Regulatory interventions and industrial accidents: A case from India for 'Vision Zero' goals

摘要

Despite best efforts to minimize risk in organizations, accidents appear almost unavoidable due to various reasons. In India and other parts of the world industrial accidents are investigated to know the causes so that recurrence can be minimized by designing adequate preventive measures. However, findings of investigation are seldom used appropriately to strengthen Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). The mineral rich state of Odisha (India), known as a hub for Iron & Steel industries, witnessed frequent accidents during 2005-2009. This article based on study of 982 fatal 'factory-accidents' occurred during 2001-2016, discusses the 'turnaround-story' resulting in reduction of fatal accident from 122 in 2009 to 45 in 2016. The paper examines the type of accidents, industries and distribution of the year; role of climate and harsh weather conditions on accident causation; impact of regulatory interventions in reducing accidents. Software such as R, SQL, MS-Excel and Tableau were used for analysis of data. It is found that maximum fatality is caused due to 'fall from height' (24%) and the harsh weather conditions of summer increase chances of accidents. Further, the study suggests that enforcement of partial work-restriction around lunch time during peak summer and screening and training of employees tend to reduce accidents due to fall from height. The study indicates that preventive enforcement based on learning from experience can be considered as an effective method to improve occupational safety and minimize employment injury in the journey towards 'Vision Zero' goal.