EVOLUTION OF SAFETY

The large scale expansion started taking shape with the beginning of nineteenth century but safety could not become the concern of industries. With expansion of industrial activities, the sizes of industries multiplied and so did the number of workers in individual industries. The productivity of workers increased at tremendous rate and also the product qualjty was visibly controlled and improved. However, all these developments did not produce any concern to human values, safety and general well being of factory workers. By the beginning of twentieth century lack of safety concern and consciousness began to speak upon the health of the industry.

Adverse health effects began to run rampant in work places. The number of serious industrial accidents began to rise. It was then that a few enlightened and progressive factory managers started feeling the necessity of abating the causes of rising number of accidents, serious injuries to workers and poor health conditions in work places. The early thrust started with taking care of cuts and bruises and broken bones of factory workers.

The responsibility was largely entrusted upon personnel managers, maintenance foretnen or plant engineers. Such persons tried to evolve methods of safe working by providing guards on machines, shields on implements or by making workers to use gloves and wear glasses during some specific activity. Soon these persons were replaced by safety engineers or supervisors and safety managers. Such need was felt greatly by two industry giants, viz, steel industry and rail road establishment. Yet the personnel made responsible to prevent accidents were not specifically trained for the job but were chosen from available force based upon their wide experience in a particular industry.

The situation continued until 1912 when in USA Cooperative Safety Congress was orgtinised. The Electrical Engineers from steel industry took lead in organising this conference. The congress resulted in establishment of National Safety Council (NSC) in USA. This body was given charter to take responsibility to look after prevention of accidents and development of safety programmes. In post 1920 period several safety codes welie formulated by American Standards Association. I The onset of second World War caused a setback in safety movement both in Europe and Arnerica.

This period was marked by workers' demand for higher wages, their insistence on unionizing and union rights. There was a perceptible change in government attitude todards sacrificing safety considerations in favour of desire to win war. The management ald developed false notion that safety was a nonproductive activity. This setback was shdrt lived and soon the attitudes of governments and management started paying more attantion to safety aspects of industrial workers. The industries started including newer aspects in safety concerns. The noise, dust, fumes, heat, mists and radiation etc. got included in the growing lists of hazards in industry.

This bedame necessary because the industrial activities widened very largely and scopes of indbstrial activities expanded. This renewal of interest was followed by governments paying more attention to safety programmes and large industries began to organise special trainings to their engineers. These steps helped increase the number of suitably trained peltsonnel in the area of industrial safety. New disciplines were added to safety practice in industry. These were : industrial hygiene, health physics, ergonomics, design engineering, illumination engineering, audiology and workers' compensation claim administration.

Each of these fields had twin targets of safeguarding workers' health and life and improving productivity. Tremendous amount of research work and enunciation of safety theories propelled safety practice into academic body of knowledge and information. It has now become possible for engineers and managers to specialize in safety engineering and sadety management through education system. It has now become imperative that a chief executive of an industry is equally conscious of safety and quality. Safety, health and environmental controls have become essential staff functions. In most industries today safety finds place as one of important industrial activities alongwith manufacturing, re$earch, design and development, purchase, sales, service and profits.