INTRODUCTION
BY ALEX LOWERY*
MOVING FORWARD WITH A VIEW TO THE PAST Welcome to Aluminium International Today’s first special safety edition. When I was asked early in 2017 to assist with this publication, I immediately said “Yes!” There has been no publication which dedicated an entire edition solely to safety. This is the first time where aluminium companies can share their best practices. Companies have presented safety topics at conferences, but the reach of their messages rarely extended beyond the attendees. This publication has the potential to be passed from one hand to another to become a valuable resource for our entire industry. In the following pages, companies from around the globe provide valuable examples on how they mitigate specific hazards to make their workplaces safer. It is my hope the reader will use this publication as a reference, or better yet, use an article in this publication to propose safety initiatives in their own company. Most factories are consumed with the present and future. The never-ending drive to meet production goals, reduce costs and respond to an ever changing market leaves little time to reflect. Sometimes lost in this fast paced environment is the importance placed upon safety. The best companies in terms, of promoting health and safety to their workers, acknowledge the importance safety plays in terms of the bottom line.
*General Manager, Wise Chem LLC View the Aluminium Plant Safety Blog at: www.aluminiumplantsafety.com 4
Tim Murray, Aluminium Bahrain’s Chief Executive Officer said, “We are in the business of people first and foremost - the safety of our people sits at the top of our priorities. We truly believe that Safety and Productivity are mutually inclusive and that a good safety culture will have a direct impact on the company’s bottom-line. Everyone at Alba owns Safety - individ-
ually and collectively and to have a better tomorrow, we need to work safely today.” Many companies’ own safety standards are stricter than the minimum required by government safety organisations. Unfortunately, not all companies are like that. Ensuring compliance of local, regional, and federal safety requirements falls upon these government safety organisations. These organisations are tasked with assuring safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and enforcement. The enforcement aspect of safety organisations has the greatest effect to their bottom line. Long ago the financial penalties for not adhering to safety standards were inconsequential to a company. All too often the companies made the decision that the monetary fines were less expensive than correcting the safety related issues. During this period of time workers were being injured and killed by hazards that were known but never corrected. In response, governments across the globe realised the monetary fines were too low and must be increased to force companies either to correct their safety issues or shut down altogether. A recent case in the United States emphasises the importance these safety organisations play in making our industry safer. In 2017, an aluminium company was cited and fined for 51 safety and health violations. OSHA proposed penalties in excess of € 1,600,447. The size of the fine shocked the aluminium industry in North America and forced many companies to look at their procedures and be proactive in terms on pre-inspecting their own plants for safety violations. No longer could companies be
SAFETY GUIDE
Alex intro 2 - Copy.indd 2
24/01/2018 15:16:09