Section 166 in The Building And Other Construction Workers '(Regulation Of Employment And Conditions Of Service) Central Rules, 1998
166. Man-locks and working in compressed air environment.
- The employer shall ensure at a construction site of a building or other construction work that-(a)man-locks used at a tunnelling work are of adequate strength, made of sound material and designed to withstand any air pressure, internal or external, to which it may be subjected to in the normal use or in an emergency:(b)(i)doors of man-locks at an excavation or tunnelling work are made of steel;(ii)man-locks used at a tunnelling work are airtight and devices are provided for sealing the doors when such locks are under pressure;(iii)the anchorage of a man-lock used at tunnelling work have adequate strength to withstand the pressure exerted by air on the man-lock;(iv)there is adequate room available for the building worker for working in the man-lock used at tunnelling work;(v)where work is carried out in any compressed air tunnel, a man-lock in accordance with the relevant national standards is used for such tunnel;(c)(i)where a man-lock is used at tunnelling work, safety instructions in Hindi and in local language understood by majority of building workers employed therein are displaced at conspicuous place at such tunnelling work;(ii)except in an emergency, compression and decompression operations are carried out in man-lock used at tunnelling work;(iii)in an emergency any material lock may be used at tunnelling work for compression and decompression of building worker and a record is kept in writing and produced for inspection on demand to the Inspector having jurisdiction;(iv)material-lock is used with the permission of Director General for compression and decompression of building workers, where it is impracticable to install both the man-lock and the material-lock at a tunnelling work;(v)decompression of all building workers to atmospheric condition at tunnelling work is carried out in accordance with a decompression procedure approved by the Director General;(vi)the man-lock at tunnelling work is not used for any purpose other than compression or decompression of building workers;(vii)no decanting of building workers at tunnelling work is carried out without prior approval of Director General, except in an emergency;(viii)in case a building worker collapses or is taken ill during his decompression in a man-lock used at tunnelling work, the lock attendant of such man-lock raises the pressure in such man-lock until such pressure is equal to the maximum pressure which that building worker was exposed to in the working chamber prior to such decompression and such lock attendant immediately reports the matter relating to such collapse to the medical-lock attendant and medical officer on duty at such tunnelling work;(ix)a building worker who had previously received training with a trained building worker to work in a compressed air environment at tunnelling work is employed to work independently in such a compressed air environment;(x)a building worker who had undergone three decompressions from a pressure exceeding one bar in a period of eight hours at tunnelling work is not allowed to enter a compressed air environment except for the purpose of carrying out rescue work;(xi)a building worker employed in a compressed air environment for a period of eight hours in a day at tunnelling work is not employed again in such environment unless he has spent not less than twelve consecutive hours of rest at atmospheric pressure;(xii)no building worker is engaged in a compressed air environment at a pressure which exceeds three bars at tunnelling work unless prior permission, in writing, has been obtained from the Director General for such engagement;(xiii)no building worker is employed in a compressed air environment for more than fourteen consecutive days in a month at tunnelling work;(xiv)a register of employment of all building workers employed in compressed air environment at tunnelling work, is maintained;(xv)an identification badge is supplied to a building worker employed in compressed air environment at tunnelling work;(xvi)the badge of a building worker referred to in sub-clause (xv) contains particulars of his name, location of the medical lock allotted to him for work, the telephone number of the Construction Medical Officer concerned for his treatment and the instructions in case of his illness of unknown and doubtful causes;(xvii)record of all identification badges supplied to building workers under sub-clause (xvi), is kept in a register;(xviii)every building worker whose name appears in the register referred to in sub-clause (xvii) wears the badge supplied to him under sub-clause (xv) at all times during his duty hours at tunnelling work;(xix)suitable warning signs are displayed, in the compressed air environment at tunnelling work, for the prohibition of following, namely:-(a)use of alcoholic drinks;(b)use and carrying of lighters, matches or other sources of ignition;(c)smoking; and(d)an entry to person who has consumed alcoholic drinks.
