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Examples of Changes in Technology & Work Organization that can Impact Health & Safety in the Basic Steel Industry

Larger and More Automated Equipment:

The general trend in the steel industry is toward larger, faster and more automated equipment. In the steel mills, operations that used to be separate like casting and rolling are now being linked together in long production chains. In the iron ore mines dump trucks with 280-300 ton capacities have replaced those with capacities in the 150-200 ton range. The increase in size, speed and automation can increase the incidence of workers working in isolation and the intensity of injuries that do occur.

Computers:

Computers are being introduced into basic steel facilities in a wide variety of ways. They are being placed in offices and on the shop floor to aid with administration, scheduling and monitoring. While the desktop PC is what many of us think of when we hear the word computer, the reality is that computers are coming into workplaces in many shapes and forms.

Computers impact the workforce in many ways that affect their health and safety. Job loss due to computer-based automation contributes to job insecurity and stress on the job. The need to learn new skills can also be a stressor, particularly for those who don’t have significant computer experience. Computers often enhance the ability for a job to be continuously monitored. This monitoring can increase the stress workers experience on that job. Stress results from decreasing the control workers have over their jobs, often coupled with increased job demands. The use of computers can also increase the risk of musculoskeletal injuries among computer users. 

Computer Controlled Equipment:

In addition to stand-alone applications, computers are being retrofitted as controllers for existing processes. They are also being brought as a part of new computer-controlled machinery and equipment. Many of the processes in steel mills are now controlled from control rooms.

Computer controlled equipment can create hazards for those who are operating the equipment, as well as those who are working around the equipment. Stress is a common problem for those who are working on computers overseeing large equipment. For maintenance workers, lockout/tagout issues can be intensified when operators are removed from direct contact with the equipment and may in fact be controlling the equipment from a significant distance.

Robotics:

Robots are becoming an increasingly common feature of today’s workplaces. Most robots bear little resemblance to the robots of Star Wars and other science fiction films, but are instead machines and equipment that are designed to transfer, align and/or stack materials without human intervention.

Robots can create hazards for those working around them because of their ability to make unexpected moves. Crushing and pinning hazards are particularly significant. Robots can also create hazards for maintenance workers who may have trouble ensuring that robots are fully de-energized prior to entering the danger zone.

Remote Controlled Mobile Equipment:

Cranes, transport cars, locomotives and other forms of mobile equipment are increasingly operated by remote control, often by workers who are multi-tasked, that is, they are doing more than one operation and are not assigned solely to mobile equipment operation. Crushing and other impact hazards can be created when mobile equipment is operated by workers who are under-trained, distracted by other aspects of their jobs and/or in a position where they do not have a clear line of sight to all other workers in the area. 

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Some Websites and Resources for More Information on Health and Safety

Impacts from Work Restructuring

§         Job Stress Network:

§         National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health:

§         Work Schedules:  

§         Stress at Work:

§         E. Dembe, J. B. Erickson, R. G. Delbos and S. M. Banks

§         “Work Organization” pgs. 537-543, in Preventing Occupational Disease and Injury – 2^nd Edition Edited by: Barry S. Levy, M.D., M.P.H., Gregory R. Wagner, M.D., Kathleen M. Rest, Ph.D., M.P.A., James L. Weeks, Sc.D., Washington, D.C., 2005: American Public Health Association