India's ministry of steel will set up a Steel Industry Safety Council (SISC) as an apex-level industry safety body, with the initiative aimed at strengthening safety standards, practices, accident prevention and safety awareness across the steel industry, according to a ministry statement on Tuesday, September 29.
The SISC will be headed by the secretary to the steel ministry, as its chairman, senior officials of the ministry, chief executives of integrated steel producers and representatives of key technical and statutory organisations including the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS), the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and recognised steel technology institutions, the statement said.
The SISC will assess the safety situation in the steel industry, facilitate studies and improvements in safety practices, approve industry safety standards and recommended practices, and review serious accidents, accidents and near-miss incidents. It will also provide directions for strengthening safety awareness, training and preventive measures, it added.
To provide technical and professional support to the Council, a Steel Industry Safety Directorate (SISD) will be established. It will have expertise in areas including process safety, blast furnaces, steel melting, rolling mills, coke ovens, refractory systems, electrical and mechanical safety, occupational health, fire engineering and disaster management.
The SISD will oversee implementation of the Council's decisions, undertake periodic safety audits and reviews, maintain and disseminate accident and near-miss information, conduct investigations into serious safety incidents, review emergency preparedness and safety training programmes, and develop and issue steel industry safety standards, recommended practices and guidelines suited to Indian conditions, the statement said.
