Fire and Safety Engineering Course - POSHE

Fire and Safety Engineering Course as a career option is fast catching up with the students in India. Whereas in abroad, Safety is an integral part of most of university programs.

Fire Engineering and Safety Management is getting its underlying foundations quickly as a profession option in India. It is just in nowadays that a large portion of the general population of our nation are getting to know it, though in abroad fire engineering.

Job Prospects

• Fire Officer/Fire Protection Technician/Safety Supervisor,
• HSE Engineer/ HSE Advisor,
• Safety Officer / Safety Manager,
• HSE / EHS Officer/ Manager
• Fire Men / Officer Safety Steward
• Safety Assistant / Environmental Engineer

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Controlling Health & Safety Risks

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PREVENTION

In order to control the risks identified by risk assessments, the employer and the self-employed need to introduce a risk control strategy of prevention. This is based on the following principles; 

1. Avoid the hazard/risk altogether - e.g. do not work at height, clean the windows from the ground level, so avoiding the risk of falling. 

2. Evaluating unavoidable risks - carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and evaluate the risks. This will allow for prioritisation. 

3. Control the hazard at source - e.g. if steps are slippery, replace or treat them rather than just putting up a warning sign. Repair a hole in the floor rather than demarcating the area. 

4. Adapt work to the individual - consider ergonomics by improving design, organisation and working and production methods. Also when choosing work equipment or designing work areas. Eliminate monotonous work, where possible, by job redesign or worker rotation.

5. Adapt to technical progress - keep up to date and informed on new developments in ways of working that reduce or eliminate hazard/risk. Replace old noisy equipment with modern much quieter equipment. 

6. Replacing the dangerous by the less dangerous - for example substituting mains powered electrical hand tools with battery powered hand tools or substituting a solvent based chemical for a water based alternative. 

7. Developing a coherent policy - Developing a coherent overall prevention policy, which covers production, organisation, working conditions and social dialogue. 

8. Give priority to collective protective measures - isolate workers from the hazard/risk by enclosing the process rather than giving out protective equipment. Protect from falls by the use of nets rather than a harness and line. 

9. Providing appropriate information, instruction and training - workers need to understand what they need to do to protect themselves. 

10. Issue Personal Protective equipment only as a last resort - when all other methods of risk reduction fail to reduce the risk sufficiently. 

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Likelihood of Harm

When seeking to establish likelihood of harm the adequacy of control measures already implemented and complied with needs to be considered. Here national legal requirements and codes of practice are good guides covering controls of specific hazards. The following issues should then typically be considered in addition to the work activity information:

• Number of personnel exposed; 
• Frequency and duration of exposure to the hazard; 
• Failure of services e.g. electricity and water; 
• Failure of plant and machinery components and safety devices; 
• Exposure to the elements; 
• Protection afforded by personal protective equipment and usage rate of personal protective equipment; 
• Unsafe acts (unintended errors or intentional violations of procedures) by persons, for example, who: 

1. May not know what the hazards are; 
2. May not have the knowledge, physical capacity, or skills to do the work; 
3. Underestimate risks to which they are exposed; 
4. Under estimate the practicality and utility of safe working methods. 

It is important to take into account the consequences of unplanned events.

These subjective risk estimations should normally take into account all the people exposed to a hazard. Thus any given hazard is more serious if it affects a greater number of people. But some of the larger risks may be associated with an occasional task carried out just by one person, for example maintenance of inaccessible parts of lifting equipment.

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DIFFERENT TYPES OF INCIDENT

In order to rate the severity aspect of risk assessment many organisations make a distinction between various types of incident.

Ill-health — hazard with the potential to cause ill-health. Typical examples of ill-health conditions include occupational asthma, asbestosis, hand arm vibration syndrome. 

Injury accident — may be subdivided into fatals, major injuries, over three day injuries and minor injuries. These are safety related events and include cuts, bruises, fractures, amputations etc.

