Simplicity is key when it comes to safety

Safe to Approach Lighting on forklifts at InfraBuild’s AustubeMills Newcastle site

Across the globe from Macedonia to the United States and Australia our colleagues know that when It comes to safety, it is best to keep things simple.

With local know how and some simple technology our people have developed new ways to keep us safe on the job, particularly when it comes to the interaction between heavy machinery and people on the ground. The use of technology and safe ways to work along with people that are committed to be GFG Safe ensure we can all return home safe and healthy every day.

LIBERTY Skopje in Macedonia has been hard at work implementing effective technology on machinery to keep their people safe when interacting with heavy machinery.

Recognising risks to their people on foot, forklifts on site have been fitted with reversing lights and warning lights have been installed on 10 cranes which project exclusion zones down on to the ground. These lights indicate to people on foot the no go areas around machinery or under suspended loads, so no one will be injured unexpectedly struck by machinery or by a suspended load from above.

Crane warning light at LIBERTY Skopje

LIBERTY Steel Group’s new Primary Steel and Mining CEO Paramjit Kahlon, said that it was important to find simple ways to be make busy sites like those across LIBERTY Steel Group safe.

“Steel sites like ours are inherently risky. We need to make sure we are all looking out for each other to make being safe on site and at work as easy as possible,” Paramjit said.

“I’m excited to draw from my experience as a steel executive for Arcelor Mittal, to help build LIBERTY Steel into an even better company. Part of that is to make sure we are utilising every avenue possible to keep our people safe, from the largest implementations to the most simple solutions.”

“We want to make sure everyone in our GFG family can return home safe each day.”

Across the Atlantic, at LIBERTY Steel US, the team have recognised similar risks with mobile equipment and pedestrian interaction.

To eliminate risk, the team have built simple safe walk paths across the steel mill to keep pedestrian foot traffic safe.

These walk paths provide an area for pedestrians to walk that diverts them away from mobile equipment or dangerous areas. The safe zones have a mix of painted lines or stencils for guidance, as well as signage to identify where it is safe to walk. Simple fixes like this have helped LIBERTY Steel US reduce and even eliminate “struck-by” incidents.

Flying to another hemisphere, InfraBuild in Australia is implementing similar technology and safety systems to measures to protect their team.

AustubeMills Newcastle is a large site with high foot traffic, which also operates several forklifts which pose a serious safety risk for the people. The team quickly identified an opportunity to improve their site practices around forklifts to reduce risk; LED lights could be used make sure that machinery was highly visible to other drivers and pedestrians in the yard controlling interaction and reducing the risk of collisions.

The LED Exclusion Zone project began with two of the site’s forklifts. The forklifts were fitted with LED lighting that projects a 3m light beam in all directions around the forklift, providing other drivers and people on foot with a visual guide to the space the machine needs to operate safely and to reduce risk to people on the ground.

Lighting was also installed on the trial forklifts, to indicate to people on foot that the forklift had “made safe” and with approval from the driver a person on foot would be safe to approach the forklift.

With the success of this trial the LED Exclusion Zone Lighting and “made safe” Lighting will be fitted to all new forklifts on the site.

The Australian Reinforcing Company (ARC) has seen a similar opportunity to protect their people.

In the yard of the ARC facility at Eagle Farm, there is significant risk from interactions between forklifts, large trucks and people on the ground including truck drivers restraining and checking loads, and yard workers checking stock.

Our colleagues at ARC Eagle Farm implemented a simple Proximity Warning System. The system requires all mobile yard equipment and people on foot to be fitted with or wear a sensor which activates before safe distances are breached warning drivers that people are nearby and to take action to prevent collisions.

These are just a few examples of how our people use simple technology to keep us safe demonstrating that when it comes to safety sometimes the simple solution is best.