Safety and Quality

Safety and Quality

The discussion on Drum Lifting brought Safety and Quality  related issues to mind. BHEL management has always been giving lip service to these areas.

In plant, we were issued safety shoes. Most of the employees didn't use the same. In sites, there is a reimbursement scheme for safety shoes. Most of the people buy something with a bill for safety shoes. I have once purchased jeans in lieu of safety shoes. Hardly somebody uses safety shoes. Even helmet use is considered to be a requirement only in boiler area. In TG hall nobody wears helmet.

As far as Safety is concerned, putting Safety posters and celebrating Safety week describes the efforts in this area. As far as management and executives are concerned, Quality and Safety is contractor's responsibility.  The contract also spends many pages on describing requirements and how contractor has to take care. Most of the sites, Safety and Quality are attached to some person as additional responsibility. In SLPP Mangrol, we had put Krishna Rao, a welder as Safety coordinator as no department wanted him. He was dedicated and vocal but the area in-charges would not support him.

To meet OHSAS certification related issues we sent Sodha and another person to NITIE for Industrial Safety training. After return they were assigned different tasks. Virtually company didn't benefit from there training.

Later we outsourced the Safety related work at site where customers were demanding. In Bellary I noticed that the persons deployed by the agency were retired BHEL employees with no background of Safety.

The complecency is existing there as people think that they are immune to legal action being PSU employee. Most of the government agencies are lenient to PSU. 

In no BHEL site, I have not seen Safety harness. I have my own doubts, how some of the joints were cleared by Welding engineer for fit up. These joints had no approach, no platforms.  

In Khaperkheda stage 1, there were many deaths during structure erection. One of the causes was Welder dozed in the night and fell. In those days there was no concept of harness, working platform or safety net. Use of harness would have saved many lives. I still remember walking with Rajendran in BC bay to check structure completion. There was no tagline to hold. He would walk on the beams and bracings which I could not do.

In BHEL work permit is required from Customer only during pre-commissioning  stage.  In Cethar we issued daily permit for working above 30 metres. Every employee and worker would be checked by a paramedic and then only allowed to go up. Every site had a trained Manager Safety. Most of them had worked in Gulf.

Our BHEL employees who worked abroad, only narrate some anecdotes, but didn't bring the work culture to our sites. Meeting with Americans starts with Safety then Quality and after that only Execution. Any Project review starts with visit to Labour colony. BHEL review meetings hardly spend any time on these aspects unless the meeting is specifically called for the same.

Once from Bharuch we went to Paguthan to see the combined cycle plant. BHEL was doing only switchyard job. None of us was wearing safety shoes or helmet. Universal erectors was doing work there so we didn't have any problems going around. In the power house we came across a Siemens engineer from Germany. He enquired from where we had come. On telling BHEL, his reaction was of disgust. 

Mr Pathak, during his site visits would be making comments on Safety and housekeeping. But at no time he made people to drop everything else and attend to the deficiencies.

Even in 2012, when I visited Jindal plant in Raigarh where Mukho was GM and Chandramouli was there, the situation had not changed. Unless BHEL changes working culture it would be hard to be competitive.

As long as FQA was a separate entity, there was a third party. With formation of regions, FQA role was transferred to region. From then it has  lost its importance. From getting new log-sheets, check list and Field Quality plan the struggle starts. Earlier SR based FQA staff was carrying out the task. 

Manning sites with competent QA engineers is the biggest hurdle. After Atul Shrivastava and Deshpande hardly anyone has been sent to SQC or such institutions. Persons not required by their parent departments would be pushed to Quality whether they had aptitude or not.

In Khaperkheda  we always had arguments with MSEB.  MSEB would say that we had different standards for erection and supervision sites. When the stage came for hydraulic test of unit 1 , UM Deshpande raised lots of objections. Mr PNU came to site from New Delhi, inspected boiler and after discussing completion schedule for pending points only boiler hydraulic test was permitted.

When WR was handling NPCIL Tarapur  500 MW project secondary cycle piping and STG, customer wanted number of Quality engineers to be posted at site. I had to go in the project review meeting and give a presentation on our working philosophy. I told them that work was done by a NPCIL approved contractor. The role of BHEL engineer was to ensure that work was carried out as per drawing and specifications. Project director agreed with contention and we were able to continue. In the context of NPCIL it was OK as there were engineers from contractor also. All other sites, the contractor depends on BHEL engineer for everything.

World class quality can not be maintained with shortcut methods. During TQM also same approach. Without improving enablers, management wanted results. Let us hope good sense prevails in future.