Sri Lanka
MAIN LAW ON OSH FACTORIES*
*Source: Ministry of Labour and
Training
AN ORDINANCE TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THE SAFETY AND WELFARE OF
WORKERS IN FACTORIES
1. (1) This Ordinance may be cited as the
Factories Ordinance.
(2) Save as otherwise provided in
subsection (3) of this
section or
in any other section of this Ordinance, the
provisions
of this Ordinance shall be in addition to and
not in
substitution for or diminution of the provisions
of any
other written law for the time being applicable to
factories
and to the employment of workers in factories
in Sri
Lanka.
(3) In any case of conflict or
inconsistency between the
provisions
of this Ordinance or of any regulation made
thereunder
and any provisions of this any other written
law made
in pursuance of any power conferred upon any
local
authority, the provisions of this Ordinance or of
such
regulation shall prevail.
PART I REGISTRATION AND LICENSING
OF FACTORIES AND APPROVAL OF
FACTORY BUILDINGS
2. (1) On and after the notified date, no
person shall be the
occupier
of any factory, whether established before, on
or after
that date, unless such factory is registered and
licensed
in accordance with the provisions of this
Ordinance
and the regulations made hereunder: Provided
that the
occupation during the period of three months
commencing
from the notified date by the occupier of a
factory
established before the notified date shall be
deemed not
to be a contravention of the preceding
provisions
of this section.
(2) For the purpose of the
registration and licensing
required
by this Ordinance the date of the establishment
of a
factory shall be the date on which any of the actual
operations
of the factory, or any process of work of any
kind,
other than the construction or renovation of
buildings
or the cleaning and preparation of the premises
or the
installation or repair of machinery or equipment,
is
commenced therein.
(3) On and after the notified date
no person shall commence:
(a)
the construction of a factory building on any site;
or
(b)
the making of any extension to any factory
building; or
(c)
the conversion of any other building into a factory
building, unless:-
(i) the site on which the factory building is to
be constructed and the construction of the
factory, the making of the extensions or the
conversion, as the case may be, has been
approved by the Chief Inspecting Engineer or
the District Factory Inspecting Engineer, and
(ii) the plans for the construction of the factory,
the making of the extensions or the
conversion, as the case may be, hae been
approved by a panel of civil engineers
nominated by the Commissioner for the purpose
of reporting on the structural worthiness of
the factory building.
(4) In this section,
extension includes the addition of any
building,
room or other structure, the alteration of any
building
for the purpose of dividing it into two or more
portions,
the roofing of any space between two or more
walls, the
re-erection of the whole or any part of any
building
destroyed or demolished for the purpose of
re-erection, any change in the lay out of machinery, or
any other
alteration in the internal arrangements of the
building
which affects any provision of this Ordinance
such as
the temperature, lighting or ventilation.
3. (1) The Minister may, by regulations,
provide for all matters
relating
to the registration and licensing of factories,
the
approval of factory buildings and sites, the approval
of
extension to factory buildings and the approval of the
conversion
of other buildings into factory buildings,
required
by this Ordinance.
(2) In particular and without
prejudice to the generality of
the powers
conferred by subsection (1), the Minister may
by
regulations:
(a)
require, for the purpose of considering
applications for approval under section 2 (3), the
submission of plans and specifications and
prescribe the nature of such plans and
specifications;
(b)
prescribe the form of application and the fees
payable for registration and licensing and for the
renewal of licences;
(c)
prescribe the forms of certificates to be issued on
registration and licensing;
(d)
provide for the matters to be complied with by an
applicant before registration or licensing; and
(e)
prescribe the conditions subject to which
registration may be made and licences may be issued
and the circumstances in which such registration
and licences may be cancelled.
(3) For the purpose of the
registration and licensing of
factories
different regulations may be made under the
preceding
provisions of this section:
(a)
in respect of factories established before the
notified date; and
(b)
in respect of factories established on or after the
notified date.
4. On and after the notified date no person shall
commence the
occupation of, or the use of any
premises as, a factory unless
he has, at least one month before the
date on which it is
intended to commence such occupation or
use, served on the
Chief Factory Inspecting Engineer or the
District Factory
Inspecting Engineer a written notice
stating the intention to
commence such occupation or use, and
specifying the name and
address of such person, the situation of
the factory or
premises, the nature of the work to be
carried on therein and
the particulars in respect of such
matters relating to the
factory or premises as may be
prescribed:
Provided that such person may, after
serving such notice,
commence such occupation or use on a
date earlier than that
specified in the notice if he has
obtained written permission
to do so from the Chief Factory
Inspecting Engineer or the
District Factory Inspecting
Engineer.
5. When work in any factory has been suspended for a
period
exceeding six months, the person who,
immediately before such
work was suspended, was the occupier of
that factory:
(a) shall serve on the Chief
Factory Inspecting Engineer or
the
District Factory Inspecting Engineer a written notice
specifying
the date on which such work was suspended; and
(b) shall not resume such work
therein unless he has, at
least
fifteen days before the date on which it is
intended
to resume such work, serve on the Chief Factory
Inspecting
Engineer or the District Factory Inspecting
Engineer a
written notice stating the intention to
resume,
and the date on which it is intended to resume,
such
work.
5A. No local authority shall issue a licence to carry on
any trade
or business which consists of or
includes any process or
operation referred to in sections 80,
81, 82, 84, 86 or 126,
unless the premises in which such trade
or business is carried
on is registered as a factory under this
Ordinance.
PART II HEALTH (GENERAL
PROVISIONS)
6. Every factory shall be kept in a clean state, and
free from
effluvia arising from any drain,
sanitary convenience or
nuisance, and, without prejudice to the
generality of the
foregoing provision:
(a) accumulations of dirt and
refuse shall be removed daily
by a
suitable method from the floors and benches of
workrooms,
and from the staircases and passages;
(b) the floor of every workroom
shall be cleaned at least
once every
week by washing or, if it is efective and
suitable,
by sweeping or other method;
(c) all such measures as may be
prescribed by regulations
shall be
taken to keep in a clean and sanitary condition
all inside
walls and partitions and all ceilings or tops
of rooms
and all walls, sides and tops of passages and
staircases: Provided that:
(i)
except where the District Factory Inspecting
Engineer in any case otherwise requires, thend
every such enclosure as aforesaid shall be so
constructed as to prevent any part of any person or
any goods carried in the hoist or lift being
trapped between any part of the hoist or lift and
any fixed structure or between the counter-balance
weight and any other moving part of the hoist or
lift.
(ii) where it
appears to the Commissioner that in any
class or description of factory or parts thereof
any of the foregoing provisions of this section are
not required for the purpose of keeping the
factory in a clean state, or are by reason of special
circumstances inappropriate or inadequate
for such purpose, he may, if he thinks fit, by order
direct that those provisions shall not apply
to factories, or parts of factories, of that class
or description or shall apply as varied by the order.
7. (1) A factory shall not, while work is carried on, be
so
overcrowded as to cause risk of injury to the
health of the persons employed therein.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the
foregoing
provision, a factory shall be deemed to be so
overcrowded as afore said, if the number of
persons employed at
a time in any workroom is such that the
amount of cubic space allowed for each person
employed in the
room is less than four hundred cubic feet:
Provided that, if the Chief Factory Inspecting
Engineer is
satisfied that owing to the special conditions
under which the work is carried on in any workroom
in which
explosive materials are manufactured or handled,
the application of the provisions of this subsection
to that
workroom would be inappropriate or unnecessary, he
may by certificate except the workroom from those
provisions
subject to any conditions specified in the
certificate.
(3) As respects any room used as a workroom at the
appointed
date, the last foregoing subsection shall,
for the period of five years after that date
and, if before the
expiration of that period effective and suitable
mechanical ventilation has been provided in
the room, for a
further period of five years, have effect as
if for the
reference therein to four hundred cubic feet
there were
substituted a reference to two hundred and
fifty cubic
feet:
Provided that this subsection shall cease to apply
to the room:-
(a) if the room passes into the
occupation of any person
other than
the person who was the occupier
thereof at
the appointed date, or his successor in the
same
business; or
(b) if, during the first of the
said periods, the inspector
for the
district requires the provision of effective
and
suitable mechanical ventilation in the room and
default is
made in complying with the
requirement; or
(c) if, during the second of the
said periods or in a case
where it
has been provided in pursuance of the
Factory
Inspecting Engineer' s requirement during
either of
those periods, the effective and suitable
mechanical
ventilation provided in the room ceases to
be
maintained
8. The Minister may make regulations, as respects any class
or
description of factory or parts thereof or
any process, increasing the number of cubic
feet which must
under section 7 be allowed for every person
employed in a workroom of a factory.
9. In calculating for the purposes of section 7 the amount
of
cubic space in any room, no space more than
fourteen feet from the floor shall be taken
into account, and
where a room contains a gallery, the gallery
shall be
treated for the purposes of section 7 as if it
were partitioned
off from the remainder of the room and formed a
separate room.
10. Unless the District Factory Inspecting Engineer
otherwise
directs, there shall be posted in each
workroom in a factory a notice specifying the
number of
persons, who, having regard to the provisions
of
section 7, may be employed in that room.
11. (1) Effective provision shall be made for securing
and
maintaining a reasonable
temperature in each
workroom, but no method shall be
employed which results in
the escape into the air of any
workroom of any
fume of such a character and to
such extent as to be likely
to be injurious or offensive to
persons employed
therein
(2) The Minister may, by regulations, for
factories or for
any class or description of
factory or parts
thereof, prescribe a standard of
reasonable temperature
(which may vary the standard
prescribed by the last
foregoing subsection for sedentary
work) and prohibit the use
of any methods of maintaining a
reasonable
temperature which, in the opinion
of the Minister, are likely
to be injurious to the persons
employed, and direct
that thermometers shall be
provided and maintained in such
places and positions as may be
specified
12. (1) Effective and suitable provision shall be made for
securing
and maintaining by the circulation of
fresh air in each workroom the
adequate ventilation of the
room, and for rendering harmless,
so far as
practicable, all fumes, dust and
other impurities injurious
to health that may be generated in
the course of any
process or work carried on in the
factory.
(2) The Minister may, by regulations,
prescribe a standard of
adequate ventilation for factories
or for any
class or description of factory or
parts thereof.
13. (1) Effective provision shall be made for securing
and
maintaining sufficient and
suitable lighting,
whether natural or artificial, in
every part of a factory in
which persons are working or
passing.
(2) The Minister may, by regulations,
prescribe a standard of
sufficient and suitable lighting
for factories
or for any class or description of
factory or parts thereof,
or for any process.
(3) Nothing in the foregoing provisions of
this section or in
any regulations made thereunder
shall be
construed as enabling directions
to be prescribed
or
otherwise given as to whether any
artificial lighting is to
be produced by any particular
illuminant.
(4) All glazed windows and skylights used for
the lighting of
workrooms shall, so far as
practicable, be
kept clean on both the inner and
outer surfaces and free from
obstruction:
Provided that this subsection shall not affect the
whitewashing
or shading of windows and skylights for
the purpose of mitigating heat or glare.
14. Where any process is carried on which renders the floor
liable
to be wet to such an extent, that the wet is
capable of being
removed by drainage, effective means shall be
provided and
maintained for draining off the wet.
15. (1) Sufficient and suitable sanitary conveniences for
the
persons employed in the factory
shall be provided, maintained
and kept clean, and effective
provision shall be made for
lighting the conveniences and
where persons of both sexes are
or are intended to be employed such
conveniences shall afford
proper separate accommodation for
persons of each sex.
(2) The Minister may make regulations
determining for factories
or for any class or description of
factory what is sufficient
and suitable provision for the purposes
of this section.
16. (1) Where it appears to the Commissioner that in any factory
or
class or description of factory:
(a) cases of illness have occurred
which he has reason to
believe
may be due to the nature of a process
or other
conditions of work: or
(b) by reason of changes in any
process or in
the
substances
used in any process, or by reason of the
introduction of any new process or new substance for
use in a
process, there may be risk of injury
to the
health of persons employed in that process; or
(c) young persons are or are about
to be employed in work
which may
cause risk of injury to their health,
he may
issue directions requiring such reasonable
arrangements to be made for the medical
supervision (not including medical treatment other than
first-aid
treatment and medical treatment
of a
preventive character) of the persons, or any class
of the
persons, employed at that factory or
class or
description of factory as may be specified in
the
directions.
(2) The Minister may make regulations as to
the arrangements
that shall be made in all
factories or in any
specified class of factories for
the purposes of this
section.
PART III SAFETY (GENERAL PROVISIONS)
17. (1) Every flywheel directly connected to any prime mover
and
every moving part of any prime
mover, except such prime
movers as are mentioned in
subsection (3) of this section,
shall be securely fenced whether
the flywheel or prime mover
is situated in an engine-house or
not.
(2) The head and tail race of every water wheel and
of every
water turbine shall be securely
fenced.
(3) Every part of electric generators, motors
and rotary
converters, and every flywheel
directly connected
thereto, shall be securely fenced
unless it is in such a
position or of such construction
as to be as safe to every
person employed or working on the
premises as it would be if
securely fenced.
18. (1) Every part of the transmission machinery shall be
securely
fenced unless it is in such a
position or
of such construction as to be as
safe to every person
employed or working on the
premises as it would be if
securely fenced.
(2) Efficient devices or appliances shall be
provided and
maintained in every room or place
where work is
carried on by which the power can
promptly be cut off from
the transmission machinery in that
room or place.
(3) No driving belt when not in use shall be
allowed to rest or
ride upon a revolving shaft which
forms part of
the
transmission machinery.
(4) Suitable striking gear or other efficient
mechanical
appliances shall be provided and
maintained and used to move
driving belts to and from fast and
loose pulleys which form
part of the transmission
machinery, and any such gear or
appliances shall be so
constructed, placed and maintained as
to prevent the driving belt from
creeping back on to the fast
pulley.
(5) Where the Commissioner is satisfied that
owing to special
circumstances the fulfillment of
any of the requirements of
the last three foregoing
subsections is unnecessary or
impracticable, he may by order
direct that
that requirement shall not apply
in those circumstances.
19. (1) Every dangerous part of any machinery, other than
prime
movers and transmission machinery,
shall be securely fenced
unless it is in such a position or
of such construction as to
be as safe to every person
employed or working on
the
precises as it would be if
securely fenced:
Provided that, in so far as the safety of a
dangerous part of
any machinery cannot by reason of the nature
of the operation
be occurred by means of a fixed guard, the
requirements of this
subsection shall be deemed to have been complied
with if a
device is provided which automatically prevents the
operator
from coming into contact with that part.
(2) Where the Minister is satisfied that there
is available and
suitable for use in connection with
machinery of any class
any spec or description of safety device
which:
(a) prevents the exposure of a
dangerous part of machinery
whilst in
motion; or
(b) stops a machine forth with in
case of danger,
The Minister may make regulations directing
that the type or
description of device shall be provided for
use in connection
with such class of machinery as may be
specified in the
regulations:
Provided that, in any proceedings in respect
of a contravention
of this subsection, it shall be a sufficient
defence to prove
that a device at least equally effective was
being used in
connection with the machinery in respect of
which the
contravention occurred.
(3) Any part of a stock-bar which projects beyond
the head-stock
of a lathe shall be securely fenced unless it
is in such a
position as to be as safe to every person
employed or working
on the premises as it would be if
securely fenced.
The Minister may, as respects any machine or any
process in
which a machine is used, make regulations requiring
the fencing
of materials or articles which are dangerous while
in motion in
the machine
20. In determining, for the purposes of the foregoing provisions
of
this Part, whether any part of machinery is in
such a position
or of such construction as to be as safe to
every person
employed or working on the premises as it
would be if securely
fenced:-
(a) no account shall be taken of
any person carrying out,
while the
part of machinery is in motion, an
examination thereof or any lubrication or adjustment
shown by
such examination to be immediately
necessary,
being an examination, lubrication or
adjustment
which it is necessary to carry out while
the part
of machinerY is in motion: and
(b) in the case of any part of
transmission machinery used
in any
such process as may be specified in
regulations made by the Minister being a process where
owing to
the continuous nature thereof the
stopping
of that part would seriously interfere with
the
carrying on of the process, no account shall
be taken
of any person carrying out, by such methods
and in
such circumstances as may be specified
in the
regulations, any lubrication or any mounting or
shipping
of belts:
Provided that this section shall only apply
where the
examination, lubrication or other operation is
carried
out by such persons, being male persons who
have attained the
age of eighteen, as may be specified in
regulations made by the
Minister, and all such other conditions as may be so
specified
are complied with.
21. All fencing or other safeguards provided in pursuance of
the
foregoing provisions of this Part shall be of
substantial
construction, and constantly maintained and
kept in position
while the parts required to be fenced or
safeguarded are in
motion or in use, except when any such parts
are necessarily
exposed for examination and for any
lubrication or adjustment
shown by such examination to be immediately
necessary, and all
such conditions as many be specified in
regulations made by the
Minister are complied with.
22. (1) In the case of any machine in a factory being a
machine
intended to be driven by
mechanical power:-
(a) every set-screw, bolt or key
on any revolving shaft,
spindle,
wheel or pinion shall be so sunk,
encased or
otherwise effectively guarded as to prevent
danger;
and
(b) all spur and other toothed or
friction gearing, which
does not
require frequent adjustment while in
motion,
shall be completely encased unless it is so
situated
as to be as safe as it would be if
completely
encased.
