At its annual congress in Beijing this week the World Steel Association (worldsteel) named Tata Steel as one of the three recipients of its Safety and Health Excellence Recognition Award.
The Award related to a Tata Steel safety training programme that was introduced for its contract workforce in advance of the construction of the new 'H'-blast furnace at Jamshedpur. The 'H'-furnace, which was blown in last year, was built and commissioned without a single injury occurring during the project's 35 million man-hours.
The Company was selected for abiding by three basic guidelines:
- Positive embracing of worldsteel safety and health principles
- Ability to demonstrate a measurable impact upon safety metrics
- Ease of application to other member companies This is the second time a Tata Steel Group operation has been recognised in only the second year of worldsteel's Safety and Health Excellence Recognition Awards. In 2008 Corus was one of the recipients of the award for a Safety & Health Excellence programme that it designed for Group Senior Managers, entitled Developing Leadership in Safety and Health.
The success of this initiative led to a similar programme being rolled out this year to various departments at Corus steelworks (first the steel meltshops, second the raw materials and iron making departments). On 1 October Corus won the National Training Award - the UK's most prestigious training award - for its "Felt Leadership" programme in health and safety.
Health and safety is a key plank in Tata Steel Group's Vision to be a world benchmark in the steel industry. The three H&S awards that the Group has received in the past 12 months are evidence of the Vision being put into action. Some of the activity in this area is being carried out jointly by working groups that have identified five critical areas for improvement, including contractor management and process safety.
