In order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment for SEDI graduates, Ambuja Foundation has placed high priority in promoting Health & Safety (H&S) amongst SEDI trainees to help them to recognize safety hazards and correct them, enable them to understand best safety practices and expectation, and ensure the use of safety equipment.

Safety training is all the more important for people working in skilled trades where there are often higher workplace risks due to the nature of work and various workplaces. Safety training is necessary to understand safety practices related to their jobs and to reduce the risk of workplace injury, illness or death.

To tackle this, a safety culture is ensured in the beginning of enrolment for all SEDI trainees, who are made to focus and observe any hazardous areas even during their induction period. Every morning assembly includes a Health & Safety awareness section, during which trainees are reminded on the protocol to be followed to ensure complete safety guidelines are met.

Additionally, every trainee needs to undertake 30% theory and 70% practical work on safety. During practical training, a tool box talk is conducted with the trainer explaining in detail, safety precautions to be ensured in each trade. Before the trainees complete their course, they are also trained on safety measures at the workplace. This is an important component of the H&S module as it also educates these future employees to take safety precautions at the workplace.

A lockout-tag out system has been installed in the Practical table of electrical and electronics laboratory in each SEDI centre. This is a lock and tag mechanism which ensure safety especially in the industry and research areas to ensure that dangerous machines are properly shut off and not able to be started up again prior to the completion of maintenance or repair work.

In regard to health, the nurse trainees are trained on handwashing techniques and explanation of the dietary system. These trainees then go ahead and train other trainees in the institutes on health and hygiene techniques. There are also frequent health camps conducted by the nursing and general duty assistant trainees in the villages - creating awareness on the different hygiene technique to be practiced and the food chart to boost immunity power.

Some of the additional activities conducted include:

• General Safety Drama is presented by the PCB trainees through which trainees are made aware about the use of Safety PPEs;
• Workplace Safety awareness is conducted by Machine Operator Trainees through which trainees are made aware of the machinery safety while working in the Industry;
• Safety Ambassador and Safety Volunteer meetings are conducted every Monday;
• Frequent Safety visits, along with audit, are conducted by the Health and Safety Department of Ambuja Cements Limited.

To provide additional learning and value-add, external stakeholders are engaged to re-inforce learning. For example, at SEDI in Himachal Pradesh, a workshop and mock drill was organized on fire safety and disaster management in collaboration with the Fire & Safety Department of Himachal Government, explaining different strategies available whenever there is a fire in the building.

Road safety is also a key concern in the communities and Ambuja Foundation always addresses it among SEDI students, by conducting role plays and skits. In Isapur village of Maharashtra, the SEDI students demonstrated a road safety skit on the eve of inaugurating a Community Health Clinic to not only educate SEDI students but also advocate road safety within the broader community.