(2) Any person who imports, sells or lets on
hire, or as agent
of the importer, seller or hirer
causes or procures to be
imported, sold or let on hire, for
use in a factory in Sri
Lanka any machine intended to be
driven by mechanical or
electrical power which does not
comply with the requirements
of this section, shall be guilty
of an offence and liable to
a fine not exceeding one thousand
rupees.
(3) The Minister may be regulations extend the
provisions of
the last preceding subsection to
machinery or plant which
does not comply with such
requirements of this Ordinance or
of any regulation made thereunder
as may be specified in the
regulations, and any regulations
made under this subsection
may relate to machinery or plant
in a specified process.
(4) Nothing in this section shall apply to any
machine
constructed before the appointed
date, and regulations under
this section shall not apply to
any machinery or plant
constructed before the making of
the regulations.
23. (1) Every fixed vessel, structure, sump or pit of which
the
edge is less than three feet above
the adjoining ground or
platform shall, if it contains any
scalding, corrosive or
poisonous liquid, either be
securely covered or be securely
fenced to at least that height, or
where by reason of the
nature of the work neither secure
covering nor secure fencing
to that height is practicable, all
practicable steps shall be
taken by covering, fencing or
other means to prevent any
person from falling into the
vessels, structure, sump or pit.
(2) Where any fixed vessel, structure, sump or
pit contains any
scalding, corrosive or poisonous
liquid but is not securely
covered, no ladder, stair or
gangway shall be placed above,
or across it, which is not:
(a) at least eighteen inches wide,
and
(b) securely fenced on both sides
to a height of at least
three feet
and securely fixed.
(3) Where any such vessels, structures, sumps
or pits as are
mentioned in subsection (2)
adjoin, and the space between,
clear of any surrounding brick or
other work, is less than
eighteen inches in width or is not
securely fenced on both
sides to a height of at least
three feet, secure barriers
shall be so placed as to prevent
passage between them.
(4) For the purpose of this section, a ladder,
stair or gangway
shall be deemed to be not securely
fenced unless it is
provided either with sheet fencing or
with an upper and a
lower rail and with toe boards.
(5) (a) The Minister may by regulations extend any
of the
provisions
of this section so as to make them
applicable:-
(i) to a vessel
or structure which is not fixed; or
(ii) to a
vessel, structure, sump or pit containing a
substance which is not a liquid.
(b) In any regulation made under
paragraph (ii) of this
subsection, the expression ''scalding" when
used in
relation to any substance which is not a
liquid,
shall mean likelY to cause burns.
(6) The Chief Factory Inspecting Engineer may
by order exempt
from the requirements of this
section any class of vessel,
structure, sump or pit in the case
of which he is satisfied
that the requirements are
unnecessary or inappropriate.
24. (1) In any factory or part of a factory to which
this
subsection applies no traversing
part of any self-
acting machine and no material
carried thereon shall, if the
space over which it runs is a
space over which any
person is liable to pass, whether
in the course of his
employment or otherwise, be
allowed on its outward or
inward traverse to run within a
distance of eighteen inches
from any fixed structure not being
part of the
machine:
Provided that nothing in this subsection shall
prevent any
portion of the traversing carriage of any
self-
acting spinning mule being allowed to run to a
point twelve
inches distant from any part of the head-stock
of
another such machine
(2) The provisions of subsection (1) shall
apply:-
(a) to any factory or part of a
factory reconstructed after
the
appointed date; and
(b) to any extension of or
addition to a factory made after
the
appointed date.
(3) All practicable steps shall be taken by
instructions of the
person in charge of the machine and
otherwise to ensure that
no person employed shall be in the
space between any
traversing part of a self-acting
spinning mule and any fixed
part of the machine towards which
the traversing part moves
on the inward run, except when the
machine is stopped with
the traversing part on the outward
run.
(4) The Commissioner may exempt from the
operation of this
section any factory or class of
factories in
which
precautions have been taken or
safeguards adopted
in
accordance with the
recommendations of the Chief
Factory Inspecting Engineer.
25. A woman or young person shall not clean any part of a
prime
mover or of any transmission machinery while
the prime mover or
transmission machinery is in motion, and shall not
clean any
part of any machine if the cleaning thereof would
expose the
woman or young person to risk of injury from any
moving part
either of that machine or of any adjacent machinery.
26. (1) No young person shall work at any machine to which
this
section applies, unless he has
been fully instructed as to
the dangers arising in connection
with the machine and the
precautions to be observed.
and:-
(a) has received a sufficient
training in work at the
machine;
or
(b) is under adequate supervision
by a person who has a
thorough
knowledge and experience of the
machine.
(2) This section applies to such
machines as may be declared
by order of the Commissioner
to be machines which in his
opinion are of such a
dangerous character that young persons
ought not to work at them unless
the foregoing requirements
are complied with.
27. (1) Every hoist or lift shall be of good
mechanical
construction, sound material
and adequate strength,
and be properly maintained.
(2) Every hoist or lift shall be thoroughly
examined by a
competent person at least
once in every period of
twelve months, and a report
of the result of every such
examination in such form and
containing such particulars
as may be prescribed shall
be signed by the person making
the examination and shall
within fourteen days be
entered in or attached to
the general register.
(3) Every hoistway or liftway shall be
efficiently protect by
a substantial enclosure
fitted with gates, being such an
enclosure as to prevent,
when the gates are shut, any person
falling down the way or coming
into
contact with any moving part
of the hoist or lift.
(4) Any such gate as aforesaid shall be fitted
with efficient
interlocking or other
devices to secure that the
gate cannot be opened except
when the cage or platform is at
the landing and that the
cage or platform cannot be
moved away from the landing
until the gate is closed:
Provided that, in the case of a hoist or lift
constructed or
reconstructed before the appointed date which
it
is not reasonably practicable to fit with such
devices as
aforesaid, it shall be sufficient if the gate
is provided
with such arrangements as will secure the
aforesaid objects so
far as is reasonably practicable, and in any
event is kept
closed and fastened except when the cage or
platform is at rest
at the landing.
(5) Every hoist or lift and every such
enclosure as aforesaid
shall be so constructed as
to prevent any part of any person
or any goods carried in the hoist
or lift being trapped
between any part of the hoist or
lift and any
fixed
structure or between the
counter-balance weight and any
other moving part of the hoist or
lift.
(6) There shall be marked conspicuously on every hoist or
lift the
maximum working load which it can safely
carry and no load
greater than that load shall be required
or permitted to be
carried on any hoist or lift.
(7) The following additional requirements shall apply to
hoists
and lifts used for carrying persons,
whether together with
goods or otherwise:
(a) efficient automatic devices
shall be provided and
maintained
to prevent the cage or platform overrunning;
(b) every cage shall on each side
from which access is
afforded
to a landing, be fitted with a gate, and in
connexion
with every such gate efficient devices shall be
provided
to secure that, when persons or goods are in the
cage, the
cage cannot be raised or lowered unless the
gate is
closed, and will come to rest when the gate is
opened:
Provided
that, in the case of a hoist or lift constructed
or
reconstructed before the appointed date in connexion
with which
it is not reasonably practicable to provide
such
devices as aforesaid, it shall be sufficient if such
arrangements are provided as will secure the aforesaid
objects so
far as is reasonably practicable, and in any
event the
gate is kept closed and fastened except when
the cage
is at rest or empty; and
(c) in the case of a hoist or lift
constructed or
reconstructed after the appointed date, where the
platform
or cage is suspended by rope or chain, there
shall be
at least two ropes or chains separately
connected
with the platform or cage, each rope or chain
and its
attachments being capable of carrying the whole
weight of
the platform or cage and its maximum working
load, and
efficient devices shall be provided and
maintained
which will support the platform or cage with
its
maximum working load in the event of a breakage of
the ropes
or chains or any of their attachments.
(8) In the case of a continuous hoist or lift, subsections
(3) to
(7) inclusive of this section shall not
apply and in the case
of a hoist or lift not connected with
mechanical power
subsections (4) and (7) shall not
apply.
(9) For the purposes of this section, no lifting machine or
appliance shall be deemed to be a hoist
or lift unless it has
a platform or cage the direction of
movement of which is
restricted by a guide or guides.
(10) Every type of doorway used for hoisting or lowering goods or
materials, whether by mechanical power
or otherwise, shall be
securely fenced, and shall be provided
with a secure handhold
on each side of the opening or doorway.
The fencing shall be
properly maintained and shall, except
when the hoisting or
lowering of goods or materials is being
carried on at the
opening or doorway, be kept in
position.
