Worldsteel on October 12 recognized three member companies – Gerdau, Tata Steel and Essar Steel – for excellence in their safety and health programs.
All three companies demonstrated a commitment to safety and health that encompassed three basic guidelines:
· the program positively embraced the worldsteel safety and health principles
· the program was able to demonstrate a measurable impact upon safety metrics
· the program could easily be applied to other member companies.
The program at Gerdau focused on the introduction of a safety hour. Every day, more than 1,230 leaders spend time discussing safety issues directly with shop floor personnel throughout the company. During these sessions anyone can raise safety issues or concerns.
Tata Steel’s program concentrated on their contract workforce, who received comprehensive training prior to the construction of a new blast furnace. The new plant was built and commissioned without any injuries, recording 35 million accident-free hours during the construction project.
Essar Steel has been building a positive safety culture. The company’s program has brought significant improvements in safety metrics. Its lost time injury frequency rate has improved from 1.18 in 2005/6 to 0.57 to date in 2009 and the company has had no fatal accidents since 2007.
The promotion of excellence in safety and health practices, endorsed at the highest level, is one of the fundamental goals of all worldsteel member companies. The set of principles outlined in the worldsteel policy statement are the basis for creating a safe and healthy workplace for everyone in the industry.
Worldsteel launched the Safety and Health Excellence Recognition Award at its 2008 annual general meeting in Washington, D.C. Five companies received recognition for their outstanding work in the area of safety and health promotion. This year, three awards have been made, once again demonstrating the commitment by worldsteel members to an injury-free, illness-free and health workplace.
The World Steel Association (worldsteel) is one of the largest and most dynamic industry associations in the world. Worldsteel represents approximately 180 steel producers (including 19 of the world's 20 largest steel companies), national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes. Worldsteel members produce around 85 percent of the world's steel.
