8.2.Occupational safety
To enhance its health and safety performance the Company adopted the Occupational Safety Policy, which is focused on the following objectives:
USD 6,5 mwas invested in the implementation of occupational and industrial safety measures in 2015
- Support and continuously improve the occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system and the industrial safety management system
- Ensure compliance with statutory, international and other regulatory requirements applicable to the Company’s operations
- Foster a safety culture where every employee of the Company understands and assumes responsibility for their own safety and the safety of people around them
- Design and implement preventive measures to minimise risks to health and improve workplace conditions
- Develop and put in place a set of technical and technological measures to support accident-free and safe operation of equipment
- Consistently raise the qualification level of the personnel and their safety competences
- Increase responsibility of managers of all levels for performance on occupational health and industrial safety.
The Company’s facilities are audited on an annual basis for conformity to OHSAS 18001. In 2015, all entities confirmed their compliance with this international standard.
As part of preparations for the international Steel Safety Day 2016, held under the auspices of the World Steel Association, we launched a campaign to identify, remove or reduce safety risks at workplaces to an acceptable level. Entities of the Russian division completed (in all substantial aspects) their adoption of an occupational safety system providing for a Special Health and Safety Assessment (SHSA). As a result, we were able to assess the actual workplace conditions of our employees and take measures to improve them where necessary.
In 2015, we spent c. USD 6.5 m on the implementation of occupational and industrial safety measures, including to ensure compliance with statutory requirements, purchase personal protective equipment, special clothes and footwear, and run a disease prevention programme.
As a result of all these efforts, in the reporting year, the Company’s entities reduced their overall injury rates, reported zero cases of group accidents and emergencies, while the level of occupational diseases remained consistently low.
In 2015, a number of TMK’s entities received awards for their achievements in occupational safety:
- The Seversky Tube Works won the industrial standards and occupational health contest held among entities based in the Sverdlovsk Region
- TAGMET ranked second in the national Success and Safety competition held in the Rostov Region
- Koppel (TMK IPSCO, US) received an award for safety achievements from the Steel Manufacturing Association.