Business security was the topic of one of the sessions at the third edition of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-organised Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Conclave, which took place in Mumbai on Friday.
Apart from the conclave, as part of the event, the CII western region SHE award ceremony was also held to honour companies that follow the best management practices. Winners at this ceremony included Larsen and Toubro Ltd; Mahindra and Mahindra's Nashik plant, and LNG Hazira.
On the occasion, CII also highlighted its forthcoming Food&Bev Tech 2012 event, which would commence at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Goregaon (East), Mumbai, on April 25, 2012.
Satish Karnik, vice-president, group corporate, safety, health and environment, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt Ltd; chairman, CII western region SHE award committee, and chief of the award jury, explained, "Companies in the service sector and the manufacturing sector are honoured separately; and so are large-scale, medium-scale and small-scale industries."
Apart from Karnik, the panel for the inaugural session comprised Satish Jamdar, chairman, CII Maharashtra State Council and managing director, Blue Star Ltd; V S Moray, director, Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH), Government of Maharashtra; Ninad Karpe, vice-chairman, CII Maharashtra State Council and chief executive officer and managing director, Aptech Ltd, and Sumita Chakravarty of the CII.
Karnik, in his theme address, highlighted the increasing importance of security from a business perspective; and Jamdar, in his special address, spoke about how safety becomes more relevant in corporations whose workforce comprises contractual workers, many of whom are in the unorganised sector.
Moray highlighted a couple of causes of workplace injuries and fatalities. "Firstly, supervisors must not just tell their subordinates what to do; they must also be physically present to advise them on safety and health issues at the workplace. And secondly, there is perhaps not enough information. Moreover, it often doesn't percolate down to the last man on the shopfloor," he said.
The first panel discussion was titled 'How can companies ensure sustainable growth by safety and security.' It was moderated by V Suresh, principal executive officer, Hirco Ltd.
