Shalini Kumari, Manager, Safety and Health World Steel Association, said: "I am proud to recognise the commitment and efforts of our members towards safeguarding worker safety and health. This year’s diverse, impactful practices were greatly appreciated by the judging panel, and this publication takes you through the best of those.

We see a rising trend in the use of AI, robotics, and technology as enablers to reduce risk. Members have showcased pioneering approaches to make these tools accessible to employees and contractors.

There was a significant focus on ergonomics and its impact on overall safety and wellbeing. worldsteel is hopeful of further improvement going forward as we navigate challenges together.

Congratulations to all participating members for their exemplary efforts towards making the steel industry a better place to work.

Tata Steel's award, which was collected by Chairman and CEO TV Narendran, was for Process Safety Excellence:

In integrated steel plants, torpedo ladle cars (TLCs) are used to transport thousands of tonnes of hot metal daily over extensive rail networks. Any derailment of a filled TLC can cause catastrophic loss of containment, hot metal–water explosions, serious injuries, and major business disruptions. Historically, derailments occurred mainly due to manual errors in track ‘point setting’.

To address this high-risk scenario, a safety instrumented system was developed and deployed across the rail network.

Key interventions included:

• Replacing lever-operated switches with one-touch push buttons. Limit switches provided on rail tracks ensure tracks are aligned properly during point setting through feedback.
• Installing proximity sensors for automatic correction of incorrect point settings. Proximity sensors on tracks sense the direction of moving TLCs, comparing them with the existing track route setup. If points are incorrectly set, an audio-visual alarm is generated. If a TLC moves further, the point position is corrected to prevent the point bursting.
• Integrating optical sensors (installed on both ends of point on tracks) to prevent point changes during TLC movement and enhancing visibility of fouling marks to avoid side collisions.

 This multi-barrier solution, combined with workforce engagement, has not only ensured personnel safety but also resulted in the following benefits for the organisation: