Damaged equipment at a glass factory following a blast recently, at Shadnagar in Ranga Reddy district.
Major flaws in the factory design and machinery resulted in the massive explosion in South Glass Pvt Ltd in Shadnagar that killed five workers, officials from the Telangana Department of Factories said. The explosion killed five and injured over a dozen other workers on June 29.
“Prohibitory orders have been issued on the factory’s automotive manufacturing unit, where windshields for heavy vehicles were manufactured, until further orders. The final report including the safety lapses and recommendations along with the show-cause notice to the management will be issued on Saturday i.e., July 6,” Deputy Chief Inspector of factories Manohar Reddy said.
According to the draft report, the autoclave and other connected equipment must be set up afresh by a competent agency under the watch of structural engineers. The factory will also have to secure a ‘structural stability certificate’ for automotive units issued by a certified structural engineer. The certificates will then have to be submitted to the Department of Factories following which officials will audit the facility before recommending it to the Telangana government, the official explained.
Officials from the factories department ran checks in the facility on three days following the blast. Talking about the observations made by the safety officials, Mr. Reddy said, “The autoclave has to undergo a mandatory hydraulic testing every four years. The explosion was caused as the safety/pressure relief valve did not work. This would have been detected in the test, which the company did not conduct.”
The company also failed at imparting requisite training to the workers to prevent such a mishap, the official highlighted. “In my 30 years, I have never come across an autoclave blast of this intensity,” said Mr. Reddy, adding that there were discrepancies observed in the approved plan and the actual design of the factory located on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Citing examples, he said that the facility was relying on just the roof ventilators which are not sufficient for heat dissipation. There were no secondary set of ventilators or windows in the facility. As per the plan (and the safety standards), there should have been at least a 3-metre gap between the automotive glass unit and newly constructed architectural glass unit. Instead, a wall was constructed which blocked the ventilation to the first unit as well.
There were no clear pathways for the workers to walk around in the facility either, the official pointed. Until further orders, only the second unit is allowed to function, he informed.