(11) If it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that
it
would be unreasonable in the special
circumstances of the case
to enforce any requirement of this
section in respect of any
class or description of hoist, lift,
hoistway, liftway, etc.,
he may by order direct that such
requirement shall not apply
as respects that class or description.
28. (1) The following provisions shall be complied
with as
respects
every chain, rope or lifting tackle used for the
purpose of
raising or lowering persons, goods or
materials:-
(a)
no chain, rope or lifting tackle shall be used
unless it is of good construction, sound material,
adequate strength and free from patent defect;
(b)
a table showing the safe working loads of every
kind and size of chain, rope or lifting tackle in
use, and, in the case of a multiple sling, the safe
working load at different angles of the legs, shall
be posted in the store in which the chains, ropes
or lifting tackle are kept, and in prominent
positions on the premises, and no chain, rope or
lifting tackle not shown in the table shall be
used, so, however, that the foregoing provisions of
this paragraph shall not apply in relation to any
lifting tackle if the safe working load thereof or
in the case of a multiple sling, the safe working
load at different angles of the legs is plainly
marked upon it;
(c)
no chain, rope or lifting tackle shall be used for
any load exceeding the safe working load thereof as
shown by the table aforesaid or marked upon it as
aforesaid;
(d)
al chains, ropes and lifting tackle in use shall be
thoroughly examined by a competent person at least
once in every period of six months or at such
greater intervals as the Commissioner may be order
prescribe;
(e)
no chain, rope or lifting tackle, except a fibre
rope or fibre rope sling, shall be taken into use
in any factory for the first time in that factory
unless it has been tested and thoroughly examined
by a competent person and a certificate of such as
test and examination specifying the safe working
load and signed by the person making the test and
examination has been obtained and is kept available
for inspection;
(f)
every chain and lifting tackle except a rope sling
shall, unless of a class or description exempted by
certificate of the Chief Factory Inspecting
Engineer upon the ground that it is made of such
material or so constructed that it cannot be
subjected to heat treatment without risk of damage
or that it has been subjected to some form of heat
treatment (other than annealing) approved by him,
be annealed at least once in every fourteen months,
or in the case of chains or slings of half-inch bar
or smaller, or chains used in connexion with molten
metal or molten slag, in every six months, so,
however, that chains and lifting tackle not in
regular use need be annealed only when necessary;
(g)
a register containing such particulars as may be
prescribed shall be kept with respect to all such
chains, ropes or lifting tackle, except fibre rope
slings.
(2) In this section the
expression lifting tackle means
chain
slings, rope slings, rings, hooks, shackles, and
swivels.
(3) If it is shown to the
satisfaction of the Commissioner
that it
would be unreasonable in the special
circumstances of the case to enforce all or any of
the
provisions
of subsection (1) in respect of any class or
description of chains, ropes and lifting tackle, he may
be order
direct that such provisions shall not apply as
respects
that class or description.
29. (1) All parts and working gear whether fixed or
movable,
including
the anchoring and fixing appliances, of every
lifting
machine shall be of good construction, sound
material,
adequate strength and free from patent defect,
and shall
be properly maintained.
(2) All such parts and gear as
aforesaid shall be thoroughly
examined
by a competent person at least once in every
period of
fourteen months and a register shall be kept
containing
such particulars of every examination as may
be
prescried.
(3) All rails on which a
travelling crane moves and every
track on
which the carriage of a transporter or runway
moves
shall be of proper size and adequate strength and
have an
even running surface; and any such rails or track
shall be
properly laid, adequately supported or
suspended,
and properly maintained.
(4) There shall be plainly marked
on every lifting machine
the safe
working load or loads thereof, except that in
the case
of a jib crane so constructed that the safe
working
load may be varied by the raising or lowering of
the jib,
there shall be attached thereto either an
automatic
indicator of safe working loads or a table
indicating
the safe working loads at corresponding
inclinations of the jib or corresponding radii of the
load.
(5) No lifting machine shall,
except for the purpose of a
test, be
loaded beyond the safe working load as marked or
indicated
under the last foregoing subsection.
(6) No lifting machine shall be
taken into use in any factory
for the
first time in that factory unless it has been
tested and
all such parts and working gear of the machine
as are
specified in subsection (1) of this section have
been
thoroughly examined by a competent person and a
certificate of such a test and examination specifying the
safe
working load or loads of the machine and signed by
the person
making the test and examination has been
obtained
and is kept available for inspection.
(7) If any person is employed or
working on or near the
wheel-track of an overhead travelling crane in any place
where he
would be liable to be struck by the crane,
effective
measures shall be taken by warning the driver
of the
crane or otherwise to ensure that the crane does
not
approach within twenty feet of that place.
(8) In this section the
expression lifting machine means a
crane,
crab, winch, teagle, pulley block, gin wheel,
transporter or runway.
30. (1) All floors, steps, stairs, passages and
gangway shall be
of sound
construction and properly maintained.
(2) For every staircase in a
building or affording a means of
exit from
a building, a substantial hand-rail shall be
provided
and maintained, which, if the staircase has an
open side
shall be on that side, and, in the case of a
staircase
having two open sides, or in the case of a
staircase
which, owing to the nature of the construction
thereof or
the condition of the surface of the steps or
other
special circumstances, is specially liable to cause
accidents,
such a hand-rail shall be provided and
maintained
on both sides. Any open side of a staircase
shall also
be guarded by the provision and maintenance of
a
lower rail or other effective means.
(3) All opening in floors shall be
securely fenced, except in
so far as
the nature of the work renders such fencing
impracticable.
(4) All ladders shall be soundly
constructed and properly
maintained.
31. (1) There shall, so far as is reasonably
practicable, be
provided
and maintained safe means of access to every
place at
which any person has at any time to work.
(2) Where any person is to work at
a place from which he is
liable to
fall a distance of more than six feet then,
unless the
place is one which affords secure foothold
and, where
necessary, secure handhold, means shall be
provided,
so far as is reasonably practicable, by fencing
or
otherwise for ensuring his safety.
32. (1) Where work has to be done inside any chamber,
tank, vat,
pit, pipe,
flue or similar confined space, in which
dangerous
fumes, toxic substances or harmful liquids are
liable to
be present or a deficiency of oxygen is liable
to occur,
to such an extent as to involve risk of persons
being
overcome thereby:
(a)
the confined space shall, unless there is other
adequate means of egres, be provided with a
manhole, which may be rectangular, oval, or
circular in shape, and shall be not less than
eighteen inches long and sixteen inches wide or (if
circular) not less than eighteen inches in
diameter, or in the case of tank wagons and other
mobile plant not less than sixteen inches long and
fourteen inches wide or (if circular) not less than
sixteen inches in diameter; and
(b)
no person shall enter the confined space for any
purpose unless the following requirements are
complied with:
(i) all practicable steps shall be taken to remove
any fumes, toxic substances or harmful liquids
which may be present and to prevent any
ingress of fumes and, unless it has been
ascertained by a suitable test that the space
is free from dangerous fumes, toxic substances
or harmful liquids, the person entering shall
wear a belt to which there is securely
attached a rope of which the free end is held
by a person outside; or
(ii) the person entering shall wear a suitable
breathing apparatus;
(c)
suitable breathing apparatus and a suitable
reviving apparatus and suitable belts and ropes
shall be provided and maintained so as to be
readily accessible and shall be periodically
inspected in such manner as may be prescribed; and
(d)
a sufficient number of the persons employed shall
be trained and practised in the use of such
apparatus and in the method of restoring
respiration:
Provided that the Chief Factory Inspecting Engineer
may by certificate grant, subject to any conditions
specified in the certificate, exemption from
compliance with any of the aforesaid requirements
in any case where he is satisfied that compliance
with those requirements is unnecessary or
impracticable;
(2) No work shall be permitted in
any boiler-furnace or
boiler-flue until it has been sufficiently cooled by
ventilation or otherwise to make work safe for the
persons
employed.
(3) The Minister may, by
regulations, provided for further
precautions to be taken where work has to be done in any
place
referred to in subsection(1).
33. (1) Where, in connexion with any grinding,
sieving, or other
process
giving rise to dust, there may escape into any
workroom
dust of such a characer and to such an extent as
to be
liable to explode on ignition, all practicable
steps
shall be taken to prevent such an explosion by
enclosure
of the plant used in the process, and by
removal or
prevention of accumulation of the dust, and
by
exclusion or effective enclosure of possible sources
of
ignition.
(2) Where there is present in any
plant used in any such
process as
aforesaid dust of such a character and to such
an extent
as to be liable to explode on ignition, then,
unless the
plant is so constructed as to withstand the
pressure
likely to be produced by any such explosion, all
practicable steps shall be taken to restrict the spread
and
effects of such an explosion, by the provision, in
connexion
with the plant, of chokes, baffles and vents,
or other
equally effective appliances.
