Bhilai, Sep 19: Focussed efforts towards lifting performance of different production units of SAIL-Bhilai Steel Plant and strengthening COVID preparedness in the recent weeks have begun to yield positive results with daily hot metal and crude steel production level crossing the 15000 Tonnes mark in daily production.
Even as the Plant Management puts into effect strategies to sustain the current levels of higher production levels and to meet whatever targets are set for the Plant, several other major production shops are already aligning themselves to increased hot metal and crude steel production.
All this is being done with full COVID preparedness with members of the Bhilai Collective and stakeholders working together to maintain safe working environment and production tempo. Under the guidance of the CEO, Bhilai Steel Plant, Executive Director (Works) has taken up the essential task of ensuring a safe and conducive work environment for employees & to create a synergetic thrust to enhance production levels.
It may be recalled that about a fortnight back, Executive Director (Works) and ED (Personnel & Administration) had convened a meeting with representatives of Workers Unions and Officers Association to discuss their concerns. Following this, five distinct cross-functional teams with senior officers and employees of SAIL-Bhilai Steel Plant as members were constituted to provide renewed thrust on certain priority areas and important issues concerning the Plant. It was decided in the meeting that safety of the workers, including measures to guard against the threat posed by COVID, would be given top priority. The objective behind the entire exercise has been to ensure better sanitisation & at the same time remove apprehensions regarding COVID preparedness from the minds of employees.
Accordingly, fresh contract for large scale sanitisation has been swiftly awarded. Several other steps and measures are also being taken simultaneously. Departmental Safety Officers (DSOs) have been assigned to coordinate with Civil Engineering Department (CED) for department and shop-wise sanitisation as per schedule prepared. With the new sanitation workers trained, the first phase of sanitisation through the new contract operated by CED has already begun on September 17, 2020. The contractual sanitisation workers are using battery-operated spraying machines to spray sodium hypochloride solution instead of manually operated machines used earlier.
The same group of sanitisation workers would also be sanitising commercial vehicles coming inside the Plant. While thermal scanners have been distributed among different shops and departments, Safety Engineering Department has been given necessary instructions to ensure that guidelines of social distancing, wearing of masks, use of sanitizers, soap solutions and soap etc are followed at shopfloors. Meantime, sufficient volumes of bleaching powder have been procured and same is being sprayed in and around toilets, near canteens where waste food material is disposed & near drains etc.
While safety of employees has always been given paramount importance, in view of the current threat of COVID 19, the Management has procured & issued Cotton Knitted Rubber Dotted Safety Handgloves to employees who are exposed to areas of multiple contacts and high-touch areas, such as Control Rooms, Control Pulpits, Crane Operating Cabins etc, so as to safeguard them against spread of Coronavirus. To begin with, Rail & Structural Mill & Universal Rail Mill departments were issued 800 pairs & 252 pairs of these gloves, respectively on September 15, 2020. This will be followed by distribution of gloves for employees working in other strategic locations.
The Plant Management’s focussed efforts to enhance performance levels while at the same time strengthening COVID preparedness in different shops and departments has translated into positive results. While the four blast furnaces together produced 15,024 T and 15,077 T of hot metal on September 16 and 17, 2020, respectively, both Steel Melting Shops have upped their performance to record 15,567 T of crude steel production on September 17, 2020. While production of crude steel in SMS 2 climbed up to 66 heats on September 16, 2020, Modex unit Steel Melting Shop 3 set a new day record of 48 heats on September 17, 2020.
