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Fortunately serious accidents are rare in the textile and apparel industry, the commonest type being the piercing of fingers or hands by needles. In recent years, owing perhaps to the strong lead given by the labour acts, management has become considerably more safety conscious. With the technological advancements, the machinery are supplied with safety features giving less risk to management.
Modern textile and apparel factories are light, spacious, clean, airy, and colourful. Workers today expect comfortable and pleasant surroundings and, owing to the improved design of buildings and standards of internal fittings and decoration, it is easy to provide them. Two problems still remain in the industry, however, those of temperature and noise. The effect of noise on the human being is much more serious than that of any other environmental factor, and it is only recently that it has been studied seriously. Prolonged exposure to excessive and continuous noise can cause a form of deafness, especially when it is combined with vibration, but the effects are more commonly on the nerves and the emotions rather than on the ears. Complaints also seem to come most often from those who are exposed to the noise but are not actually working on machines that contribute to it. ISO 14000 has systems devoted to this aspect.
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