OSH India 2016: Transforming India’s workplace safety and health

•India’s largest trade show for Occupational Safety & Health industry in Mumbai by UBM India

•OSH India Safety Awards & Industry conference to mark 5th edition

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November 2016, Mumbai (GPN) : UBM India announced the launch of the 5th edition of Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) India in Mumbai. Slated for the 10th and 11th November 2016 at a bigger and a newer venue —CIDCO Exhibition Centre, Vashi, Navi Mumbai the expo aims to bring together renowned Indian and International exhibitors, consultants, business experts and key government officials on this industry platform to exchange global best practices and seek solutions for challenges pertaining to workplace safety and health.  The expo is supported by Gujarat Safety Council, Indian Technical Textile Association, Taloja Industrial Association, Thane Manufacturer Association and Indian Society of Ergonomics.

OSH India seeks to provide tangible solutions to a very pressing need in today’s workplace. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have come up with different objectives for the subject of Occupational Safety Hazard such as the maintenance and promotion of workers’ health and working capacity; the improvement of working environment and work to become conducive to safety and health and the development of work organizations and working cultures in a direction which supports health and safety at work. These promote a positive social climate, smooth operation and will enhance productivity.

In India, the problems surrounding OSH are aplenty including lack of awareness or coordination between various stakeholders, a growing informal economy, expansion of flexible forms of employment, expansion of labour migration, new risks associated with the use of new technology. OSH India 2016, will address this very need, and give an opportunity to safety and health suppliers and service providers from across the world to showcase their innovations and knowledge amidst an industry landscape of a vastly untapped Indian market. It will feature a power-packed two day conference to drive occupational safety and health as a priority for companies which will in turn translate into better health and productivity of employees, benefiting the organisation and the economy at large.

The expo will include an Innovation Zone which will be a platform for exhibitors to promote and showcase innovative products that will benefit the occupational safety and health industry at large.  It will also include a new feature – a two day ‘LIVE SEMINAR’.  Live seminar is a safety awareness forum where safety experts from leading safety product manufacturers will demonstrate the latest technologies and discuss the trends and topics related to safety at workplace. Some of the topics of Live Seminar include — Excavating Responsibility, How can you ensure safety at work place (practical case studies), protective coveralls: body protection (standards and practicability), Explanation of Cosmos and products lineup / Q&A   , Principles on Fall Protection: focus engineering fall protection, safety lighting : Atex ,US standards and Indian standards and Ergonomics amongst others.

OSH India has been consistently growing in size and depth, attracting industry leaders and key exhibitors including ‘Presenting Partner’ – Dickies (ID Overseas Pvt. Ltd.), ‘Occupational Safety & Health Partner’ – Euro Safety Footwear (India) Pvt Ltd., ‘Platinum Partner – Udyogi International Pvt. Ltd. ,‘Knowledge partner’-Sure Safety,  ‘Registration Partner’- Karam Industries , Work at height Partner – JLG and others such asVenus Safety & Health Pvt Ltd, BATA India Limited, E.I.Dupont India Pvt Ltd, NEBOSH Ltd, and Tyco Safety Products (I) Pvt Ltd. This year, the show will have a presence of over 100 brands and will also see international participation from countries such as USA, UK, China, Germany,Srilanka, Norway, Japan andMalaysia.

Speaking on the announcement, Mr. Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India Pvt. Ltd said “Safety is an essential factor towards protecting and saving human lives. With an increasing number of hours in the day spent at the workplace, enhancing the safety and well-being of employees is a prime concern, to secure workplace productivity and to enhance the quality of life as a whole. Occupational Safety and Health is extremely important to emerging economies. The awareness around the importance of occupational safety & health compliances amongst Indian organisations has augmented over the years.  Consistent emphasis by governments on developing infrastructure and providing workplace safety coupled with the rise in global investments in the sector, there lies immense opportunities for suppliers and service providers from across the world to showcase their product and solution offerings.  Through OSH India, we offer the right platform to the industry to actualise these opportunities.” 

This year’s conference aims to share and ideate on global best practice with delegates; whilst the accompanying exhibition will help identify solutions to the most pressing challenges in workplace safety and health. The key sessions and panel discussions at the conference will be attended by industry experts from across the country and leading international organizations. Topics of discussion at the conference include:  ‘OSH Challenges in India and the Way Ahead’, ‘Globalisation and The Changing World of Work’, ‘An Integrated Approach to Worker Health’ , ‘How Good leadership Can Drive Improvements in Process Safety’, ‘Women and OSH’, ‘Risk Assessment & Risk Governance’ , ‘Fire and Electrical Hazard Prevention’  and ‘Health and Safety Risks in Construction’.

