‘Consider first week as trial and test run period’: MHA on starting industries after lockdown

New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Sunday issued guidelines for restarting manufacturing industries after the lockdown, saying the first week should be considered as the trial and test run period.”

“While restarting the unit, consider the first week as the trial or test run period, ensure all safety and protocols, and don’t try to achieve high production targets,” says MHA.

There should be 24-hour sanitisation of the factory premises, it said.

The factories need to maintain a sanitisation routine every two-three hours especially in the common areas that include lunch rooms and common tables which will have to be wiped clean with disinfectants after every single use, it added.

For accommodation, sanitisation needs to be performed regularly to ensure worker safety and reduce the spread of contamination, the guidelines said.

To minimise the risk, it is important that employees who work on specific equipment are sensitised 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 immediate maintenance or if required shutdown, it said.

The guidelines come in the wake of the gas leak at a factory in Visakhapatnam.

At least 11 people lost their lives and about 1,000 others were exposed to a gas leak at a factory in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam on May 7.

The incident took place after it restarted operations when the government allowed industrial activities in certain sectors following several weeks of lockdown.

The lockdown was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 for 21 days in a bid to combat the coronavirus threat. The lockdown was then extended till May 3 and again till May 17.