Dangerous occurrence - the precise definition of a dangerous occurrence will vary from country to country and their national accident reporting requirements It is used to cover an undesirable event (as specified by the national government), such as a scaffold collapse which does not result in a reportable injury but could have done so, in slightly different circumstance, 

for example: 

• Collapse, overturning or failure of lifting machinery. 
• Collapse of a building or structure, explosion or fire, escape of flammable substances and escape of substances 

A Near Miss (or incident) is an unplanned, uncontrolled event that has not led to injury, damage or some other loss this time, but could have in slightly different circumstances. Examples include: articles falling near to people, short-circuits on electrical equipment. It is critical to record and analyse near misses as they are warnings of more serious accidents to come unless corrective action is taken - see Accident Ratios 

Damage only accidents are accidents which only cause damage to plant, materials, and premises. Workplace fires are a good example of such an event, where no one is injured but there is considerable property, materials and equipment damage.

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OUTCOMES OF INCIDENTS IN TERMS OF HUMAN HARM, ECONOMIC AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS FOR THE OGANISATION

The reasons why we prevent accidents can be summarised as follows

1. HUMAN HARM 

Any health and safety accident which leads to human harm will involve a degree of pain and suffering for the individual, possibly their family and friends. All cultures have rules against doing unnecessary harm to other people. This moral code may be written or unwritten. 

2. LEGAL 

Failure to comply with health and safety laws within a country, which then cause an incident can then lead to a criminal and/or civil legal action. If found guilty this could involve considerable fines and/or compensation awards. 

3. ECONOMIC 

Accidents cost money both direct and indirectly. In the UK there are an estimated 1.6 million accidents resulting in injury each year and 2.2 million workers suffer ill-health caused or made worse by their work. 30 million working days are lost each year with a cost to industry of some £700 million. Estimates of the overall cost to employers vary from between £4,000 - £9,000 million a year, some 5-10% of gross trading profit. On a national basis it is estimated that the total cost to society is some £10-£15 billion per year.

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Insured and Uninsured Costs

Uninsured costs vary between businesses and types of accident. They are, however, several times more than the insured costs. They can be likened to an iceberg. The costs recoverable through insurance are visible. But hidden beneath the surface are the uninsured costs. Like an iceberg, most of the costs are not immediately visible. 

In the UK studies have given different ratios for these insured to uninsured costs. 

• A study in a cheque-clearing department of a financial institution (a lower risk environment) found the insured: uninsured ratio to be 1:3.3. That means for every £1 recoverable from their insurance, the company had to meet a further £3.30 themselves.
• HSE studies found that the insurance premium paid: uninsured losses ranged from 1:8 to 1:36. That meant for every £1 they paid in insurance premiums, the companies had to meet a further £8 to £36 themselves for losses arising from accidents. 

Insured costs; 

• Injury 
• Ill-health 
• Damage to buildings 

Uninsured costs may include; 

• Lost time;
• Sick pay;
• Damage or loss of product and raw materials;
• Repairs to plant and equipment;
• Extra wages, overtime working and temporary labour; 
• Production delays; 
• Investigation time; 
• Fines; 
• Loss of contracts; 
• Increased insurance premiums 
• Loss of experience; 
• Legal costs; and 
• Loss of business reputation.

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Business Case for Health and Safety - Direct, Indirect Costs

Any accident or incidence of ill-health will cause both direct and indirect costs and possibly lead to an insured as well as uninsured cost. Direct costs are those that are directly associated with the accident. They may be insured (claims on employers and public liability insurance) or uninsured (fines, sick pay).

Direct Costs

• Fines
• Compensation payouts
• Medical costs
• Sick Pay

Indirect Costs

Indirect costs again may be insured (business loss, product or process liability) or uninsured (loss of goodwill, loss of reputation, extra overtime payments, accident investigation costs, production delays).

• Delays to production following the accident
• Personnel allocated to investigating and writing up the accident report
• Recruitment and training costs for replacement workers
• Damage to equipment and materials
• Reduction in product quality following the accident
• Reduced productivity of injured workers on light duty
• Overhead cost of spare capacity maintained in order to absorb the cost of accidents
• Lower motivation to work and workforce morale, increased absenteeism
• Loss of reputation
• Loss of goodwill
• Damage to the environment (e.g. from chemical incidents)

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Sources of Health & Safety Information

Written, verbal and observational information both internal and external to the organisation i.e. legal and other guidance, health and safety policy, risk assessments, health and safety posters, inspection and audit reports, incident data and reports, material safety data sheets, manufacturers information.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

There are various sources of information both internal and external to the organisation. These sources of information are important since they can be useful when making health and safety decisions. Sources of information might be people or paperwork.

