MMK-METIZ receives OHS award at industry competition
MMK-METIZ (part of MMK Group) was named one of the winners of the 20th industry competition “Enterprise of The Mining and Metallurgical Complex of High Social Efficiency”, which recognises mining and metals companies that demonstrate excellence in the social sphere. For its work in 2022, the company was selected as the winner in the “Occupational Health and Safety” category.
“Taking care of our employees and ensuring safe working conditions are top priorities for both MMK Group in general and MMK-METIZ in particular. In 2022, the company earmarked more than RUB 100 million for these purposes. Our spending on private health insurance for employees and their families increased by a quarter over the year. We have been consistently bolstering our support for our employees and stepping up our efforts to take care of their health and safety,” said Director of MMK-METIZ Sergey Dubovsky.
In 2022, about 3 thousand company employees underwent a medical examination, 959 employees and members of their families had wellness stays at sanatoriums, and 485 children of plant workers had an opportunity to relax at countryside health and recreation camps.
The company pays particular attention to workplace safety, and MMK-METIZ is rightly considered one of the leading companies in this area. To reduce the risk of workplace injuries, an artificial intelligence–based machine vision system that can identify the presence of human beings in hazardous areas has been installed at the steel-wire production site. The company has also been purchasing exoskeletons to help employees lift and move heavy objects and to safely perform operations that pose an injury risk. A vending machine that issues personal protective equipment has been installed at the fastener production facility. As a result, the lost-time accident frequency rate has been steadily decreasing from 1.7 per 1,000 employees in 2021 to 1.0 per 1,000 employees in 2022.
The plant’s primary trade union plays an important role in protecting the health of workers and maintaining safe working conditions. Forty-six authorised representatives of the trade union committee at MMK-METIZ are responsible for oversight of occupational health and safety. They conduct awareness-raising efforts among employees on injury prevention and the zero-tolerance policy for safety violations, respond swiftly to requests from employees and take part in accident investigations. The trade union also covers a portion of the cost of sanatorium vouchers as well as other measures aimed at improving employee health.
The national competition “Enterprise of The Mining and Metallurgical Complex of High Social Efficiency” has been held since 2002. It aims to develop and improve various types of social partnership in the industry. Participants include companies involved in ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy as well as the gold mining and jewellery subsectors, repair and maintenance companies and machine-building enterprises regardless of their form of ownership, as well as research and design institutes. The winners have an opportunity to take part in an interindustry competition held by the Government of the Russian Federation for Russian companies that demonstrate excellence in the social sphere. This year, 49 companies from all over the country, employing about 40% of the workers in the mining and metals industry, took part in the competition.