Sandeep Earully, Manager, 3M Personal Safety Division, 3M India in an Interview with B2B Purchase.

How is the industrial safety concept changing in the current scenario? 

The velocity of change coming out of the current pandemic is impacting the industrial safety in an extremely positive way, the industrial workers in general have become more cognizant about their personal safety, leading to improved safety culture and have started following safety protocols in a better way than it was in the past. Company management and the various custodians of industrial safety have also been able to capitalise upon the current scenario towards emphasising the want for enhanced industrial safety.

How has the pandemic pushed the market towards better safety measures in industrial and construction project sites? 

In highly developed countries, the safety standards related to industrial and construction project sites have been always high since the early 70s and has resulted in development of stringent laws and standards for working in such environments. Though this was lacking in the Indian industry scene for many years, yet over the last few years there has been a lot of global influence in improving the standards in India. Partially, it can be attributed to a lot of multinational and Indian companies following international standards like OSHA/ANSI/EN in their organisations. In addition to this, the recent pandemic has also impacted positively in improving overall safety mindset, which has indirectly influenced the safety operations at industrial and construction project sites. Customer is now stipulating advanced solutions and preferring better quality products approved to better standards and right certifications.

What are the key safety challenges observed when it comes to infrastructure projects? 

When it comes to challenges, infrastructure projects are the ones which poses the highest safety challenges. It not only comprises the regular challenges pertaining to personal safety which encompasses head to toe protection, but also some serious safety challenges such as working at height, confined space, falling tools and objects etc. A classic example would be any person working at a height of more than 6 feet requires a proper fall protection device while working in such scenarios or when they must enter any dangerous confined space needs a proper access equipment combined with respiratory device for entry and egress into these areas. It goes without saying that infrastructure projects entail considerable risks in this space and can pose serious threat to health and life and needs appropriate protection.

What kind of initiatives are needed to further improve safety at workplaces? 

When it comes to safety at workplace, Indian industry has come a long way in improving the workers safety, thanks to the entire safety fraternity, industry and government regulatory bodies which has strived hard in this endeavour. The most important criteria to improve safety is change mindset and this could only be achieved by improving the awareness and embracing the culture change. 3M has been working as an anchor to achieve this by educating the workforce and safety professionals since its inception in India. 3M India in proud collaboration with DGFASLI and Ministry of Labour launched two mobile safety training centres known as ‘Audhyogik Suraksha Rath’. These mobile centres travel across states into various industrial regions with a mandate to create awareness and impart training. The next important initiative needed is ‘Science of fit’, as best of the PPEs provided to workers will not provide the right protection unless it fits them properly. 3M works closely with its customers with its various fit test kits to educate the importance of PPE fitment to the industrial workers.

What are the new safety solutions and features offered by 3M for workers in industrial and construction project sites? 

3M has been providing solutions in the fall protection space for working at height such as horizontal and vertical lifelines, confined spaces etc., and have been constantly engaged in protecting industrial and construction workers. It has been observed that although most companies have fall arresting equipment, but most of them fail to have a proper rescue plan in the event of fall, delay in rescue of the fallen individual for more than 15 minutes can lead to death or permanent disablement. 3M works closely with its customers to develop on a proper rescue plan through correct training and innovative products developed for rescue from height. Another innovative solution offered by 3M today is, fall protection for tools, which helps the customers to prevent fall of tools from height. Personal fall arrest systems are widely used in the industrial and construction space but it has been observed that tool drop and hazard created by tool drop causing serious injury and property damage is a major concern today. 3M fall protection for tools can protect workers from serious injury and machinery damage caused by a tool drop.

What is your outlook on workplace (industrial and construction) safety in the coming years? 

The future of workplace safety looks very promising and progressive with leading safety solution providers constantly engaging in providing the right direction through various safety initiatives and working towards establishing the right safety culture in the industrial and construction space. The leading corporates and business houses adopting an elevated safety lifestyle is again a major contributor towards establishing the highest safety standards. Government’s push from a regulatory and compliance stand point also plays a major role in improving the safety standards in the industrial and construction arena.