Internal Sources

People would include the employees themselves, their worker representatives, supervisors and health and safety officers.

Paperwork would include proactive documentation such as risk assessments, inspection and maintenance records, training records, audit reports, attitude surveys, near miss reports, health surveillance and environmental monitoring data. Reactive documentation would include accident investigation reports, accident/ill-health and absence data, actions taken by the enforcing authorities, civil and/or insurance claims.

External Sources

People would include enforcement agencies, experts such as health and safety consultants, lawyers and professional bodies such as IOSH, equipment manufacturers, and trade associations.

Paperwork would include national laws, international standards such as ILO, Approved Codes of Practice and Guidance documents, material safety data sheets, Trade Union documentation. Additionally there are national sources of information that can be accessed such as OSHA in America, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, the Health and Safety Executive in the UK and Worksafe in Western Australia;

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA):The Occupational Safety and Health Administration aims to ensure employee safety and health in the United States by working with employers and employees to create better working environments. OSHA offers an extensive Web site at www.osha.gov that includes a special section devoted to small businesses as well as interactive e-Tools to help employers and employees address specific hazards and prevent injuries.

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Meanings of Common Terms

An accident is defined as an unplanned, controlled event which has, or could have in slightly different circumstances, led to injury, damage or some other loss. 

• Examples include: a fall resulting in a fracture, incorrect operation of machinery leading to breakdown, or an event where there is no actual loss this time (near miss) such as someone dropping a tool whist working up a ladder and narrowly missing someone below.

A dangerous occurrence is an unplanned and undesired occurrence which has the potential to cause injury and which may or may not cause damage to property, equipment or the environment and is reportable to the national enforcing authority. Many national laws require the reporting of such events to external agencies e.g. the Health and Safety Authority in Ireland. Typical examples would include the failure of pressure vessels, collapse of a scaffold and a serious fire.

A near miss (or incident) is an accident that results in no apparent loss. So it is an unplanned, uncontrolled event that has not led to injury, damage or some other loss this time, but could have in slightly different circumstances.

• Examples include: articles falling near to people, short-circuits on electrical equipment.

Work-related ill-health (physiological and psychological) concerns people who are made ill by theirwork - a recent HSE survey in the UK suggests that over two million people are suffering from illness they thought was caused by work. This ill-health could be physiological

• Examples: WRULDs, noise induced hearing loss or psychological e.g. stress.

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Meanings of and Distinctions Between Common Terms

Health concerns a state of well-being so involves aspects of the work activity that have direct effects upon employees, and concerns the absence of illness or disease.

• Examples of health hazards would be hazardous substances, excessive noise, high temperatures, excessive humidity and poor lighting. 

Safety concerns the absence of danger from physical harm, so involves aspects of the work activity concerned with preventing accidental injury or death. 

• Examples include hazards such as working at height, fire, electricity, plant and machinery. 

Welfare concerns facilities for workplace comfort and involves issues that impact upon the basic well-being of the employee.

• Examples would include the provisions of eating, toilets and washing facilities, first aid provision and provision of disabled or pregnant employees. 

Environmental Protection concerns measures designed to prevent harm to the environment around us, and is aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment from work activities. 

• Examples would be protection of animals, plant life, water, land and air quality through noise restrictions, bunded diesel tanks, spillage control procedures and waste disposal procedures.