(3) Where any part of a plant
contains any explosive or
inflammable gas or vapour under pressure greater than
atmospheric pressure, that part shall not be opened,
except in
accordance with the following provisions:
(a)
before the fastening of any joint of any pipe
connected with the part of the plant or the
fastening of the cover of any opening into the part
is loosened, any flow of the gas or vapour into the
part or into any such pipe shall be effectively
stopped by a stop-valve or otherwise;
(b)
before any such fastening as aforesaid is removed,
all practicable steps shall be taken to reduce the
pressure of the gas or vapour in the pipe or part
of the plant to atmospheric pressure;
and if any such fastening has been loosened or
removed as aforesaid, no explosive or inflammable
gas or vapour shall be allowed to enter the pipe or
part of the plant until the fastening has been
secured, or, as the case may be, securely replaced:
Provided that this subsection shall not apply to
plant installed in the open air.
(4) No plant, tank or vessel which
contains or has contained
any
explosive or inflammable substance shall be subjected
to any welding, brazing or soldering opertion or to
any
cutting
operation which involves the application of heat,
until all
practicable steps have been taken to remove the
substance
and any fumes arising therefrom, or to render
them
non-explosive or non-inflammable; and if any plant,
tank, or
vessel has been subjected to any such operation
as
aforesaid, no explosive or inflammable substance
shall be
allowed to enter the plant, tank or vessel until
the metal
has cooled sufficiently to prevent any risk
of
igniting the substance.
(5) The Chief Factory Inspecting
Engineer may by certificate
grant,
subject to any conditions specified in the
certificate exemption from compliance with any of the
requirements of the last two foregoing subsections in any
case where
he is satisfied that compliance with the
requirement is unnecessary or impracticable.
34. (1) Every steam boiler, whether separate or one
of a range:
(a)
shall have attached to it:
(i) a suitable safety valve, separate from any
stop-valve, which shall be so adjusted as to
prevent the boiler being worked at a pressure
greater than the maximum permissible working
pressure and shall be fixed directly to or as
close as practicable to, the boiler;
(ii) a suitable stop-valve connecting the boiler to
the steam pipe;
(iii) a correct steam pressure gauge connected to
the steam space and easily visible by the
boiler attendant, which shall indicate the
pressure of steam in the boiler in pounds per
square inch, and have marked upon it in a
distinctive colour the maximum permissible
working pressure;
(iv) at least one water gauge of transparent
material or other type approved by the Chief
Factory Inspecting Engineer to show the water
level in the boiler, and, if the gauge is of
the glass tubular type and the working
pressure in the boiler normally exceeds forty
pounds per square inch, the gauge shall be
provided with an efficient guard but not so as
to obstruct the reading of the gauge;
(v) where it is one of two or more boilers, a
plate bering a distinctive number which shall
be easily visible; and
(b)
shall be provided with means for attaching a test
pressure gauge; and
(c)
unless externally fired, shall be provided with a
suitable fusible plug or an efficient low water
alarm device:
Provided
that sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of this
subsection
shall not apply with respect to economisers,
and
sub-paragraphs (iii), (iv), and (v) of paragraph (a),
and
paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection shall not
apply with
respect to either economisers or superheaters.
(2) For the purposes of the last
foregoing subsection, a
lever-valve shall not be deemed a suitable safety valve
unless
the weight is secured on the lever in the
correct
position.
(3) No person shall enter or be in
any steam boiler which is
one of a
range of two or more steam boilers unless:
(a)
all inlets through which steam or hot water might
otherwise enter the boiler from any other part of
the range are disconnected from that part; or
(b)
all valves or taps controlling such entry are
closed and securely locked, and, where the boiler
has a blow-off pipe in common with one or more
other boilers or delivering into a common blow-off
vessel or sump, the blow-off valve or tap on each
such boiler is so constructed that it can only be
opened by a key which cannot be removed until the
valve or tap is closed and is the only key in use
for that set of blow-off valves or taps.
(3A) No person shall attend on or
operate any steam boiler
unless he
is authorized in writing by the holder of a
certificate issued under subsection (6). No person shall
be
authorized under this section unless after compliance
with such
requirements as may be prescribed.
(3B) (a) No steam boiler in use in
any factory before the
notified date shall be so used after a period of
three months has elapsed from the notified date,
unless a certificate of registration is issued by
the Chief Factory Inspecting Engineer in respect
of such boiler on application made in that behalf.
(b)
On and after the notified date no new steam boiler
shall be taken into use in any factory for the
first time and no steam boiler which had been used
in any factory shall be taken into use in any other
factory for the first time unless a certificate of
registration is issued by the Chief Factory
Inspecting Engineer in respect of such steam boiler
on application made in that behalf.
(c)
The Minister may by regulations:
(i) prescribe the form of application and the form
of certificate; and
(ii) require that records be maintained in respect
of each steam boiler in such form as may be
prescribed.
(4) Every part of every steam
boiler shall be of good
construction, sound material, adequate strength, and free
from
patent defect.
(5) Every steam boiler and all its
fittings and attachments
shall be
properly maintained.
(6) Every steam boiler and all its
fittings and attachments
shall be
thoroughly examined by a person who is the
holder of
a certificte issued in that behalf by the
Commissioner at least once in every period of twelve
months,
and also after any extensive repairs:
Provided
that, in the case of any range of boiler used at
the
appointed date for the purposes of a process
requiring
a continuous supply of steam, any stop-valve on
the range
which cannot be isolated from steam under
pressure
need only be examined so far as is practicable
without
such isolation, but this provision shall cease to
have
effect as soon as a reasonable opportunity arises
for
installing devices to enable the valve to be so
isolated
and, in any case, at the expiration of a period
of three
years from the appointed date.
(7) Any examination in accordance
with the requirements of
the last
foregoing subsection shall consist, in the first
place, of
an examination of the boiler when it is cold
and the
interior and exterior have been prepared in the
prescribed
manner, and secondly, except in the case of an
economiser
or superheater, of an examination when it is
under
normal steam pressure, and the two parts of the
examination may be carried out by different persons; the
examination under steam pressure shall be made on the
first
occasion when steam is raised after the examination
of the
boiler when cold, or as soon as possible
thereafter, and the person making the examination shall
see that
the safety valve is so adjusted as to prevent
the boiler
being worked at a pressure greater than the
maximum
permissible working pressure.
(8) A report of the result of
every such examination in such
form and
containing such particulars as may be prescribed
(including
the maximum permissible working pressure)
shall, as
soon as practicable and in any case within
twenty-eight days of the completion of the examination,
be entered
in or attached to the general register, and
the report
shall be signed by the person making the
examination, and if that person is an inspector of a
boiler-inspecting company or association, countersigned
by the
chief engineer of the company or association or by
such other
responsible officer of the company or
association as may be authorized in writing in that
behalf by
the chief engineer. For the purposes of this
subsection
and the succeeding provisions of this section
relating
to reports of examinations, the examination of
a boiler
when it is cold and its examination when it is
under
steam pressure shall be treated as separate
examinations.
(9) (a) No new steam boiler
shall be taken into use for the
first time in any factory unless:
(i) there has been obtained from the manufacturer
of the boiler or from a boiler-inspecting
company or association, a certificate
specifying the maximum permissible working
pressure of the boiler and stating the nature
of the tests to which the boiler and fittings
have been submitted; and
(ii) the certificate is kept available for
inspection on the premises of the factory; and
(iii) the boiler is so marked as to enable it to be
identified as the boiler to which the
certificate relates.
(b)
No steam boiler which has previously been used in
any other place shall be taken into use in any
factory for the first time in that factory until
the boiler has been examined and reported on in
accordance with the last three foregoing
subsections, and unless such examination has been
carried out after the installation of the boiler in
the factory.
(10) Where the report of any examination
under this section
specifies
conditions for securing the safe working of a
steam
boiler, the boiler shall not be used except in
accordance
with those conditions.
(11) The person making the report of any
examination under
this
section, or, where that person is an inspector of a
boiler-inspecting company or association, the chief
engineer
thereof, shall within twenty-eight days of the
completion
of the examination send to the District
Factory
Inspecting Engineer for the district a copy of
the report
in every case where the maximum permissible
working
pressure is reduced, or the examination shows
that the
boiler cannot continue to be used with safety
unless
certain repairs are carried out immediately or
within a
specified time.
(12) If the person employed to make any
such examination fails
to make a
thorough examination as required by this
section or
makes a report which is false or deficient in
any
material particular, or if the chief engineer of any
boiler-inspecting company or association permits any such
report to
be made, he shall be guilty of an offence and
liable to
a fine not exceeding five hundred rupees, and
if any
such person or chief engineer fails to send to the
District
Factory Inspecting Engineer for the district a
copy of
any report as required by the preceding
subsection, he shall be guilty of an offence.
