Steel Safety Day was established in 2014 by the World Steel Association to encourage better safety in the steel industry. The goal is ambitious, to achieve an “injury-free, illness-free and healthy workplace with zero incidents.”

Although a young event, it has quickly grown. Last year, more than 525,000 employees and contractors from 327 steel sites took part in the Steel Safety Day audit, identifying and preventing hazards in their workplace.

To that end, Steel Safety Day focuses on the five most common causes of safety incidents: moving machinery, falling from height, falling objects, gas and asphyxiation, and moving cranes.

This year, “falling from height” is getting the spotlight, as steel companies around the world re-examine their height-related safety measures and ensure their workplaces are as safe as possible.

Taking Precautions for Falling From Height

When working at great heights, safety experts recommend three major steps to reduce the risks.

1. Elimination. If you don’t need to do a task at height, then don’t. Stay on the ground.

2. Prevention. If you must work at height, make sure you have the appropriate guardrails, scaffolding and other safety equipment in place.

3. Protection. If 1 and 2 are not possible, then make sure each person is fully protected, with harnesses, life lines and other safety features while working at height.

In addition, the World Steel Association recommends 10 practical guidelines, such as building guardrails, scaffolding and other safety equipment, ensuring all people who work at height be properly trained, and well-maintained rescue equipment always be in place.

To better illustrate these ideas and reinforce its safety message, the World Steel Association has created this infographic about working at height.

And it created another infographic about Steel Safety Day in general.

The steel industry has increasingly focused on safety in recent years. In fact, since 2004, the steel industry has reduced time lost because of injuries by 71 percent. But safety doesn’t happen by accident. It requires deliberate and systematic measures by everyone, from management to employees.

As one of the world’s leading steel manufacturers, POSCO is dedicated to being a leader when it comes to workplace safety. And we look forward to the latest Steel Safety Day on April 28, when once again all eyes will be on preventing injury and keeping our sites safe.

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A previous article from last month that promoted the second annual Steel Safety Day outlined the five major causes of injury, which are: Moving Machinery, Falling from Heights, Falling Objects, Gas and Asphyxiation and Overhead Cranes. Each year, Steel Safety Day will focus on one of the five major causes. This year’s Steel Safety Day, which takes place on April 28, 2015, will focus on Moving Machinery.

To download the infographic, click here.

The infographic above lists the five key areas of Moving Machinery, which are training & competency, safe access, guarding & signage, isolation & immobilization, and roles & responsibility. The infographic is meant to give workers a better understanding of the risks and to prevent or reduce any injuries. Similarly, the video below goes into detail about these areas, and suggests a few tips on how to avoid accidents.

It is now our turn to be aware of these practices and apply them in daily life! And remember we learned about only first cause, there will be articles about other causes in the future, so please stay tuned!  

That’s why the World Steel Association (worldsteel) is celebrating the second annual Steel Safety Day on April 28, 2015, to remind industry leaders and manufacturers that excellence in safety and health helps everyone succeed. One of the major goals worldsteel aims to achieve is an “injury-free, illness-free and health workplace with zero incidents.”

The organization released an infographic on March 10 of some quick reminders to companies and employees around the world to help them prevent incidents even before they start.

Safety doesn’t just depend on the workers. To ensure that workers are able to perform at their best, worldsteel says that management also plays a big part in keeping workers safe and healthy.

Since the last Steel Safety Day in 2014, worldsteel estimated that about 75 percent of companies had mitigation plans. But in the coming year, it hopes that number reaches 100 percent.

The event, which was established last year, is intended to raise awareness of the five most common cases of safety accidents. According to worldsteel, by focusing on the five causes – moving machinery, falling from heights, falling objects, gas and asphyxiation, and moving cranes – the organization intends to set up a continuous improvement process and reiterate its commitment to the safety and health of the people who work in the industry.

To find out how to reduce the five main causes of injury, consult the infographic and video below: 

(find more details on worldsteel website)