ArcelorMittal to implement health & safety improvements following dss+ review

Luxembourg-based multinational steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal has commenced the implementation of a series of workplace safety recommendations made by dss+ in a comprehensive review.

The audit was completed by dss+, a global consulting firm with a dedicated workplace safety practice, at the end of 2023 after ArcelorMittal’s leadership identified the pressing need to improve safety performance across the group.

In fact, one of the main challenges in properly implementing policies and standards is the size of the group, which operates in a long list of countries around the world. ArcelorMittal needed to find a way to effectively implement its safety culture across the board.

The dss+ audit found that while the steel giant does currently have appropriate policies and standards in place, implementation varies across the group. In addition to that, the safety management of contractors needed improvement.

With over 150,000 people worldwide and a market cap of over $20 billion, ArcelorMittal is the second largest steel producer in the world, with an annual crude steel production of around 80 million metric tonnes per year. Production of steel can be a risky business, meaning that employee safety should be carefully safeguarded.

Upping safety worldwide

ArcelorMittal is now implementing the changes suggested in the dss+ audit, which include improving risk identification, strengthening assurance models, and embedding a group-wide safety culture. The end goal is to achieve zero fatalities and serious injuries.

The roll-out comes following a number of deadly accidents in ArcelorMittal’s operations in various countries over the years, causing damage to its reputation. The steel manufacturer was pressured to sell its mining business in Kazakhstan to a state-run investment fund after a fire at one of their mines claimed the lives of 45 miners, incurring the wrath of the government.

“ArcelorMittal has made considerable effort to improve its safety standards and processes in recent years and there is understandable concern that results still fall short. Across a group of such scale and breadth it is not surprising that we encountered considerable variability in performance,” said Davide Vassallo, CEO of dss+.

“A key finding was that while standards and protocols across the group were broadly in line with good practice, behaviors can fall short of what the policies require. The challenge is to raise all operations in the group to the same high standard – and this is what our recommendations are fundamentally designed to address.”

The dss+ audit was carried out over nine months at 155 sites. There was a thorough examination of health and safety practices across the group, which included reviews of documents and data, meetings with management, focus groups, and over 280 interviews with ArcelorMittal employees and leaders.

ArcelorMittal has already nearly completed the interim Fatality Prevention Standards recommendations given to specific sites. Some business units have also begun developing safety roadmaps that will be incorporated into their five-year planning cycles.