(13) If the Chief Factory Inspecting
Engineer is not satisfied
as to the
thoroughness of the examination, he may require
the boiler
to be re-examined by three persons nominated
by him,
and the occupier shall give the necessary
facilities
for such re-examination. If as a result of
such
re-examination it appears that the report of the
examination was inadequate or inaccurate in any
material
particular, the cost of the re-examination shall
be
recoverable from the occupier as a debt due to the
State and
the report of the re-examination purporting to
be signed
by the persons making it shall be admissible in
evidence
and be prima facie evidence of the facts stated
therein.
(14) In this Part, the expression
maximum permissible working
pressure means, in the case of a new steam boiler, that
specified
in the certificate referred to in subsection
(9) of
this section and in the case of a steam boiler
which has
been examined in accordance with the provisions
of this
section, that specified in the report of the last
examination; and the expression steam boiler means
any
closed
vessel in which for any purpose steam is generated
under
pressure greater than atmospheric pressure, and
includes
any hot water boiler working at a temperature of
not less
than 110 degrees centigrade, any economiser used
to heat
the water fed to any such vessel, and any
super-heater used for heating steam.
(15) This section shall not apply to any
boiler belonging to
or
exclusively used in the service of the State, which is
exempted
therefrom by the Minister on the ground that an
efficient
staff, is employed for keeping such boilers in
sound
condition.
35. (1) Every steam receiver, not so constructed and
maintained
as to
withstand with safety the maximum permissible
working
pressure of the boiler or the maximum pressure
which can
be obtained in the ipe connecting the receiver
with any
other source of supply, shall be fitted with:-
(a)
a suitable reducing valve or other suitable
automatic appliance to prevent the safe working
pressure being exceeded; and
(b)
a suitable safety valve so adjusted as to permit
the steam to escape as soon as the safe working
pressure is exceeded, or a suitable appliance for
cutting off automatically the supply of steam as
soon as the safe working pressure is exceeded; and
(c)
a correct steam pressure gauge, which must indicate
the pressure of steam in the receiver in pounds per
square inch; and
(d)
a suitable stop valve; and
(e)
except where only one steam receiver is in use, a
plate bearing a distinctive number which shall be
easily visible.
The safety
valve and pressure gauge shall be fitted
either on
the steam receiver or on the supply pipe
between
the receiver and the reducing valve or other
appliance
to prevent the safe working pressure being
exceeded.
(2) For the purpose of the
provisions of the foregoing
subsection, except paragraph (e), any set of receivers
supplied
with steam through a single pipe and forming
part of a
single machine may be treated as one receiver,
and for
the purpose of the said provisions, except
paragraphs
(d) and (e), any other set of receivers
supplied
with steam through a single pipe may be treated
as one
receiver:
Provided
that this subsection shall not apply to any such
set of
receivers unless the reducing valve or other
appliance
to prevent the safe working pressure being
exceeded
is fitted on the said single pipe.
(3) Every part of every steam
receiver shall be of good
construction, sound material, adequate strength, and free
from
patent defect.
(4) Every steam receiver and its
fittings shall be properly
maintained
and shall be thoroughly examined by a person
who is the
holder of a certificate issued in that behalf
by the
Commissioner, so far as the construction of the
receiver
permits, at least once in every period of
twenty-four months.
(4A) If the person employed to make any
such examination fails
to make a
thorough examination required by this section
or makes a
report which is false or deficient in any
material
particular or if the chief engineer of any steam
receiver
inspecting company or association permits any
such
report to be made, he shall be guilty of an offence
and be
liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred
rupees.
(5) A report of the result of
every such examination
containing
such particulars as may be prescribed
(including
particulars of the safe working pressure)
shall be
entered in or attached to the general register.
(6) Every steam container shall be
so maintained as to secure
that the
outlet is at all times kept open and free from
obstruction.
(7) In this section the following
expressions have the
meanings
hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to
say:
safe
working pressure means, in the case of a new steam
receiver,
that specified by the maker, and in the case of
a steam
receiver which has been examined in accordance
with the
provisions of this section, that specified in
the report
of the last examination;
steam
receiver means any vessel or apparatus (other than
a steam
boiler, steam container, a steam pipe or coil, or
a part of
a prime mover) used for containing steam under
pressure
greater than atmosheric pressure;
steam
container means any vessel (other than a steam
pipe or
coil) constructed with a permanent outlet into
the
atmosphere or into a space where the pressure does
not exceed
atmospheric pressure, and through which steam
is passed
at atmospheric pressure or at approximately
that
pressure for the purpose of heating boiling, drying,
evaporating or other similar purpose.
36. (1) Every air receiver shall:
(a)
have marked upon it so as to be plainly visible the
safe working pressure; and
(b)
in the case of a receiver connected with an air
compressing plant either be so constructed as to
withstand with safety the maximum pressure which
can be obtained in the compressor, or be fitted
with a suitable reducing valve or
other
suitable appliance to prevent the safe working
pressure of the receiver being exceeded; and
(c)
be fitted with a suitable safety valve so adjusted
as to permit the air to escape as soon as the safe
working pressure is exceeded; and
(d)
be fitted with a correct pressure gauge indicating
the pressure in the receiver in pounds per square
inch; and
(e)
be fitted with a suitable appliance for draining
the receiver; and
(f)
be provided with a suitable manhole, handhole, or
other means which will allow the interior to be
thoroughly cleaned; and
(g)
in a case where more than one receiver is in use in
the factory, bear a distinguishing mark which shall
be easily visible.
(2) For the purpose of the
provisions of the foregoing
subsection
relating to safety valves and pressure gauges,
any set of
air receivers supplied with air through a
single
pipe may be treated as one receiver:
Provided
that, in a case where a suitable reducing valve
or other
suitable appliance to prevent the safe working
pressure
being exceeded is required to be fitted, this
subsection
shall not apply unless the valve or appliance
is fitted
on the said single pipe.
(3) Ever air receiver and its
fittings shall be of sound
construction and properly maintained.
(4) Every air receiver shall be
thoroughly cleaned and
examined
at least once in every period of twenty-four
months:
Provided
that in the case of a receiver of solid drawn
construction:
(a)
the person making any such examination may specify
in writing a period exceeding twenty-four months
but not exceeding four years within which the next
examination is to be made; and
(b)
if it is so constructed that the internal surface
cannot be thoroughly examined, a suitable hydraulic
test of the receiver shall be carried out in lieu
of internal examination.
Every such
examination and test shall be carried out by
a person
who is the holder of a certificate issued in
that
behalf by the Commissioner and a report of the
result of
every such examination and test, containing
such
particulars as may be prescribed (including
particulars of the safe woring pressure) shall be entered
in or
attached to the general register.
(4A) If the person employed to make any
such examination or
test fails
to make a thorough examination or test, as the
case may
be, required by this section or makes a report
which is
false or deficient in any material particular or
if the
chief engineer of any air-receiver inspecting
company or
association permits any such report to be
made, he
shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to
a fine not
exceeding five hundred rupees.
(5) In this section the
expression air receiver means:
(a)
any vessel (other than a pipe or coil, or an
accessory, fitting or part of a compressor) for
containing compressed air and connected with an air
compressing plant;
(b)
any fixed vessel for containing compressed air or
compressed exhaust gases and used for the purpose
of starting an internal combustion engine; or
(c)
any fixed or portable vessel (not being part of a
spraying pistol) used for the purpose of spraying
by means of compressed air any paint, varnish,
lacquer or similar material; or
(d)
any vessel in which oil is stored and from which it
is forced by compressed air:
Provided
that the provisions of paragraph (e) of
subsection
(1) of this section shall not apply to any
such
vessel as is mentioned in paragraph (c) or paragraph
(d) of
this subsection.
36A. (1) Every gas receiver shall:
(a)
have marked upon it so as to be plainly visible the
safe working pressure;
(b)
in the case of a receiver connected with a
compressing plant, either be so constructed as to
withstand with safety the maximum pressure which
can be obtained in the compressor, or be fitted
with a suitable reducing valve or
other
suitable appliance to prevent the safe working
pressure of the receiver being exceeded;
(c)
be fitted with a suitable safety valve so adjusted
as to permit the gas to escape as soon as the safe
working pressure is exceeded;
(d)
be fitted with a correct pressure gauge indicating
the pressure in the receiver in pounds per square
inch;
(e)
be fitted with a suitable appliance for draining
the receiver; and
(f)
be provided with a suitable manhole, handhole, or
other means which will allow the interior to be
thoroughly cleaned.
