Centre issues guidelines for restarting factories post lockdown, says treat first week like test run

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Sunday (May10) released fresh guidelines on restarting manufacturing and chemical industries after the end of coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown period.

It is to be noted that the nationwide lockdown is scheduled to end on May 17 but the Centre has allowed reopening of industries in non-hotspot areas with some conditions.

“Due to several weeks of lockdown and the closure of industrial units during the lockdown period, it is possible that some of the operators might not have followed the established SOP (standard operating procedure). As a result, some of the manufacturing facilities, pipelines, valves, etc. may have residual chemicals, which may pose risk. The same is true for the storage facilities with hazardous chemicals and flammable materials,” the Centre said in its fresh guidelines.

The Central goverment decided to issue the fresh guidelines after 11 people died due to a gas leak at LG Polymers’ plant in Anhdra Pradesh's Visahkapatnam on May 7. 

In the release, it said that due to several weeks of lockdown and the closure of industrial units, it is possible that some of the operators might not have followed the established SOP.

Here are the guidelines issued by the Centre: 

1. While restarting the unit, consider the first week as the trial or test run period; ensure all safety protocols. Do not try to achieve high production targets.

2. To minimize the risk it is important that employees who work on specific equipment are sensitized and made aware of the need to identify abnormalities like strange sounds or smell, exposed wires, vibrations, leaks, smoke, abnormal wobbling, irregular grinding or other potentially hazardous signs which indicate the need for an immediate maintenance or if required shutdown.

3. Especially during the Covid-19 times, ensure all lockout and tagout procedures are in place on a daily basis (not applicable for units running 24hrs).

4. Inspection of all equipment as per the safety protocols during the restart phase

5. In case the industry has any difficulty in managing crucial bakcward linkages that may be critical for their safe functioning, they should approach the local district administration for specific assistance. District Magistrates may be instructed to ensure that in such instances, the industrial unit may be facilitated to run their end to end operations, in the overall interests of industrial security.

The Centre also released guidelines for specific industrial procedures such as storage of raw material, manufacturing, storage and guidelines for workers.