KOCHI: The Department of Factories and Boilers has asked the Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) to carry out a safety audit. The directive comes in the wake of the blast on board ONGC ship Sagar Bhushan, under repair at CSL, last month. Five workers, including a CSL employee, were killed in the accident on February 13. The F & B Department had also asked the shipyard authorities to introduce a system to avoid such accidents in the future.
‘’We understand that the last safety audit at Cochin Shipyard was carried out 10 years ago,” said Factories and Boilers director P Pramod.“What is now suggested is an audit done by an expert agency, preferably an international company with a reputation in conducting safety audits at shipyards, so that we can also implement and follow international safety guidelines for shipyards.’’ The Department of F & B has also suggested the introduction of a system to ensure that valves of gas-carrying pipelines are closed before the workers leave their workplace. Among other suggestions are the maintenance of a log for valve-opening and closing, and the use of an explosive metre and hydrocarbon detector.
“This is only a temporary step. By using the explosive metre and hydrocarbon detector, we can check if the presence of flammable gas is above permissible limit. If it’s above the limit, work at a particular area can be avoided,’’ Pramod said.Another suggestion put forward by the department is the installation of modern safety valves which close automatically once the welding torch is removed from the pipe.