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Electricity - Fire Safety

Safe Systems of Work

Where work is to be undertaken on electrical apparatus or part of a circuit, a formally operated, safe system of work is essential. This commonly takes the form of a Permit to Work system, which ensures the following procedures and precautions:

• Switching off and locking out the electricity supply, i.e. isolation;
• Checking by the use of an appropriate voltage detection instrument that the circuit, that part of same to be worked on, is dead before work commences;
• High levels of supervision and control to ensure that work is undertaken correctly and that Permit to Work procedures are followed;
• Paying particular attention to the precautions where electrical installation or maintenance work is to be undertaken in wet surroundings, in external areas and in confined spaces;
• Examining appliances by a competent person on a regular basis, including the leads, and any extension leads used that may have become damaged;
• Implementing physical precautions, such as the erection of barriers and signs restricting access to the area; and
• Formal cancellation of the Permit to Work once the work is completed satisfactorily and return to service of the appliance, plant or system in question.

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Fire Proximity Suit - POSHE

A fire proximity suit (also, silvers or silver bunker suit) is a suit designed to protect a firefighter from high temperatures, especially near fires of extreme temperature such as aircraft fires.

There are three basic types of these aluminized suits:

• Approach suit—used for work in the general area of high temperatures such as steel mills and smelting facilities. (Ambient heat protection up to ~200 °F (93 °C).)
• Proximity suit—used for aircraft rescue and fire fighting (AR-FF) and, in more heavily insulated versions, for kiln work requiring entry into the heated kiln. (Kiln suit ambient protection ~2,000 °F (1,093 °C) and proximity ambient protection~ 500 °F (260 °C))
• Entry suit—used for entry into extreme heat and situations requiring protection from total flame engulfment. Most commonly made of Zetex or Vermiculite and not aluminized. (Entry suit ambient protection ~2,000 °F (1,093 °C)) for short duration and prolonged radiant heat up to 1,500 °F (816 °C).

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International Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety

Gain recognition for health and safety expertise worldwide with BSC IDipOSH. This diploma is suitable for delegates who wish to set their long term career in Health and Safety. The course covers risk management, health and safety culture and Occupational health.


Course Modules

Unit 1: Principles of health and safety Management.
Unit 2: Safeguarding People's Health in the Workplace.
Unit 3: Promoting a Positive Health and Safety Culture in the Workplace.

Assessment

The International Diploma in Occupational Safety & Health exam is assessed in Three units:

Unit 1: Principles Health and Safety Management - 3 Hrs written exam
Unit 2: Safeguarding People's Health in the Workplace - 2.5 Hrs written exam and 5000 words assignment
Unit 3: Promoting a Positive Health and Safety Culture in the Workplace - 10,000 words Assignment only

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Tips For Fire Safety

Space Heaters Need Space
Keep portable and space heaters at least 3 feet from anything that may burn. Never leave heaters on when you leave home or go to sleep. Children and pets should always be kept away from them.

Smokers Need To Be Extra Careful
Never smoke in bed or when you are sleepy. Carelessly discarded cigarettes are a leading cause of fire deaths in the United States.

Be Careful Cooking
Keep cooking areas clear of combustibles and wear short or tight-fitting sleeves when you cook. Keep the handles of your pots turned inward so they do not over-hang the stove. If grease catches fire, carefully slide a lid over the pan and smother the flames, then turn off the burner.

Matches and Lighters are Dangerous
In the hands of a child, matches and lighters can be deadly! Store them where kids can't reach them, preferably in a locked area. Teach children that matches and lighters are "tools" and should only be used by adults.

Use Electricity Safely
If an appliance smokes or has an unusual smell, unplug it immediately and have it repaired. Replace frayed or cracked electrical cords and don't overload extension cords. They should not be run under rugs. Never tamper with the fuse box or use the improper size fuse.

Cool a Burn
If someone gets burned, immediately place the wound under cool water for 10 to 15 minutes. If the burn blisters or chars, see a doctor immediately!

Be Careful of Halogen Lights
If you have halogen lights, make sure they are away from flammable drapes and low ceiling areas. Never leave them on when you leave your home or office.
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Flammable and Combustible Materials

Flammable and Combustible Materials

Ignitable liquids generate vapors that burn. Vapors may travel significant distances before reaching a heat source or build up in an enclosed space and cause an explosion. Minimizing the amount of fuel in your areas and properly storing materials you have, are two important ways of preventing fires.

