Some residents near the Kunshan factory expressed their concerns,"There are lots of factories around us, we are really afraid to be frank. The regulators come and go, but are they really doing their job?"
Now, this is a factory blast that resulted in 69 death and more than 120 injured. The explosion was apparently caused by the presence of combustible dust that was generated in the production of aluminum car wheel for car makers such as General Motors and Volkswagen. Accordingly to expert:
Combustible dust is a widely known industrial hazard that has led to deaths at factories around the world, including in China. Safety experts warn that in the absence of good ventilation a buildup of heat, oxygen and a material, often dusty particles such as pulverized metal, can spark massive explosions without warning.China Daily highlighted lax safety as an issue in this accident. However that is not the root of the problem. There are safety measures in place and checks by local authorities. However safety measures on powerpoint presentation are pretty useless unless properly enforced. If the person charged with policing the safety measure close one eye because of the close guanxi (relationship) with the person he is checking, then all these safety measures are just paper exercise.
I've raised this issue in the blog Why guangxi is bad for proper check and balance. Instead of professional check and balance on workplace safety, guangxi becomes the main tool to "manage" safety issues. When safety inspector are employed, guangxi became the means to get employment bypassing more professionally qualified staff. Instead of check and balance and transparency in safety inspection and review, guangxi and gifts becomes part of the "normal" worksafe inspection process.
Guangxi is great as a networking tool to get ahead in employment and business. However when used extensively throughout society and is being viewed as a normal behaviour in workplace as practised by everyone, it starts to weaken the foundation of quality, reliability, safety and trust that underpin the confidence of both consumer and citizen of the company or the government department.
I'm not saying all factories are like that. I'm not saying all safety inspection works this way. All I'm saying is that one or two bad apples can wreck alot of damage as can be seen in the recent explosion at Kaoshiung, Taiwan caused by an underground gas leak.
Now, my question to you is this - What happen if, instead of this metal factory, this is an accident in a nuclear plant near Shanghai?
Latest update:
http://shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=233418
The following were found to be safety issues prior to the blast. Whether it be ignorance, laziness or closing of one eye because of close guangxi between inspector and the factory staff, safety is not someone else problem. It can become your problem if you or your family or friends are also working there or passing by there when the blast happens.
Can't I just working normally in a factory without worrying about whether it's safe to work there?-- Design and construction of the factory buildings had failed to conform to safety provisions.
-- The workshop was overcrowded with too many processing assembly lines.
-- There was a shortage of dust removal equipment at the site.
-- There was substandard electrical equipment at the factory site.
-- Work safety measures had not been strictly implemented. Accumulated dust and powdered metals had not been cleaned in a timely manner, which led to the combustion of particles.
Can't I trust the safety sticker I find on electrical equipment and feel that it's safe to use?
No, safety is not just someone else problem.
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