Kips IT Class 10 Chapter 24 Solutions Preventing Accidents and Emergencies Part-B

An accident at a workplace is an event that is an unplanned, unintended, and unexpected. It can happen due to various factors that a person faces at the workplace. Such accidents can cause minor to severe physical injury or even result in death. This may either be due to a risk that has not been identified or identified but not properly controlled.

A workplace emergency is an unforeseen situation that threatens the employees, customers, or public. It disrupts the company’s operations and even sometimes causes physical or environmental damage. The hazards leading to accidents and emergencies may be natural or manmade.

Slips, Trips, and Falls: Slips and trips can result in falls. Slips can occur due to slippery floor, leaks from materials or debris left in walkways, uneven floor or working surfaces, protruding nails and boards, bunched up floor mats or uneven carpeting, holes or depressions in working surfaces, or uneven stairs.

Getting Caught in or Between Hazards: Sometimes minor cave-ins, such as being pulled into or caught in machinery and equipment or being compressed or crushed between rolling, sliding, or shifting objects also happen at the workplace.

Struck by Moving Equipment or Objects or Walking into Objects: Collisions could occur with heavy equipment or any moving object kept either at the same level or from an object falling from the above. A working person can also accidentally walk into an object and get injured.

Vehicle-Related Accidents: Accidents due to a crash or impact injuries are also quite frequent in workplaces. These often involve cars, lorries, or even small vehicles, such as forklift trucks, and at times result in serious injuries.

Some of the hazards occur because of natural incidents. These include the following factors:
• Meteorological: Heavy rains and floods, tornadoes, tsunami, drought, etc.
• Geological: Landslides and earthquakes, volcanic eruption, etc.
• Biological: Gas leaks, fires, etc.

Of these landslides, drought, flood, and fire are hybrid hazards as their causes can be both natural and manmade.
Some man-made disasters include the following:
• Toxic gas releases
• Chemical spills
• Radiological accidents
• Explosions
• Civil disturbances
• Workplace violence; resulting in bodily harm and mental trauma

Some preventive measures that can be taken to prevent accidents at the workplace are:

• Employers must provide workers with protective equipment, such as safety goggles and other gear they need, to avoid dangerous exposure.
• Reminding employees to be vigilant.
• Removing clutter and putting it out of the way so that people would not step on it and fall accidently.
• Effective procedures for dealing with employee grievances can help reduce the risk of fights in the workplace; which could otherwise, result in nasty injuries.
• Good training, clear signage, and access to the necessary safety equipment can all be a big help.
• Regular risk assessments are also important.
• Preparing a proper emergency action plan, which should include the following:

✦ There should be an emergency evacuation plan ready for emergencies.
✦ There should be clearly marked and well lit, unobstructed evacuation routes and emergency exits.
Employees should be able to have an access to lists with names and telephone numbers of emergency contacts.
✦ Procedures for employees to shut down critical plant operations, operate fire extinguishers, or perform other essential services before evacuating should be clearly communicated as a part of the emergency plan.
✦ Employees should be trained in first-aid procedures.
✦ Practice drills for emergency action plans should be regularly conducted.
✦ Make sure emergency/ fire alarms are recognised by all the employees.
✦ Employers should have a reporting system in place for all accidents and dangerous incidents.

Care for the Affected Employee: The employees’ safety comes first and getting an injured employee preliminary treatment quickly is crucial.
• A proper evaluation of the situation should be done.
• An employee, who is trained in first-aid, should attend to the injured person right away.
• In an emergency situation, an ambulance should be called. In non-emergency situations, the injured employee should be taken to a medical care facility at the earliest.
• The family of the employee should be notified immediately about the situation.

Secure the Scene and Evacuation: In case of a serious accident, access to the accident site should be blocked to avoid any further damage. The site of a serious accident needs to be secured as quickly as possible to preserve the physical evidence for investigative purposes.

If there is a potential of the other employees being affected, an evacuation of the premises should be carried out to prevent further injuries or fatalities. The operations of the workplace need to be shut down in such emergencies.

Proper Reporting of the Accident: After ensuring the employees’ safety, proper paperwork and documentation must be completed. The accident’s report should be completed to help investigate the accident and the required documents for processing the claim from the insurance company should be filled in.