BTPS) - NTPC, Delhi for 8 weeks from 14th May 2012 to 7th July 2012. I was given a project on safety. Since safety is becoming a big issue in the plant which is more than 40 years old, the company gave me a project in which my objective was -
1. To analyse worker's compliance on safety in BTPS.
2. To find unsafe conditions in the plant.
3. To know worker's knowledge about 5S.
The company believes that any worker will not reply correctly if they are asked direct questions on safety due to fear of fine or losing job. So, I adopted a different methodology methodoly in which questions were asked to the employees in an indirect survey like asking them questions while having lunch with them, while working, or while talking to them in their leisure time . The employees from the level were included but main emphasis was on lower level employees. The first survey was on employee's wearing of helmet. For this, I analyzed previous 2 years' safety report and on that helmet. On that basis, I included 15 employees from Unit 1 - 5, 32 from bolier 1 - 5, 15 from Coal Handling Plant, 13 from Water Treatment Plant and the remaining 25 from Offsite areas. In the survey, it was found that 52 employees were wearing helmets while 48 were not. The defaulter employees gave the reasons like not having helmet, not given by contractor, or no need of it as they are experienced. Many employees agree to wear helmets if they are given one.
Another survey was on number of opened slabs in BTPS. I t was found that as many as 14 slabs were opened in the plant. Since it was dangerous, the issue was sent to the safety department immediately who replied that contract for new slabs will be given in the end of the month.
The last survey was on employee's knowledge about 5S. In this, I shortlisted 4 boards of 5S in BTPS - near the main gate, near UCB - 1, near Coal Handling Plant, and in Employee Development Center. 100 employees were taken and it was seen that 35% of them have no knowledge of the board. This was due to the fact that some of them are illiterates, while some never cared to think about it. There were few employees who said that they never felt like seeing the board. So, employees' awareness was low. Out of 65 who said they know about the board, only 40 agreed that they follow it in their daily routine.
Recommendations- The number of surprise checks should be increased. The safety checks should be done on both BTPS employees and contract labourers. Employees should be educated about safety in a power plant. Some monetary benefits and award should be given to those who always follow safety rules. There should be different safety teams so that a different analysis is done on every safety check. The number of 5S boards should be increased. Also, 5S boards should be in pictorial formats so that illiterate employees can also read it. There should be a six sigma analysis also. The frequency of safety mela should be increased from 2 per year to at least 6 per year.
1. To analyse worker's compliance on safety in BTPS.
2. To find unsafe conditions in the plant.
3. To know worker's knowledge about 5S.
The company believes that any worker will not reply correctly if they are asked direct questions on safety due to fear of fine or losing job. So, I adopted a different methodology methodoly in which questions were asked to the employees in an indirect survey like asking them questions while having lunch with them, while working, or while talking to them in their leisure time . The employees from the level were included but main emphasis was on lower level employees. The first survey was on employee's wearing of helmet. For this, I analyzed previous 2 years' safety report and on that helmet. On that basis, I included 15 employees from Unit 1 - 5, 32 from bolier 1 - 5, 15 from Coal Handling Plant, 13 from Water Treatment Plant and the remaining 25 from Offsite areas. In the survey, it was found that 52 employees were wearing helmets while 48 were not. The defaulter employees gave the reasons like not having helmet, not given by contractor, or no need of it as they are experienced. Many employees agree to wear helmets if they are given one.
Another survey was on number of opened slabs in BTPS. I t was found that as many as 14 slabs were opened in the plant. Since it was dangerous, the issue was sent to the safety department immediately who replied that contract for new slabs will be given in the end of the month.
The last survey was on employee's knowledge about 5S. In this, I shortlisted 4 boards of 5S in BTPS - near the main gate, near UCB - 1, near Coal Handling Plant, and in Employee Development Center. 100 employees were taken and it was seen that 35% of them have no knowledge of the board. This was due to the fact that some of them are illiterates, while some never cared to think about it. There were few employees who said that they never felt like seeing the board. So, employees' awareness was low. Out of 65 who said they know about the board, only 40 agreed that they follow it in their daily routine.
Recommendations- The number of surprise checks should be increased. The safety checks should be done on both BTPS employees and contract labourers. Employees should be educated about safety in a power plant. Some monetary benefits and award should be given to those who always follow safety rules. There should be different safety teams so that a different analysis is done on every safety check. The number of 5S boards should be increased. Also, 5S boards should be in pictorial formats so that illiterate employees can also read it. There should be a six sigma analysis also. The frequency of safety mela should be increased from 2 per year to at least 6 per year.