OSH India 2016: Transforming India’s workplace safety and health
UBM India organised the 5th edition of Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) India in Mumbai. Slated for the 10th and 11th November 2016 at a bigger and a newer venue — CIDCO Exhibition Centre, Vashi, Navi Mumbai the expo aimed to bring together renowned Indian and International exhibitors, consultants, business experts and key government officials on this industry platform to exchange global best practices and seek solutions for challenges pertaining to workplace safety and health. The expo was supported by Gujarat Safety Council, Indian Technical Textile Association, Taloja Industrial Association, Thane Manufacturer Association and Indian Society of Ergonomics.
OSH India provided tangible solutions to a very pressing need in today’s workplace. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have came up with different objectives for the subject of Occupational Safety Hazard such as the maintenance and promotion of workers’ health and working capacity; the improvement of working environment and work to become conducive to safety and health and the development of work organizations and working cultures in a direction which supports health and safety at work. These promote a positive social climate, smooth operation and will enhance productivity.
In India, the problems surrounding OSH are aplenty including lack of awareness or coordination between various stakeholders, a growing informal economy, expansion of flexible forms of employment, expansion of labour migration, new risks associated with the use of new technology. OSH India 2016 addressed this very need, and give an opportunity to safety and health suppliers and service providers from across the world to showcase their innovations and knowledge amidst an industry landscape of a vastly untapped Indian market. It will feature a power-packed two day conference to drive occupational safety and health as a priority for companies which will in turn translate into better health and productivity of employees, benefiting the organisation and the economy at large.
The expo included an Innovation Zone which was a platform for exhibitors to promote and showcase innovative products that benefited the occupational safety and health industry at large. It was also included a new feature – a two day ‘LIVE SEMINAR’. Live seminar was a safety awareness forum where safety experts from leading safety product manufacturers demonstrated the latest technologies and discuss the trends and topics related to safety at workplace. Some of the topics of Live Seminar included — Excavating Responsibility, How can you ensure safety at work place (practical case studies), protective coveralls :body protection (standards and practicability ), Explanation of Cosmos and products lineup / Q&A , Principles on Fall Protection : focus engineering fall protection , safety lighting : Atex ,US standards and Indian standards and Ergonomics amongst others.
OSH India had been consistently growing in size and depth, attracting industry leaders and key exhibitors including ‘Presenting Partner’ – Dickies (ID Overseas Pvt. Ltd.), ‘Occupational Safety & Health Partner’ – Euro Safety Footwear (India) Pvt Ltd., ‘Platinum Partner – Udyogi International Pvt. Ltd. ,‘Knowledge partner’- Sure Safety, ‘Registration Partner’- Karam Industries , Work at height Partner – JLG and others such as Venus Safety & Health Pvt Ltd, BATA India Limited, E.I.Dupont India Pvt Ltd, NEBOSH Ltd, and Tyco Safety Products (I) Pvt Ltd. This year, the show was having a presence of over 100 brands and also saw international participation from countries such as USA, UK, China, Germany,Srilanka, Norway, Japan and Malaysia.
Spoke on the announcement, Mr. Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India Pvt. Ltd said “Safety is an essential factor towards protecting and saving human lives. With an increasing number of hours in the day spent at the workplace, enhancing the safety and well-being of employees is a prime concern, to secure workplace productivity and to enhance the quality of life as a whole. Occupational Safety and Health is extremely important to emerging economies.
The awareness around the importance of occupational safety & health compliances amongst Indian organisations has augmented over the years. Consistent emphasis by governments on developing infrastructure and providing workplace safety coupled with the rise in global investments in the sector, there lies immense opportunities for suppliers and service providers from across the world to showcase their product and solution offerings. Through OSH India, we offer the right platform to the industry to actualise these opportunities.”
This year’s conference aimed to share and ideate on global best practice with delegates; whilst the accompanying exhibition helped to identify solutions to the most pressing challenges in workplace safety and health.
The key sessions and panel discussions at the conference was attended by industry experts from across the country and leading international organizations. Topics of discussion at the conference include: ‘OSH Challenges in India and the Way Ahead’, ‘Globalisation and The Changing World of Work’, ‘An Integrated Approach to Worker Health’ , ‘How Good leadership Can Drive Improvements in Process Safety’, ‘Women and OSH’, ‘Risk Assessment & Risk Governance’ , ‘Fire and Electrical Hazard Prevention’ and ‘Health and Safety Risks in Construction’.
Distinguished speakers at the conference include Mr Vinayak Marathe, Senior Vice President, Reliance Industries Limited; Mr Suresh Tanwar, Chief Group Safety and Health, Tata Group; Mr Krishnanand Mavinkurve, Vice President & Head OSH, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited; Mr Sunil Bailwar, Vice President & Head Corporate Environment, Health & Safety – Hindalco Industries Limited; Mr Binaya Debata, Vice President – (SHE), Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd.; Mr Ashok Emani, Director & Head- ESG, IDFC Ltd.; Mr Umesh Kumar Purbey, Additional Vice President & Corporate Head – HSE & Fire, Reliance Energy Limited; Mr Badal Roy, General Manager, Head Safety Offshore Operations – Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC); Mr Pankaj Singh, General Manager – HSSE, India & South Asia, BP Castrol India; Mr JC Sekar, Co – Founder& CEO, AcuiZen Technologies Singapore Pte. Ltd.; Mr Arvind Bodhankar, Corporate Head – HSE & Chief Sustainability Officer, Tata Motors Limited; Mr Stephen Philip Storey, Corporate EHS Head, Larsen & Toubro Limited; Mr Viren Dhulla, Head – Corporate Health Safety & Wellbeing, Vodafone India amongst others.
OSH India 2016 will also witness the ‘OSH India Safety Awards 2016’ which is open to Indian operating businesses, organizations, alliance and individuals in the public or private sector with a workplace health and safety initiative that complies with any one of the Innovation or Hero awards categories.
Euro Safety Footwear (India) Pvt. Ltd. is the Presenting Partner for the Awards Night on 10th November 2016 which will be a celebration of the coming together of the luminaries and forerunners of the industry, marked by a night of glamour and entertainment.