Henan Province advances special campaigns for work safety improvement to ensure safe production

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To ensure the production safety of chemical enterprises, strengthen supervision over hazardous chemical companies, eliminate safety hazards, and promote safe production. Since May this year, the entire province of Henan has swiftly launched a three-year campaign for special rectification of work safety. A \"1+2+9+N\" plan was developed, with strong leadership, meticulous planning, and various measures taken to ensure steady progress, thereby creating a strong atmosphere throughout society. http://p3.itc.cn/images01/20201020/1b5266437b3f4baa8586b1fe507016be.png A special working team was established to oversee progress on a regular basis. The Emergency Management Department of Henan Province has the department head serving as the director of the special rectification leadership group, with a comprehensive guidance team, a specialized law enforcement team, and an inspection and assessment team under it. The emergency management system across the province held 5 video conferences to report on the progress of the special rectification efforts, analyze the situation regarding work safety, and arrange and assign tasks for the key activities during this phase of the rectification ； The office of the special rectification leadership group held video coordination meetings on five occasions, as well as two meetings with the leading departments, to facilitate exchange of work experiences, analyze existing problems, and discuss the key tasks for the next steps. Conduct warning talks and provide targeted guidance. The Emergency Management Department of Henan Province and the Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly held talks with the provincial-level cities and relevant enterprises that experienced serious accidents during work in municipal underground confined spaces. The Office of the Henan Provincial Work Safety Committee issues warnings to provincial-level cities and industry departments where accidents have occurred or where progress in special rectification efforts is slow. Since the launch of the special rectification campaign, the Office of the Henan Provincial Work Safety Committee has issued a total of 49 warning letters and advisory letters. Meanwhile, the Emergency Management Department of Henan Province issued a notice regarding coordination with the provincial-level cities (Jiyuan Demonstration Zone) and the members of the Safety Committee. Eighteen working groups were established, led by members of the department’s leadership team and senior inspectors, to maintain regular contact with these cities and committee members. These groups carried out unannounced inspections and investigations to provide guidance for the special rectification efforts, to gain an accurate understanding of the progress of such efforts, and to identify, analyze, and help resolve any issues that arose. Conduct secret inspections and unannounced visits, and insist on using cases to drive improvement. The Henan Provincial Work Safety Committee organized 18 covert inspection teams, led by deputy department-level officials from the committees’ member units. The key aspects of these covert inspections and the relevant requirements were clearly defined. From late September until the end of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Party, these teams conducted three rounds of inspections in various locations to gain an on-the-ground understanding of the progress made in the special campaign for improving work safety across Henan Province. At the same time, relevant departments in various regions are organized to carry out warning education using typical accident cases, thereby effectively promoting improvements as a result of these cases. In light of the severe explosion that occurred at the Yima Gasification Plant on July 19, the Provincial Emergency Management Department launched a three-month campaign within the province’s emergency management system to promote improvements based on lessons learned from this incident. Ten warning videos featuring typical accident cases were produced and shown throughout the province, while a compilation of cases of production safety accidents was printed to serve as material for educational purposes. Improve the contents of the rectification efforts and refine the rectification plan. In accordance with the unified arrangements of the State Council’s Safety Committee, and in line with the special rectification efforts, a concentrated campaign has been launched across the province to improve the safety of road transportation for hazardous chemicals, as well as a special operation to address illegal and unauthorized small-scale chemical manufacturing operations, thereby strengthening control at the source regarding hazardous chemical safety. To thoroughly learn from the recent building safety accidents in other provinces, the Safety Committee of Henan Province formulated the \"Special Action Plan for Identifying and Rectifying Safety Hazards in Building Construction across the Province\" and launched a special campaign to identify such hazards and take corrective actions. Carry out extensive publicity to create a strong atmosphere. Comprehensive reports on the special rectification efforts were published in major media outlets; a dedicated column was set up to cover the progress of these efforts, providing insights into the province’s safety production rectification initiatives and reporting on the developments in that regard. A total of 18 issues of the \"Henan Work Safety Briefing · Special Issue on the Three-Year Action Plan for Work Safety Special Rectification\" were published, featuring updates on the practices adopted by various regions and departments in carrying out these special rectification efforts. At the same time, it urges various regions and departments to carry out publicity through multiple channels in order to create an atmosphere conducive to such rectification efforts. http://p8.itc.cn/images01/20201020/cd23075b2cfb4f2cb78bb99467c07bd3.png As the three-year special campaign for improving work safety across Henan Province progresses steadily, the province has established \"three lists\" – one for identified risks and hazards, another for institutional measures, and a third for key tasks. To date, 144 major hazards have been recorded, and 266 lists of institutional measures have been created. The Office of the Provincial Safety Committee has ordered a thorough inspection of enterprises, checking their licenses, qualifications, and other relevant details on a company-by-company basis. It aims to establish a system of \"one code and one file per enterprise\" in order to achieve \"zero issues and zero deficiencies\" in terms of problems and systemic shortcomings. To date, various departments at all levels have inspected 44,000 enterprises (organizations) of different types, identified 211,000 potential hazards, imposed 2,771 administrative penalties, ordered 2,084 entities to suspend operations for rectification, and issued warnings to 2,676 entities. Through identifying problems during special rectification efforts and investigating and handling accidents, Henan Province continues to establish and improve long-term mechanisms for work safety. To further standardize the work of unannounced inspections for work safety, the Office of the Henan Provincial Work Safety Committee organized personnel to develop the \"Reference Manual for Unannounced ‘Four No’s and Two Directs’ Inspections in Work Safety\". In response to the frequent safety accidents occurring in underground confined space operations this year, the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Henan Province and the Provincial Emergency Management Department have jointly formulated the \"Regulations on Safety Management for Underground Confined Space Operations in Henan Province\". In light of its specific circumstances, Henan Province launched special campaigns to improve safety in production. Based on the results of the inspections and the existing problems identified, corresponding solutions were put forward, which improved the efficiency of these safety initiatives and enhanced the safety of chemical production. This article is reprinted from the Ministry of Emergency Management.