HAZARDS IN IRON & STEEL INDUSTRY: MAINTENANCE CULTURE

HAZARDS IN IRON & STEEL INDUSTRY

Iron and steel industry is a heavy industry, involving a whole range of processes-chemical, metallurgical, mechanical, electrical, construction, road and rail traffic, materials handling, earth moving, nucleonic and many others. Each of these processes has many in-built hazards, falling broadly into three categories.

Those that can be eliminated: e.g. leakages of gases, dust in motor house, pollution through plant chimneys, blazing of coke ovens, narrow workspaces, etc.

Those that can be controlled: e.g. noise level in pump houses and turbine halls, heat level in cast houses, dust level in sintering plant, gas concentration at working levels etc.

Those against which protective measures need to be taken i.e. those that can neither be controlled nor eliminated: Liquid hot metal (Heat and Glare), Noise in Rolling Mills.

Over a period of time, in addition to the normal wear and tear, a machine or equipment is hardly maintained in its original form. What happens is, when the machine is new, it is run loaded to its maximum capacity, every time postponing its scheduled maintenance and when it starts going under breakdown, then one wakes up for its repair. When repairs are done, all its attachments are not restored or replaced either due to pressure of production or lack of spares, since it is still possible to somehow run the machine to give production. When the limit switches become defective and control gauges also become defective, these are ideal situations and unsafe conditions for any mishap to happen. The more complex the machine or the installation, the more chances of hazards created by maintenance culture for any accident to happen.
To prevent this, it is essential to evolve a culture of carrying out the maintenance of equipment and inspection of the installation as per schedule and as per its technology, not compromising with quality at any stage.

INSTRUMENTATIONS AND PROCESS CONTROL

Mechanical workshops; electrical repair shops; refrigeration and air-conditioning systems; electronic data processing systems; fire services; safety engg. Services and pollution control.

1. PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION DIVISION
2. APPROACH TO HAZARD CONTROL

One basic approach to any hazard control has been that in the first place, the hazard to be controlled has to be controlled has to be identified. A typical “safety hazards and emergency steps” should be studied. Such studies are made shop-wise and process control sheets are prepared indicating the hazards involved. Safety measures required and the safety appliances needed norms are to be taken from those prescribed under the factories act and rules, environment, water and air pollution act and rules.

ABOUT TRAINING :

Merely having updated safety books is not enough If these are to be strictly followed, regular on the job training is essential for the operation on the machines and producer and for the employees in there respective trade. Employees have also to be trained before they are put on the job whenever there is a change of trade or transfer to another department. This is necessary to acquaint themselves fully with the hazards of the new trade and new work place.

IRON AND STEEL IT HAS THREE ZONES :

1. IRON ZONE COMPRISING OF -

Ø Raw materials storage, preparation and handling yard.
Ø Coke ovens and by-products plant.
Ø Sintering plant
Ø Blast furnaces.
Ø Gas holders and pipe lines.

2. STEEL ZONE COMPRISING OF -

Ø Steel melting shop
Ø Continuous casting shop
Ø Oxygen plant
Ø Slag and scrap yard
Ø Gas holders and pipelines

3. ROLLING MILLS ZONE COMPRISING OF -

Ø Different rolling mills,
Ø Gas booster stations and pipelines
Ø Loading bays for dispatch of finished materials
Ø Electrical cable tunnels and oil callers.

HAZARDS IN IRON & STEEL INDUSTRY