Injury minimisation

Metinvest believes that it is possible to achieve a zero rate of injuries and accidents: they are all preventable.

The Group’s main task is to change employees’ attitudes concerning safety, both their own and that of others. To this end, we strive to introduce corporate standards that exceed the minimum legal requirements. They include a common set of rules for all operations and establish a plan of action for both standard and nonstandard situations. We have introduced 15 corporate standards since 2008.

Metinvest investigates and maintains a record of all workplace accidents, including occupational microtraumas, and seeks to eliminate the root causes of accidents to prevent future emergencies.

The standards outline safety rules for working at heights, in closed spaces and on construction sites, as well as requirements for contractors and visitors.

The Group requires all potentially dangerous zones at its operations to be marked with warning signs and/or cordoned off with protective fences.

Metinvest regularly trains staff in the corporate standards using internal trainers, including retired employees.

All employees are provided with modern personal protective equipment (PPE), including overgarments, footwear, gloves, safety goggles and masks. The PPE has increased wear resistance and durability, is oil- and waterproof, and has light-reflective elements. Certain categories of workers receive upgraded PPE, for example, to protect against electrical discharges or aggressive chemicals.

Metinvest developed its PPE requirements in 2008 and updates them regularly. For example, since 2015, employees who do precision work receive corrective eyeglasses if needed.

In 2016, the Group launched a pilot project that provides dermatological PPE at one of its operations. The project entails using special pastes that clean employees’ hands more effectively than soap. We plan to incorporate the experience from this programme throughout our operations.

Metinvest strives to continuously identify operational hazards and decrease production risks before they cause injuries. We conduct assessments at all levels of production planning and organisation to ensure that we have full information and can control potentially dangerous situations concerning occupational safety, industrial safety and environmental protection.

The Group has introduced two new standards since 2011: “Manufacturing Process Risk Assessment and Reduction”, which is based on the internationally recognised HAZID (hazard identification) methodology, and “Management of Labour Protection, Occupational Safety and Environmental Protection in the Implementation of Investment Projects”.

The first standard entails describing all manufacturing process risks and developing special measures to eliminate them.

Investment project risk assessment includes step-by-step verification. A project cannot proceed to the next stage without a risk assessment and elimination at the previous stage. This approach makes it possible to eliminate any potential danger during the design stage.

Metinvest uses four types of safety control and has been conducting behavioural and target audits since 2009 with the aim of detecting hazardous actions and dangerous working conditions.

Risk assessment methodologies:

• HAZID – risk assessment for labour protection, occupational safety and environmental protection

• HAZOP – technological line operability study

• ENVID – identification of environmental risks and social impact

• JSA – job safety assessment