Safety is a core value here at CareGo; we, like many of our customers, have committed to providing a safe environment for our employees. But it goes beyond that for us: we implement significant automation systems that aim to help our customers move their employees out of harm’s way.
In the last few years, as Millennials and Generation Z’rs enter and start to dominate the marketplace, there have been many articles about the labor force’s decline in availability of skilled labor and high turn-over in entry level jobs. This is ever-present in the steel industry, and even more present in the non-value end of the process such as raw material, work-in-progress, and finished goods storage. High-turnover and challenges to replace skilled workers in these environments have led to a serious issue; Not only is it becoming more difficult to find labor, studies have also found that newly trained operators are the most at risk to safety related concerns. Add to this that workers within a steel environment are also operating heavy machinery, moving heavy materials, and walking within densely stacked facilities, and you can understand how this problem is only going to get worse. You only need to read a few articles regarding the steel industry to understand that this is a problem which is not going away.
So, What Is The Answer?
Most steel companies will list safety as one of their core values. In 2018, Arcelor Mittal released an impactful health and safety film called We choose the safest way. Take a few minutes and watch this film; it has an incredibly powerful message. It talks about how important it is that every day we choose the safest way to do our jobs.
Six years ago, the World Steel Association created SteelSafetyDay, which focuses on understanding and preventing injuries in Steel environments. It has found that four of the five main causes of steel industry injuries are associated with cranes and materials handling.
We propose the contention that the safest way to handle heavy material is by moving everyone out of harm’s way all together.
“…the best thing is that we don’t have to go in there anymore.”
(A quote from an operator working in a TELIA equipped facility)
To learn more about TELIA and if it is right for your operations, click here.