(2) (a) In any case where,
owing to the nature of the
process or the action of the contents of any gas
receiver, a pressure gauge or safety valve or both
cannot be expected to work reliably, there may be
installed, with the permission of the Chief Factory
Inspecting Engineer and subject to compliance with
paragraph (b) of this subsection, a tested and
reliably working thermometer capable of recording a
high degree of temperature on which there shall be
clearly marked the maximum permissible temperature
in the receiver.
(b)
Where by reason of the technical processes in the
receiver it is necessary to replace the safety
valve by a thermometer, the receiver shall be
equipped with a safety plug which will burst when
the pressure risesby not more than twenty-five
percent above the authorized pressure. Where for
any technical reason it is not possible to instal
such a plug, there may be installed on one of the
appliances (pressure gauge or thermometer) a
suitable signallng device that will begin to
function when the pressure or temperature rises
above the safe limit. Such a signalling device
shall be so constructed as to avoid the possibility
of an explosion in the factory premises due to
sparking in an explosive atmosphere or other such
causes.
(3) In any case where explosive or
poisonous gases may be
introduced
into or may form in the receiver, the
irruption
of such gases into workplaces shall be reliably
prevented
such as by means of pipes leading to the
outside of
the factory premises from safety valves and
plugs or
other devices. Before poisonous gases are
allowed to
escape outside the factory premises they
shall be
rendered harmless by a suitable filter or other
device.
(4) On every vessel which is
capable of being opened there
shall be a
reliable working device by means of which the
pressure
in the vessel will be reduced to atmospheric
pressure
before the vessel is opened.
(5) The fittings of vessels
installed outside any premises
shall be
protected against atmospheric influences.
(6) Every receiver containing a
liquified gas under pressure
or a
poisonous gas shall be protected against foreign
sources of
heat.
(7) Where more than one receiver
is in use in any factory,
every
receiver shall bear a distinguishing mark which
shall be
easily visible.
(8) For the purpose of the
preceding provisions of this
section
relating to safety valves and pressure gauges,
any set of
gas receivers supplied with gas through a
single
pipe may be treated as one receiver: Provided
that, in a
case where a suitable reducing valve or other
suitable
appliance to prevent the safe working pressure
being
exceeded is required to be fitted, the provisions
of this
subsection shall not apply unless the valve or
appliance
is fitted on the aforesaid single pipe.
(9) Every gas receiver and its
fittings shall be of sound
construction and properly maintained.
(10) Every gas receiver and its fittings
shall be thoroughly
cleaned
and examined at least once in every period of
twelve
months:
Provided
that where, in the case of a receiver of solid
drawn
construction, the internal surface cannot be
thoroughly
examined, a suitable hydraulic test of the
receiver
shall be carried out in lieu of internal
examination. Every such examination shall be carried out
by a
person who is the holder of a certificate issued in
that
behalf by the Commissioner, and a report of the
result of
every such examination containing such
particulars as may be prescribed (including
particulars
of the
safe working pressure) shall be entered in or
attached
to the general register.
(11) If the person employed to make any
such examination fails
to make a
thorough examination, required by this section
or makes a
report which is false or deficient in any
material
particular or if the chief engineer of any gas
receiver
inspecting company or association permits any
such
report to be made, he shall be guilty of an offence
and liable
to a fine not exceeding five hundred rupees.
(12) The Minister may by regulations
provide for additional
safety
measures to be taken in respect of different
gases.
(13) In this section the
expression gas receivers means:
(a)
any vessel (other than a pipe or coil, or an
accessory, fitting or part of a compressor) for
containing a compressed gas and connected with a
compressing plant; or
(b)
any vessel for containing compressed, liquified or
dissolved gases.
37. The Chief Factory Inspecting Engineer may by
certificate
except from any of the provisions of the
last four preceding
sections any class or type of steam
boiler, steam receiver,
steam container, air receiver or gas
receiver to which he is
satisfied that such provision cannot
reasonably be applied.
Any such exception may be unqualified or
may be subject to
such conditions as may be contained in
the certificate.
38. (1) Every gasholder shall be of sound
construction and shall
be
properly maintained.
(2) Every gasholder shall be
thoroughly examined externally
by a
person who is the holder of a certificate issued in
that
behalf by the Commissioner at least once in every
period of
two years, and a record containing such
particulars as may be prescribed of every such
examination shall be entered in or attached to the
general
register.
(3) In the case of a gasholder of
which any lift has been in
use for
more than twenty years, the internal state of the
sheeting
shall, within two years of the coming into
operation
of this section and thereafter at least once in
every
period of ten years, be examined by a person
authorized
by the Commissioner by cutting samples from
the crown
and sides of the holder or by other
sufficient
means, and all samples so cut and a report on
every such
examination signed by the person making it
shall be
kept available for inspection.
(4) A record signed by the
occupier of the factory or by a
responsible official authorized in that behalf showing
the date
of the construction, as nearly as it can be
ascertained, of the oldest lift of every gasholder in the
factory
shall be kept available for inspection.
(5) Where there is more than one
gasholder in the factory,
every
gasholder shall be marked in a conspicuous position
with a
distinguishing number or letter.
(6) No gasholder shall be repaired
or demolished except under
the direct
supervision of a person who, by his training
and
experience and his knowledge of the necessary
precautions against risks of explosion and of persons
being
overcome by gas, is competent to supervise such
work.
(6A) The Chief Factory Inspecting
Engineer may, after taking
into
consideration the design, construction and capacity
of
any gasholder or a class of gasholder and the
purpose
for which such gasholder or class of gasholder is
used, by
certificate grant in respect of such gasholder
or class
of gasholder, subject to such conditions as may
be
specified therein, exemption from compliance with
the
provisions of this section.
(7) In this section, the
expression gasholder means a
water-sealed gasholder.
38A. (1) The Minister may by regulations make provisions in
respect of
all matters relating to the issue of
certificates referred to in sections 34, 35, 36, 36A and
38.
(2) In particular and without
prejudice to the generality of
the powers
conferred by subsection (1), such regulations
may prescribe:
(a)
for the issue of certificates and for their renewal
annually;
(b)
the form of application for certificates and the
fee to be paid together with such applications;
(c)
the qualifications or experience that an applicant
should have;
(d)
the conditions to be attached to certificates and
the circumstances in which the Commissioner may
cancel any certificate.
39. (1) Every factory to which this section applies
shall be
certified
by a Factory Inspecting Engineer as being
provided
with such means of escape in case of fire for
the
persons employed therein as may reasonably be
required
in the circumstances of each case and, if any
premises
with respect to which no such certificate is in
force are
used as a factory, the occupier shall be guilty
of an
offence and liable on conviction thereof to a fine
not
exceeding five hundred rupees, and if the
contravention in respect of which he was so convicted is
continued
after the conviction, he shall (subject to the
provisions
of section 110) be guilty of a further offence
and liable
in respect thereof to a fine not exceeding
fifty
rupees for each day on which the offence was so
continued.
It shall be the duty of the District Factory
Inspecting
Engineer for every district to examine every
such
factory within the district and, on being satisfied
that the
factory is so provided as aforesaid, to give
such a
certificate accordingly. The certificate shall
specify
precisely and in detail the means of escape
provided,
and shall contain particulars as to the
maximum
number of persons employed or proposed to be
employed
in the factory as a whole and, if the Factory
Inspecting
Engineer thinks fit, in any specified part
thereof,
and as to any explosive or highly inflammable
material
stored or used and as to other matters taken
into
account in granting the certificate. The certificate
shall be
attached by the occupier to the general
register:
(2) All means of escape specified
in the certificate as
aforesaid
shall be properly maintained and kept free from
obstruction.
(3) In the case of any factory
constructed or converted for
use as a
factory before the coming into operation of this
section no
offence shall be deemed to be committed under
this
section by reason of the use of the factory during
any period
that may elapse between the coming into
operation
of this section and the grant or refusal of a
certificate by the Factory Inspecting Engineer after
examining
the factory under this section, and if the
Factory
Inspecting Engineer refuses to grant a
certificate in respect of the factory unless alterations
are made,
no such offence shall be deemed to be committed
while the
alteration are being carried out in accordance
with the
requirements of the Factory Inspecting Engineer.
(4) If, after the grant of a
certificate, it is proposed to
make any
material extension or material structural
alteration
of the factory premises or to increase
materially
the number of persons employed in the factory
or in any
part specified in the certificate, or to begin
to store
or use explosive or highly inflammable material
in the
factory or materially to increase the extent of
such
storage or use, the occupier shall give written
notice of
the proposal to the Factory Inspecting
Engineer.
(5) If the Factory Inspecting
Engineer on receipt of the
notice
mentioned in the last foregoing subsection is of
the
opinion that the conditions in regard to escape in
case of
fire will be affected, or if at any time he is
satisfied
that by reason of changed conditions the
existing
means of escape have become insufficient, he may
by notice
in writing require the occupier to make such
alternations, within such period, as may be specified in
the
notice.
