With under a week to go before Steel Safety Day (28th April) worldsteel, the organiser of the day, is calling for all participating organisations to conduct a safety audit in the lead-up to the event and report back their findings.
With under a week to go before Steel Safety Day (28th April) worldsteel, the organiser of the day, is calling for all participating organisations to conduct a safety audit in the lead-up to the event and report back their findings.
Dr. Edwin Basson, director-general of worldsteel, said that most manual handling, heavy lifting and operational activities have been automated. "This has removed staff's exposure to many hazards and reduced safety risks in the working environment," he said, adding that safety incidents can still happen. "It is our responsibility to make sure that all applicable measures have been put in place to manage the hazards," he said.
worldsteel has highlighted five common causes of safety incidents: moving machinery, falling from heights, falling objects, asphyxiation or gassing and cranes. For these five incidents, claims worldsteel, the preventative measures that need to be taken are as follows:-
• Before any machinery is cleaned, serviced or adjusted, all sources of energy, including gravity, must be isolated, locked or pinned to prevent movement.
• Steel companies should provide training on how to use protective equipment and work safely at heights.
• Measures must be taken to prevent objects from falling. People should be evacuated from areas where there is a risk of falling objects.
• Workers must be trained to ensure they can test for and eliminate dangerous gasses in confined spaces.
• Daily checks must be carried out on cranes before use to maintain reliable operation.
