Hanwha Total 'Levels Up' Safety Awareness on 'World Safety Day'

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Hanwha Total announced on the 29th that it held various online and offline events for its employees and partner companies in observance of 'World Safety Day,' taking time to reaffirm the importance of safety, the top priority value of petrochemical plants.

April 28 is 'World Safety Day,' established in 2003 by the International Labour Organization (ILO), a specialized agency under the United Nations, to raise international awareness of the seriousness of industrial accidents and to create safe working environments.

Kwon Hyuk-woong, CEO of Hanwha Total, delivered a CEO message to employees and partner companies, stating, "In plant operations, laws related to safety and the environment, which are directly linked to the company's survival, must be prioritized," and urged, "To this end, we will continuously monitor compliance with regulations and pre-inspect response systems to ensure timely action in case of emergencies."

Hanwha Total annually commemorates World Safety Day with its shareholder, the French Total Group, conducting various campaigns to raise safety awareness among employees. However, considering COVID-19 this year, group events were avoided, and instead, online quiz events and on-site safety activity contests were held to enhance employees' safety consciousness.

This year, the theme was selected as "Safety Green Light: Our Life First!" emphasizing that before starting work, employees should spend five minutes checking for any risk factors that could affect themselves, colleagues, and their departments, and immediately stop work in any suspicious situation.

From the 21st for one week, Hanwha Total conducted an online quiz competition covering the Safety Day campaign theme and Hanwha Total's five Golden Rules for safety. Additionally, an 'On-site Safety Activity Online Contest' was held, where employees proposed various ideas to help comply with pedestrian and driving safety.

To convey the importance of safety to all members of Hanwha Total's Daesan Plant, the online events were expanded to include not only Hanwha Total employees but also employees of partner companies.

On the 29th, a Safety Tour was conducted by department, where employees and partner company staff jointly performed safety inspections of major equipment, urging attention and caution to ensure the safe completion of the upcoming regular maintenance work for the Aromatics Production Division scheduled for next month.

Meanwhile, to significantly enhance the level of plant safety management, Hanwha Total has been actively promoting organizational restructuring for safety reinforcement, increased investment for upgrading aging facilities, and improving safety management efficiency using smart technologies since last year.

Last year, to improve safety management levels, related organizations were expanded. A Safety and Environment Diagnosis Team was newly established to strengthen safety and environmental functions at each site, and safety and environment parts were created in each production division, broadening the scope of safety organizations so that all employees working in the plant perform safety and environmental tasks.

Investments related to safety are also continuously expanding, including preparations for the expansion and relocation of the Disaster Prevention Center, improvements to facilities preventing pollutant leaks, replacement of aging equipment in general production plants, and the introduction of automated equipment to prevent human errors.

Additionally, based on the wireless communication network (P-LTE) established within the plant, mobile CCTV, explosion-proof smartphones, and drones for equipment inspection filming have been introduced. Various smart technologies are being expanded in safety management, such as accident type analysis using big data, safety environment training using VR, and an integrated chemical inventory system.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.