Ignitable liquids are designated as flammable or combustible, depending on flash point and boiling point. Flammable and combustible materials are further designated as Class I or Class II. This is important, as different storage rules apply to each class.

All flammable and combustible liquids must be stored in approved, sealed containers. Approvedcontainers include the original (factory) container or designated safety can.

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Classes of Fire - Fire Safety

Types & Applications

Class A
Class A fires are fires in ordinary combustibles such as wood, 

paper, cloth, trash, and plastics.

Class B
Class B fires are fires in flammable liquids such as gasoline, petroleum oil and paint. Class B fires also include flammable gases such as propane and butane. Class B fires do not include fires involving cooking oils and grease.

Class C
Class C fires are fires involving energized electrical equipment such as motors, transformers, and appliances. Remove the power and the Class C fire becomes one of the other classes of fire.

Class D
Class D fires are fires in combustible metals such as potassium, sodium, aluminum, and magnesium.

Class K

Class K fires are fires in cooking oils and greases such as animals fats and vegetable fats.

Some types of fire extinguishing agents can be used on more than one class of fire. Others have warnings where it would be dangerous for the operator to use a particular fire extinguishing agent.

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Elements of Combustion - Fire Safety

Elements of Combustion

• Oxygen
• Fuel
• Heat
• Chemical reaction

Basic fire prevention involves separating the elements that contribute to combustion. Fuel, heat, and an oxidizer (typically oxygen in air) combine to create a sustained combustion chemical reaction. Together, these four elements are represented by the fire tetrahedron. Below are some examples of each.

Remember to keep storage of fuel and oxidizers to a minimum and away from the other elements. Always monitor operations to avoid excessive heat.

Flash Point – The lowest temperature at which a material can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air.

Boiling Point –The temperature at which a given material changes from liquid to gas.

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General Control Hierarchy - RISK ASSESSMENT

The general control hierarchy is remembered as ERIC PD;

• Eliminate the hazard - the substance or work practice 
• Reduce (the use or frequency)or Substitute (e.g. a powder to pellets) 
• Isolate - a glove box for handling hazardous biological agents 
• Controls - engineering controls e.g. LEV and safe systems of work e.g. PTW 
• PPE - hard hat, safety boots, gloves etc. 
• Discipline - enforcement of the rules, safety signs, IITS, disciplinary procedures 

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A Simple Risk-Based Control plan

RISK LEVEL	ACTION AND TIMESCALE
TRIVIAL	No action is required and no documentary records need to be kept
TOLERABLE	No additional controls are required. Consideration may be given to a more cost-effective solution or improvement that imposes no additional cost burden. Monitoring is required to ensure that the controls are maintained.
MODERATE	Efforts should be made to reduce the risk, but the costs of prevention should be carefully measured and limited. Risk reduction measures should be implemented within a defined time period. Where the moderate risk is associated with extremely harmful consequences, further assessment may be necessary to establish more precisely the likelihood of harm as a basis for determining the need for improved control measures.
SUBSTANTIAL	Work should not be started until the risk has been reduced. Considerable resources may have to be allocated to reduce the risk. Where the risk involves work in progress, urgent action should be taken.
INTOLERABLE	Work should not be started or continued until the risk has been reduced. If it is not possible to reduce risk even with unlimited resources, work has to remain prohibited.

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Likelihood of Harm

When seeking to establish likelihood of harm the adequacy of control measures already implemented and complied with needs to be considered. Here national legal requirements and codes of practice are good guides covering controls of specific hazards. The following issues should then typically be considered in addition to the work activity information:

• Number of personnel exposed; 
• Frequency and duration of exposure to the hazard; 
• Failure of services e.g. electricity and water; 
• Failure of plant and machinery components and safety devices; 
• Exposure to the elements; 
• Protection afforded by personal protective equipment and usage rate of personal protective equipment; 

unsafe acts (unintended errors or intentional violations of procedures) by persons, for example, who:

1) may not know what the hazards are;
2) may not have the knowledge, physical capacity, or skills to do the work;
3) underestimate risks to which they are exposed;
4) under estimate the practicality and utility of safe working methods.

It is important to take into account the consequences of unplanned events.

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