Govt lays out safety protocols for factories in Karnataka

Factories in the state will now have to ensure that there are adequate Covid-19 preventive measures in the workplace for the safety of their employees.

In an elaborate set of standard operating procedures (SOPs), the government has now made it mandatory for all factories to establish a Covid task force, which will include safety officers and medical staff, apart from members representing the factory…

According to an order issued by the department of Factories, Boilers, Industrial Safety & Health under the Factories Act, factories have to compulsorily establish hand-washing stations, provide face masks and train staff about their proper and disposal

They will have to ensure that employees do not work barefoot on the production floor, that there is complete disinfection of the office premises before workers enter the work space, apart from ensuring PPE kits to in-house medical staff.

Factories will also need to have a separate containment room to relocate workers suspected to have contracted the infection, in addition to alerting the government officials as and when cases are detected.

As for materials for the factory, employers will have to ensure disinfection of containers before loading and establish adequate safety procedures for receipt of raw material and packing material.

Further, when it comes to ferrying employees to work, the organisations must ensure that the number of passengers is limited to 50% of the seating capacity, while ensuring social distancing, the government order stated.
Speaking to DH, Karnataka Employers Association president B C Prabhakar said the government’s order follows a similar set of guidelines issued by the Centre.

“This is a welcome move. This puts more obligation on the factories to follow all the prescribed norms. Under the current circumstances, this is inevitable,” he said.

Source-Deccan Herald