HYDERABAD: In a bid to oversee the safety practices being adopted at work sites, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) has set up six Safety Protocol Teams (SPT). SPT vehicles, one of which has been allotted to each zone of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), were flagged off by Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Minister KT Rama Rao on Saturday.
In a first-of-its-kind initiative in Telangana, the SPT is responsible for maintaining public safety by taking precautionary measures and avoiding accidents at the work sites under Water Board. Set up under the instructions of Rama Rao, SPTs will comprise a National Academy of Construction (NAC) engineer, police constable, home guard and driver.
Each team is equipped with a tab loaded with the SPT App covering all operations on Google maps. The main focus areas of the SPT would include budget-related works, LOC/AMS works (emergency works), deep manholes and water logging areas. The entire expenditure has been funded by HMWS&SB’s contractors under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.
HMWS&SB officials told TNIE that the objective of SPT is to verify and ensure safety and precautionary measures required to be taken at all work sites. They are also to provide safety equipment at work sites where lapses are observed, report non-compliance to the field officers and levy penalties on non-complying agencies.
The outcome is aimed towards better adherence to safety protocols over a period of time. Reviewing the safety index of each agency to improve efficiency, and ensure public and worker safety.