Kerala's factories are concentrated in the Kochi–Eloor–Edayar chemical and fertiliser belt, Kochi refinery and shipyard, Palakkad–Kanjikode engineering, Kozhikode and Malappuram plywood and timber, Alappuzha coir, Thrissur and Kollam cashew processing and the Thiruvananthapuram Technopark manufacturing units.
Statutory medical surveillance in Kerala follows the Factories Act, 1948 as implemented through the Kerala Factories Rules, 1957: pre-employment and periodic examinations of workers in hazardous processes by a Factory Medical Officer, Certifying Surgeon examinations for notified dangerous operations, a Health Register and Certificates of Fitness in the state-prescribed format, and an Occupational Health Centre scaled to the workforce. Nodal Healthcare delivers all of this as an on-site programme.
| Applicable rules | Kerala Factories Rules, 1957 |
|---|---|
| Enforcing authority | Department of Factories and Boilers, Government of Kerala |
| Health Register (Certifying Surgeon / dangerous operations) | Form 17 |
| Health Register (Factory Medical Officer / hazardous process) | Form 17 |
| Certificate of Fitness | Form 27 (Certifying Surgeon, dangerous operations) · hazardous process: Form 29 |
| Examination frequency | Hazardous process: pre-employment, then every 6 months (Rule 81-AI). Dangerous operations: as per schedule, commonly every 12 months. |
| Verification status | Verified against official text · last checked 2026-09-12 |
Rule 14 (Duties of Certifying Surgeon) — sub-rule (5) (substituted by SRO 1149/2001): at visits to factories carrying on dangerous operations the Certifying Surgeon issues a Certificate of Fitness in Form No. 27 and enters the record of each examination, including the nature and results of tests, in the Health Register in Form 17; sub-rule (6) provides the power of suspension by an entry in the register.
Rule 81-AI (Medical Examination): workers in a hazardous process are examined by the Factory Medical Officer once before employment and once every six months (or sooner where the FMO considers necessary); details recorded in the Health Register in Form 17; no first employment without a Certificate of Fitness in Form 29 granted by the FMO; appeal to the Inspector who refers to the Certifying Surgeon, whose opinion is final.
Rule 81-AJ (Occupational Health Centres): scaled by workforce with an equipment schedule — retainer FMO for small factories, part-time FMO and OHC room for mid-sized factories, full-time FMO and two-room OHC for larger factories.
Dangerous-operation schedules require Certifying Surgeon examination at first employment and at prescribed intervals with process-specific tests, Form 27 certificates and Form 17 entries.
Per schedule and FMO judgement — clinical examination, vision, audiometry, spirometry and chest X-ray for dust, blood/urine lead and urinary metabolites for the Eloor–Edayar chemical and fertiliser belt, routine pathology.
Form 17 and the Form 27 / Form 29 certificates are kept by the manager, produced to the Certifying Surgeon at each visit and available to the Inspector; health records must be made available to workers under the 81-A series rules.
Kerala uses a single Health Register form — Form 17 — for both Certifying Surgeon (Rule 14) and Factory Medical Officer (Rule 81-AI) examinations, with different Certificate of Fitness forms (27 and 29).
We map your process list to the Kerala Factories Rules, 1957 to determine which workers need pre-employment, six-monthly or annual examinations and which tests apply.
Occupational-health physicians holding the DGFASLI-recognised AFIH qualification conduct the Factory Medical Officer examinations and support your Occupational Health Centre.
Where a schedule requires the State-appointed Certifying Surgeon, we coordinate their visit and examinations as part of the same programme, subject to the appointment rules in Kerala.
Completed registers and certificates in the state-prescribed format, a digital copy, due-date recall and de-identified batch statistics for management.
Factories in Kerala are governed by the Kerala Factories Rules, 1957, enforced by the Department of Factories and Boilers. The rules require the State-appointed Certifying Surgeon to examine workers in notified dangerous operations and record the results in a Health Register kept by the manager, and require workers in hazardous processes to be examined by a qualified Factory Medical Officer before employment and periodically, with an Occupational Health Centre for hazardous-process factories. The Eloor–Edayar chemical and fertiliser belt and the Kochi refinery are the state's main hazardous-process concentrations, while plywood, cashew and coir units raise dust and ergonomic issues. We are verifying Kerala's register and certificate form numbers against the official text before publishing them. Nodal Healthcare supports Kerala factories with on-site examination batches, AFIH-qualified doctors and Certifying Surgeon coordination.
Send us your process list and headcount — we will map the applicable rules, tests and frequency and quote an on-site batch.
Status: Verified against official text · Last checked: 2026-09-12. Source: Kerala Factories Rules, 1957 — official text published by the Department of Factories & Boilers, Kerala. Enforcing authority: Department of Factories and Boilers, Government of Kerala. Rules change — we re-check each state periodically and confirm current requirements before every batch.
Nodal Healthcare provides occupational-health services through qualified medical professionals. AFIH-qualified doctors and Factory Medical Officers are not, by virtue of that qualification, Certifying Surgeons; Certifying Surgeons are appointed or authorised by the State Government under Section 10 of the Factories Act, 1948. Where a statutory provision requires a Certifying Surgeon or other authority-approved practitioner, we coordinate compliant services through appropriately qualified, authorised or empanelled professionals, subject to the applicable state rules and appointment requirements. Content on this page is a general guide and not legal advice; always confirm current requirements with the competent state authority.
