Our first priority in all that we do is to protect the safety, health and wellbeing of all our people. It ranks as one of the most important material impacts for all our stakeholders. While we have made some significant advances in our practices, the evidence of which is visible in the performance in some parts of the group, any fatalities, are not acceptable. We are determined to achieve a transformational approach to our safety culture and risk management, and have put in place the additional governance, structures, processes and external support to achieve this.
Governance
Governance of safety is overseen at the most senior level by the CEO, supported by the Board Sustainability Committee (BSC). The BSC reviews safety performance on a quarterly basis, with deep dives on safety scheduled between regular meetings as required.
A new Integrated Safety Culture and Risk Management framework, and associated training and coaching programme, has been rolled out at segment and site level. Further oversight of safety is provided by the Global Health & Safety Committee (GHSC) which shares and promotes best practice and is chaired by the head of corporate health and safety.
The group’s health and safety policy and standards and lifesaving golden rules were refreshed and implemented across the Group in 2022.
We continue to implement our quarantining procedure across the group, which requires management’s shop floor presence at a plant to be doubled for a specified amount of time whenever a seriously unsafe incident takes place that could have resulted in a serious injury or fatality. In addition to the quarantining procedure, all segments and sites performing below group average are now required to implement management actions such as external expert assessments and additional reviews at EVP or CEO level.
In line with the group’s move to focus more on leading KPI indicators, the executive Short-Term Incentive Plan (STIP) has been changed from June 2022 to be linked to the frequency of proactive potential serious injuries or fatalities (PSIFs).
Strategy
Our health and safety strategy has been updated to reflect the additional emphasis required on creating an effective safety culture throughout the company, and to put in place the highest quality risk management structure and procedures that are essential to deliver much better safety performance. Further strategic actions on improving health and safety performance include:
- Strengthening our governance of health and safety
- Benchmarking our safety culture and developing local plans to move the culture along the Bradley Curve
- Moving to a ‘predict and prevent’ culture
- Designing and implementing tailored risk control and mitigation strategies
- Executing enhanced training and coaching programmes
- Extending the practices of quarantine and increased shop floor presence.
Risk management
By its very nature as a heavy industrial company involving mining and steelmaking operations, ArcelorMittal’s workforce is exposed to health and safety hazards. In addition to being subject to strict health and safety legislation in its countries of operation, the company is committed to improving safety performance. The company recognises that managing these risks is the right thing to do for its workforce and adjacent communities.
Our biggest challenges are based around changing the safety culture across the group, especially in specific regions, and putting in place the necessary structures and systems in risk management to minimise the occurrence of potential risk circumstances.
ArcelorMittal has identified and has been working to address the following circumstances:
- Leadership’s engagement, management or supervisor’s commitment to maintain a safety culture
- Planning and allocation of resources to address the hazards and fix the potential unsafe situations as soon as they are detected/reported
- Appropriate maintenance to assets
- Risk management awareness
- Communication and engagement with workers, communities and regulators
- Compliance with regulatory requirements and corporate health and safety management approaches
- Monitoring and assurance of performance
- Building employees’ skills, knowledge and experience to manage their work safely
- Proper reporting of unsafe actions or conditions and effective alerts to stop working under those unsafe conditions.