Risk-based competency assurance & training to improve EHS performance, the B&F way

25-year-old Suryadev Singh at B&F IC’s Exide Energy project site feels that he is now better equipped in his scaffolding trade than ever before. When he joined the site, he was pleasantly surprised to be grilled by the Formwork In-charge to ascertain his skillsets and competency. “Thereafter, I was trained how to use personal fall protection devices which is when I realized for the first time the importance of anchoring independent lifelines when dismantling scaffolds, using personal restraint systems and the limitations on Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) based on free fall distances and other factors.” Certainly, Suryadev is now a wiser man as also are Satish, a 44-year-old rigger and 49-yearold Chotelal, a gas-cutter.

A delighted Satish was able to answer all the questions posed to him about rigging techniques by the Mechanical In-charge when he joined the site. Later, a half-day training session on ‘Riggers & Signalmen’, proved to be eye-opener for him. “I learnt that loads can be marked with stickers considering their Centre of Gravity, length and breadth thereby avoid a trial & error method to determine the slinging point,” he shares with a sense of wonder. A training session on ‘Working in Confined Spaces’ taught Chotelal the reasons as to why accidents occur during gas cutting that he has seen enough during his 30 years’ experience. “The training taught me the need for monitoring gas in confined spaces before each entry, periodically thereafter and the importance of inspecting gas cutting hoses, flash back arrestors and torches with more care when working inside confined spaces.”

Evolving & benchmarking the training process

These are success stories of workers who have been empowered with adequate knowledge and training to perform their tasks more efficiently and safely. “Risk-based competency assurance and training involve systematically assessing skills, knowledge, and abilities of workmen, especially those in safety critical roles, to mitigate potential risks associated with their tasks,” explains P Nagarajan, Head – EHS, HRC SBG, B&F IC.

To begin with, the EHS team identified 4 safety critical roles – riggers, scaffolders, gas cutters and signalmen
— to develop a risk-based competence assurance & training module. “Since neither the government nor the Indian construction industry had a competency assessment and certification on the lines of UK’s Construction Industry Training Board, we decided to develop our own processes for competency assessment,” points out M Nachiappan, Senior Deputy General Manager (EHS), B&F IC. “The earlier method of a simple interview process by the respective site engineers was subjective, inconsistent and individual oriented so we analyzed and benchmarked our process with international organizations such as CITB UK, and the National Skill Development Council India Qualification packs.”