CII meet stresses safety culture in high-risk industries

The CII Andhra Pradesh Conference on Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection in High-Risk Factories held on Friday here aimed to strengthen safety and sustainability across chemical, pharmaceutical and other high-risk industries.

The conference highlighted leadership commitment, employee empowerment and the integration of safety into core operations, with focus on process safety, regulatory compliance, risk management and emergency preparedness, according to a release.

J. Shiva Shankar Reddy, Joint Chief Inspector of Factories, said the factory sector was at a crucial transition stage with the forthcoming Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code replacing the Factories Act. He said the Code mandates Safety Officers in more factories and tightens accountability for safety lapses.

Mr. Reddy said many major accidents arise from minor deviations from standard operating procedures and stressed that poor safety compliance, rather than lack of regulations, remains the main cause. He said the new Code extends legal responsibility beyond owners and called for stronger process safety, emergency preparedness and safety awareness among employees and contractors.

D. V. S. Narayana Raju, Chairman, CII Visakhapatnam, said industrial safety is a strategic necessity for chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, affecting health, environment and business continuity. He said rising scale and complexity increase risk exposure, making safety a core business responsibility.

P. P. Lal Krishna, Managing Director, Visakha Pharmacity Ltd., said sustainable safety culture in high-risk industries requires visible leadership, strong process safety systems and continuous capability building. He said industries must adopt preventive, risk-based safety practices.

K. V. V. Raju, CEO, Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services, said industrial safety and environmental protection go hand in hand. He stressed empowering workers, engineering controls, continuous training and transparent compliance to achieve zero-harm operations.