PUNE: “With growing infrastructure and standard safety protocols being maintained, the construction industry must now focus on post-project completion safety as well,” said Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Construction Company. He was speaking as the Chief Guest at the first edition of the ‘Safety Awards 2023’ ceremony organized by the CREDAI Pune Metro at the Sheraton Grand, Raja Bahadur Mill Road, Pune recently.
Dignitaries like Jitendra Thakker; Director of National Skill Development Corporation, Sandeep Karnik; IPS, Joint Commissioner of Police, Pune City, Ranjit Naiknavare; President, and Ashwin Trimal; Secretary of CREDAI Pune Metro, J P Shroff; Chairman KUSHAL and Member of the Managing Committee, Sapna Rathi; Convenor, Parag Patil and Milind Talathi; Co-Convenors of the Labour Welfare Committee were present on the occasion.
Ajit Gulabchand said that the need to identify the near misses and post-construction safety hazards is important for the industry. “When we look at safety, we talk about wearing a safety belt, and a helmet. But I think it’s time to look at safety also in a little bigger way. Now, I am not just discussing the safety of constructing a building within a relatively controlled urban environment but also the serious infrastructure that is being built in environments that have many natural disasters during the course of construction. Safety aspects need to be considered right from the stage when architects plan and design the project”.
One of the big ways of controlling it is not to look at only the accidents, but also to look at near misses. An accident that was about to happen, but didn’t happen. Those near-misses tell you a lot more stories about the method by which you will process the future so that that does not happen. And these studies must be taken more seriously than even the accident. Because the accident is after the fact, and you are more concerned with protecting that person’s life, treating him, rather than understanding how the accident happened. The near misses purely dwell on what could go wrong, what went wrong, and how can we prevent this from happening again. And I think this is an important part of the study,” he added.
Ranjit Naiknavare agreed that safety is supreme and the construction industry takes utmost care of providing a safe environment for their workforce. He also added that the norms are a bit harsh on the construction industry compared to other industries. “For instance, a fire safety officer, who is responsible for fire safety will be held responsible in case of a fire, but no other person would be punished for the mishap. Unfortunately, in the construction industry, everybody is involved in the process and is held responsible. If an accident happens, a developer, engineer, supervisor, and everybody involved in the process of construction are held responsible for the mishap.”
“Western developed countries follow a system of listing all probabilities of accidents and designing solutions for the same. This trend of bringing the safety culture in India is of paramount importance,” stressed Naiknavare during his speech.
Sandeep Karnik, IPS, Joint Commissioner of Police, Pune City who was present as Guest of Honour, said, “Topmost priority should be given to extending the help to the accident victim and his family in case of a mishap.”
The ‘Safety Awards 2023’ were divided into three categories based on the size of the sites – are up to1 lakh sq. ft., 1 lakh to 5 lakh sq. ft., 5 lakh sq. ft., and plus respectively, and were honored in the form of a trophy, certificate, and cash. A total of 75 companies participated in the ‘Safety Awards 2023’ competition. Construction Quality Rating Agency (CQRA) was the knowledge partner for the ‘Safety Awards 2023’ along with being the expert panel of the jury members for the same.
The first prize (gold) was bagged by Bhandari Associates for Project 43 Privet Drive in Category 1, in Category 2, Malpani Estate for Project M Falcon and SJ Contracts Pvt. Ltd for Projects Edge 10 Site, The Central Park Runwal, and ANP Corp Universe in Category 3. The second prize (silver) was won by Pride Builders LLP for Project Pride Atlantic in Category 2, and Pride Purple Infrastructure for Project Park Titan Site in Category 3.
Special Category Awards were also presented on the occasion. Pegasus Properties Pvt. Ltd.’s Project Megapolis Serenity received the Outstanding Safety Officer Award. B.G. Shirke Const. Tech. Pvt. Ltd.’s Project MHADA Tathwade received the Validation of Tools and Machinery Award. Gera Developments Pvt. Ltd.’s Project Gera’s Planet of Joy received the Zero Accident Award. Goel Ganga Group’s Project Ganga Asmi received the Site Safety Management Award. Rohan Builders and Developers’ Project Rohan Anand Site received the Safety Training Award.
The initiative was supported by S J Contracts Pvt. Ltd and and Vilas Javdekar Developers. Samir Belvalkar played the anchor for the event.