Distinguished speakers at the conference include  Mr Vinayak Marathe, Senior Vice President, Reliance Industries Limited; Mr Suresh Tanwar, Chief Group Safety and Health, Tata Group; Mr Krishnanand Mavinkurve, Vice President & Head OSH, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited; Mr Sunil Bailwar,Vice President  & Head Corporate Environment, Health & Safety – Hindalco Industries Limited; Mr Binaya Debata, Vice President – (SHE), Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd.; Mr Ashok Emani, Director & Head- ESG, IDFC Ltd.; Mr Umesh Kumar Purbey, Additional Vice President & Corporate Head – HSE & Fire, Reliance Energy Limited; Mr Badal Roy, General Manager, Head Safety Offshore Operations – Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC); Mr Pankaj Singh, General Manager – HSSE, India & South Asia, BP Castrol India; Mr JC Sekar, Co – Founder& CEO, AcuiZen Technologies Singapore Pte. Ltd.; Mr Arvind Bodhankar, Corporate Head – HSE & Chief Sustainability Officer, Tata Motors Limited; Mr Stephen Philip Storey, Corporate EHS Head, Larsen & Toubro Limited; Mr Viren Dhulla, Head – Corporate Health Safety & Wellbeing, Vodafone India amongst others.

OSH India 2016 will also witness the ‘OSH India Safety Awards 2016’ which is open to Indian operating businesses, organizations, alliance and individuals in the public or private sector with a workplace health and safety initiative that complies with any one of the Innovation or Hero awards categories. Euro Safety Footwear (India) Pvt. Ltd. is the Presenting Partner for the Awards Night on 10th November 2016 which will be a celebration of the coming together of the luminaries and forerunners of the industry, marked by a night of glamour and entertainment.  

Apurba Chakraborty, CEO  & Director, Dickies

“This exhibition is a platform to reach out to most of our existing & prospective customers to showcase our product range – its compatibility, performance and R&D based innovation. We plan to use OSH India – Mumbai 2016 as the same platform to showcase our Safety Footwear, Occupational Wear, Flame Resistant and Healthcare product range. By participating in this trade fair we would like to grow our brand in India-penetrate the minds of visitors and attract their interest to consider these value added products. ”

Vanjul Jain, Director of Youngman India Private ltd.

“This is the first time we are associating ourselves with OSH India – Mumbai and Youngman would be showcasing its new products and complete range of products right from ladders, work platforms to access towers. Youngman rental division has also started rentals of Core cutting machines and lifters adding to the range of our access towers. Our biggest business need at this point of time is “Reach” in terms of quantity and quality of the market. We have very high expectations from the show believe that this show will help us reach the most connected and leading safety officers of the country to spread the word of Youngman and our unique offerings.”

Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, Country Manager – India and South Asia, Haws India Pvt Ltd

“We are 109 year old,  US based company.  Haws is the inventor, manufacturer and builder of drinking fountains as well as standardized and customized emergency response products. We  started our operations in India  a year ago and we are participating for the first time at OSH India – Mumbai. We would be launching emergency equipment model: 4000 with 1600 litres capacity which deals with dust/chemical splash and can be used for both industrial purposes at the expo. With our participation at OSH India – Mumbai 2016 we look forward to quality visitors and valuable business enquiries.”

Iqbal Hussain, General Manager, Superhouse Limited

“Growth potential of OSH industry  looks highly on a positive side in years to come due to all around awareness and of importance of human life engaged in manufacturing sector and strict regulations being implemented and proposed by Government of India. We are participating in OSH India – Mumbai for the first time and hope to have great and successful experience of this event. We are manufacturers of safety footwear, safety garments ,fall protection equipment and hand gloves and shall be showcasing our latest and unique collection in our current range. OSH India – Mumbai 2016 certainly helps us spreading our brand awareness in the field and provide a platform to have live interactions with our existing and targeted customers.”

Sandeep Earully, Country Manager(India and SAARC), Scott Safety, Tyco Safety Products (I) Pvt Ltd

“We have been associated with OSH India for the past few years and they have always been successful in providing a platform to connect with our existing and new customers.The market is now moving towards advanced technology making the lives of the end user of the products much easier and safer, the trend is to use more of electronics in certain product categories where user does not rely on his gut feeling but gets a very accurate information on the status from his equipment, Scott safety would be showcasing its newly launched Powered air respirator, Premium Negative pressure Respirators  along with Gas detectors and its existing range of products. OSH India – Mumbai believes in the same cause as we Scott Safety do to educate the customers and work relentlessly towards bringing in newer technologies closer to them and making their lives safer, so partnering with OSH is a win-win situation for us.”

Radha Mehta, Marketing Manager- Domestic, VENUS Safety & Health Pvt. Ltd. 

“Current Indian industrial scenario calls for a need to bring more awareness and all-time implementation of safety practices in industries. We ought to have safety exhibitions-conferences in India which are not overpowered in Fire or Security shows. We feel UBM India’s OSH India exhibition is on this path. It gives opportunity to “Made in India” manufacturers & Global leaders to showcase new products. There is in increase in interest at OSH India from the trade and the end users as well. It is a well organized exhibition that benefits the industry in general by bringing in good partners and speakers.”

About the Author

Sachin Murdeshwar
Sachin Murdeshwar is a Sr.Journalist and Columnist in several Mainline Newspapers and Portals.He is an ardent traveller and likes to explore destinations to the core.