A Web based workplace layout and material information system for safety management

Safety is a very critical domain in an industrial organization. This is especially true for organizations having multiplicity of scientific and engineering disciplines. This requires a broad based safety management system which has to take into account various aspects consisting of planning, management, preventive measures, compliance to safety standards and response to emergencies. In order to make the safety management system more effective and prompt in its operations and response to emergencies, we have developed a web based system to visualize and maintain the information about the equipments/materials of the offices, workshops and labs. By using the system, the management will be able to visualize the complete 2D layout of workplace and have the ability to select labs, offices and workshops to see the visual layout of each one of them along with major equipments /materials. The system also records all the equipment, furniture and materials (such as chemicals, cylinders, and biomaterial) along with the types, quantity, hazard level, fire class and its location within the building. Having the above material information system enables the management to quickly access the information about the types and quantity of hazardous materials located in the organization and the potential danger that they present during an emergency and respond effectively. An extensive database schema has been designed to inter-relate the layout and material information. The authentication and authorization of the users, equipment / material categorization and management issues have also been addressed in the schema. Once the database gets accurately populated, a rule based inference engine being developed will be used to generate periodic reports, extract and search meaningful information based on the multiple criterions (rules) such as finding out the incompatible or hazardous materials and quantity within certain area. The user interface has been developed in the form of Rich Internet Application (RIA) that gives a feel of desktop application over the internet with web-like simplicity. The data presentation provided certainly enhances the situational awareness. We are using open source technologies for the entire software development. We have developed a prototype system by selecting a building with multi disciplinary labs, workshops to demonstrate the capabilities and to gather inputs for further enhancements.