(6) The occupier shall, within the
period specified in any
notice of
the Factory Inspecting Engineer under this
section,
carry out any alterations required by the
notice,
and upon their being carried out the Factory
Inspecting
Engineer shall amend the certificate or issue
a new
certificate, and if the alterations are not so
carried
out, the Factory Inspecting Engineer shall,
without
prejudice to the taking of other proceedings,
cancel the
certificate.
(7) If it appears to a Factory
Inspecting Engineer that the
conditions
in regard to escape in case of fire in any
factory to
which this section applies are so dangerous
that the
factory or any part thereof ought not to be
used, or
ought not be used for a particular process or
work,
until steps have been taken to remedy the danger,
he may ake
a complaint to a Magistrates Court and the
court may,
on being satisfied of the matters aforesaid,
by order
prohibit the use of the factory or part thereof,
or its use
for the particular process or work until such
works have
been executed as are in the opinion of the
court
necessary to remedy the danger. When any works have
been
executed in pursuance of such an order as aforesaid,
the
Factory Inspecting Engineer shall amend any
certificate in force under this section in respect of the
factory,
or issue a new certificate, as the case may
require.
(8) This section applies to every
factory:
(a)
in which more than twenty persons are employed; or
(b)
which is being constructed or converted for use as
a factory at the appointed date, or is constructed
or so converted after that date, and in which more
than ten persons are employed in the same building
on any floor above the ground floor of the
building; or
(c)
of which the construction has been completed before
the appointed date and in which more than ten
persons are employed in the same building above the
first floor of the building or more than twenty
feet above the ground level; or
(d)
in or under which explosive or highly inflammable
materials are stored or used.
40. (1) The Minister may make regulations as to the
means of
escape in
case of fire to be provided in factories or any
class or
description of factory.
(2) If a certificate has been
issued under section 39 in
respect of
a factory which is not in conformity with the
regulations under this section, the Factory
Inspecting
Engineer
shall serve a notice on the occupier of the
factory
requiring him to make, within a specified
period,
such alterations as the inspector may consider
necessary
to bring the factory into conformity with the
regulations and the provisions of section 39 shall apply
in
relation to any such notice as they apply to a
notice of
the Factory Inspecting Engineer under that
section.
41. (1) While any person is within a factory for the
purpose of
employment
or meals, the doors of the factory, and of any
room
therein in which the person is, and any doors which
afford a
means of exit for persons employed in the
factory
from any building or from any enclosure in which
the
factory is situated, shall not be locked or fastened
in such
manner that they cannot be easily and immediately
opened
from the inside.
(2) Any doors opening on to any
staircase or corridor from
any room
in which more than ten persons are employed, and
in the
case of any factory constructed or converted for
use as a
factory after beginning operation of this
section,
all other doors affording a means of exit from
the
factory for persons employed therein, shall except in
the case
of sliding doors, be constructed to open
outwards.
(3) In any factory constructed or
converted for use as a
factory
before the beginning operation of this section,
in which
more than ten persons are employed in the same
building
above the ground floor, any door, which is not
kept
continuously open, at the foot of a staircase
affording
a means of exit from the building shall, except
in the
case of sliding doors, be constructed to open
outwards.
(4) Every hoistway or liftway
inside a building constructed
after the
beginning operation of this section shall,
subject as
hereinafter provided, be completely enclosed
with
fire-resisting materials, and all means of access to
the hoist
or lift shall be fitted with doors of
fire-resistin
materials: Provided that any such hoistway
or liftway
shall be enclosed at the top only by some
material
easily broken by fire, or be provided with a
vent at
the top.
(5) The Chief Factory Inspecting
Engineer may by certificate
grant,
subject to any conditions specified in the
certificate, exemption from compliance with any of
the
requirements of the last foregoing subsection in any case
where he
is satisfied that compliance with those
requirements is inappropriate or undersirable.
(6) Every window, door, or other
exit affording means of
escape in
case of fire or giving access thereto other
than the
means of exit in ordinary use, shall be
distinctively and conspicuously marked by a notice
printed in
red letters of an adequate size.
(7) Where in any factory more than
twenty persons are
employed
in the same building, or explosive or highly
inflammable materials are stored or used in any building
in which
persons are employed, effective provisions shall
be made
for giving warning in case of fire, which shall
be clearly
audible throughout the building.
(7A) The Minister may by regulations
provide for the
maintenance and testing of fire warnings referred to in
subsection
(7).
(8) The contents of any room in
which persons are employed
shall be
so arranged or disposed so that there is a free
passage-way for all persons employed in the room to a
means of
escape in case of fire.
42. (1) Where in any factory more than twenty persons
are
employed
in the same building above the first floor or
more
than twenty feet above the ground level, or
explosive
or highly inflammable materials are stored or
used in
any building where persons are employed,
effective
steps shall be taken to ensure that all the
persons
employed are familiar with the means of escape
in case of
fire and their use and with the routine to be
followed
in case of fire.
(2) The Minister may make
regulations as to the steps to be
taken for
the said purposes in such factories as
aforesaid,
or any class or description thereof.
42A. (1) There shall be provided in every factory fire
fighting
appliances
in accordance with the regulations made in
that
behalf.
(2) The Minister may by
regulations proovide for the testing
and
examination of such appliances and for all matters
relating
to, connected with or incidental to the
provision
of fire fighting appliances in factories. Such
regulations may prescribe different appliances and means
to be
provided in respect of different classes or
descriptions of factories.
43. Where it appears to the Commissioner that, in view of
the
number and nature of accidents occurring
in any factory or
class or description of factory, special
provision ought to be
made at that factory or at factories of
that class or
description to secure the safety of
persons employed therein,
he may make an order requiring the
occupier to make such
reasonable provision by arrangements for
special supervision
in regard to safety, investigation of
the circumstances and
causes of accidents, and otherwise as
may be specified in the
order.
44. (1) If on complaint by any person appointed under
section 100
a
Magistrates Court is satisfied:
(a)
that any part of the ways, works, machinery or
plant used in a factory is in such a condition or
is so constructed or is so placed that it cannot be
used without risk of bodily injury; or
(b)
that any process of work is carried on or anything
is or has been done in any factory in such a manner
as to cause risk of bodily injury; the court shall,
as the case may require, by order:
(i) prohibit the use of that part of the ways,
works, machinery or plant, or, if it is
capable of repair or alteration, prohibit its
use until it is duly repaired or altered, or
(ii) require the occupier to take such steps as may
be specified in the order for remedying the
danger complained of.
(2)
Where a complaint is or has been made under
subsection (1) of this section, the court may, on
application ex parte by any person appointed under
section 100, and on receiving evidence that the use
of any such part of the ways, works, machinery or
plant, or as the case may be, the carrying on of
any process or work or the doing of anything in
such a manner as aforesaid, involves imminent risk
of serious bodily injury, make an interim order
prohibiting, either absolutely or subject to
conditions, the use, carrying on or doing thereof
until the earlier opportunity for hearing and
determining the complaint.
44A. (1) Where a Magistrates Court is satisfied on
complaint by
any person
appointed under section 100 that any premises
which are
or are part of or are intended to be used as a
factory
are in such a condition, or are so controlled or
placed,
that any process or work carried on therein, or
intended
to be carried on therein, cannot be so carried
on with
due regard to the safety, health and welfare of
the
persons employed, the court may by order prohibit the
use
thereof for the purpose of that process or work and,
in the
case of premises which are intended to be used as
a factory,
the court may make the like order if satisfied
on
complaint by any person under section 100 that the
process or
work cannot be carried on therein without a
contravention of this Ordinance or any regulation or
order made
hereunder.
(2) The carrying on of any process
or work may, by an order
under
subsection (1) of this section, be prohibited
either
indefinitely or until such steps have been taken
as may be
specified in the order to enable the process or
work to be
carried on with due regard to the safety,
health and
welfare of the persons employed or without
such a
contravention as aforesaid, as the case may be;
but any
such order may be revoked or varied on the
application by way of complaint of the occupier or owner
of the
premises.
(3) On any application for the
revocation or variation of an
order
under subsection (1) of this section the
complainant shall be entitled to be heard.
45. No machinery of any type or description which is not
expressly
referred to in this Part shall:
(a)
be used in a factory unless such machinery is of
sound material, good mechanical construction and
adequate strength, is fitted with such safety
devices and is installed in such manner as may be
prescribed by regulation for that type or
description of machinery; or
(b)
be operated except in such manner and with such
safeguards and precautionary measures as may be
prescribed by regulation for the better protection
of persons or property from injury or damage likely
to be caused by such machinery.
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