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As is the tradition at L&T Construction, the new year began with the virtual inauguration of the Safety Month on January 3rd, 2022, replete with a digital hoisting of the Safety Flag and unveiling the theme of Mission Zero Harm for the month: Do it right. Do it safely. Do it every day.
After Sudheesh Kumar K S, Head – EHS, WET IC had administered the Safety Pledge, T Madhava Das, Whole Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President (Utilities), began his welcome address saying, “The fact that we are starting off on the very first working day of the year with the inauguration of the Safety Month shows L&T’s commitment towards safety. As an organization that sets a standard for exemplary safety, it is critical that every act of ours, at every site, has safety at the forefront, to give justice to the global belief that ‘Here is an organization that can be entrusted with jobs.’” He stressed that safety was a consistent effort to be demonstrated at every level, setting an example to the workmen, and opined that while several technologies have become a mandate for safety, it ultimately boils down to individual behaviour, and that it is important to imbibe safety into the work culture. He signed off with an important message: “Safety is the shared imperative of everyone, at every moment and in every action. Don’t leave it to chance, else we have to be ‘lucky’ all the time.”
“We relaunched Mission Zero Harm just before COVID and since then, there has been a steady improvement, though there is still a way to go to fully realize our mission,” cautioned Subramanian Sarma, Whole Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President (Energy), and Chairman of the EHS Council, before adding, “But directionally, the trend has been positive, which is encouraging.” Highlighting that safety is a distinct business advantage, he shared three key perspectives, advising that firstly, the best way to stand out among the heavy competition is to perform strongly in the EHS department. Secondly, he pointed out that stakeholders expect not only financial results but also more responsibility towards the communities and societies involved. Finally, he called attention to the organization’s ability to attract good talent, at both employee and workman levels. “When I speak to the workforce at sites during my visits, I find that they are very happy to work for L&T, feeling they are in safe hands.” He focused on the need for the right resources, tools, and processes, suggesting that it is all about the state of mind, and closed by saying, “We need to create passion and enthusiasm for safety at every work location, flowing down to all the lower levels as well. Each one of us should become a change agent, be the catalyst, and add to our pride of not only doing great things but doing them safely.”
Applauding the employees for standing tall to brave the risks & restrictions caused by the pandemic to keep business moving forward, D K Sen, Whole Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President (Development Projects), said he was happy that the situation was almost back at pre-Covid levels. “The Safety Month is to commemorate the importance of safety and we must adhere to safety at every moment, every day of our lives. We have very well-written safety regulations and training programmes but with the technology at our disposal, we need to innovate new methods to drive safety at a deeper level,” he urged the audience.
Safety during the pandemic
M V Satish, Whole Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President (Buildings), honed in on the current situation: “We don’t need reminding that COVID is still there and it is changing faces, but hopefully, it is in its last stages. The only way to properly navigate this is to vaccinate maximum number of workmen as possible.” He proudly shared the huge bag of awards won by B&F IC that included 6 five-star awards and Swords of Honour from the British Safety Council, 8 Gold Awards from the Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), and 18 NSC awards, but lamented that a couple of safety incidents had reduced the glamour of these wins. “We should take pride in following our safety protocols, especially when operating plant and machinery, and it is imperative to do it right, do it safe, do it first time, do it every time.”
Crucial workforce statistics were shared by S V Desai, Whole Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President (Civil Infrastructure): “Heavy Civil and Transportation ICs together had about 62,000 workmen strength in February 2020, which came down to 28,000. It has now grown to 92,000 and might go to 100,000 very soon. Of these, 96% are vaccinated with the first dose, and 64% with the second dose.” He highlighted that the large new pool of workmen had to get into the cycle of training and induction. “Safety is a way of life and must percolate right from the Project Director down to Section Heads and Safety Stewards, beginning each day with well-planned pep talks. We must scale up. To enhance productivity, we need to think innovatively, train the workmen well, and retain them to minimize accidents.”
The way forward
Dr K N Sen, Head – EHS, MMH SBG, shared details about the initiatives planned by the EHS teams as a part of the Safety Month celebrations, which include specialized training and awareness programmes on occupational safety, health, and environment; special drives to strengthen various digital tools such as safety surveillance supported by image analytics and AI, and the use of AR and VR in training; awareness training for subcontractors, their staff, and workmen on the five standardized procedures developed by the EHS Council; and technical skill development programmes. He assured that the Safety Innovation Schools at Hajira and Kanchipuram would be utilized more effectively and concluded by noting, “As we enter the last quarter of the financial year, heightened levels of activity are expected at all project sites and factories to meet operational targets. From our learnings over the years past, we need to be extra careful during this phase and ensure safe execution through detailed planning, risk assessment, and strict adherence to safe work methods.”
K P Ravinath, Head EHS – L&T GeoStructure, delivered the vote of thanks to wrap up the event, which was efficiently anchored by Ms. Jayapriya, Senior Manager (HR) – Training, HCI IC.
