Tata Steel has been awarded the prestigious World Steel Association (worldsteel) Safety and Health Excellence Recognition 2024 for its innovative purging assistance model, designed to eliminate explosion risks in the gas cleaning plant (GCP) area of its blast furnace. Tata Steel is one of six global steel producers, and the only one from India, to receive this recognition in 2024.
For the 2024 worldsteel Safety and Health Excellence Recognition, steel manufacturers worldwide were assessed on their ability to make measurable advancements in safety and health across four key areas: safety culture and leadership, occupational safety management, occupational health management, and process safety management.
Rajiv Mangal, Vice President of Safety, Health & Sustainability at Tata Steel, emphasized, “Tata Steel places the utmost importance on the safety of its employees and stakeholders, continuously investing in the latest technologies and digital solutions to support this mission. We are thrilled that our initiatives in this area have been consistently acknowledged by worldsteel, reinforcing our commitment to achieving a ‘zero harm’ environment.”
The company has introduced an innovative purging assistance model that provides real-time monitoring of the purging process using remote-operated valves and gas analyzers positioned at critical points. A newly developed logic and interlock system allows operators to oversee and execute the purging of the gas line from the control room, effectively mitigating risks associated with traditional manual procedures like manually opening nitrogen valves and measuring gas levels at vents.
Specifically, this model guarantees no high-potential risk incidents stemming from inadequate purging, saves approximately $215,000 per shutdown due to decreased purging duration, achieves a 50% reduction in purging time, and ensures 100% safe shutdown and startup of the plant.
To excel in process safety management, Tata Steel employs digital technology for timely maintenance of Process Safety Critical Equipment, thereby minimizing the failure rates of essential machinery. The company has also set up a Process Safety School of Excellence to enhance the process safety expertise of employees across all sites.
Additionally, Tata Steel received the worldsteel Safety and Health Excellence Recognition in 2023 for its efforts in raising safety standards within the steel sector. The World Steel Association (worldsteel) stands as one of the largest and most dynamic industry organizations globally, representing members from every significant steel-producing nation. Worldsteel advocates for steel manufacturers, national and regional steel associations, and steel research institutes, collectively accounting for about 85% of the world’s steel output.
