Top Risk of Working in Gas-Hazardous Areas: Ural Steel Experience

From Hidden Violations to Transparent Control

Metallurgical production is inextricably linked to critical risks, among which working in gas-hazardous areas holds a special place. At full-cycle enterprises like Ural Steel, toxic and suffocating gases are present, particularly blast furnace gas containing 30 to 50% carbon monoxide. Its main danger lies in being colorless and odorless, making organoleptic control impossible. Yuri Shastov, HSE Director at Ural Steel, explains in his presentation why standard provision of workers with personal gas detectors proved insufficient for guaranteed safety.

Practice has shown that even with full equipment of personnel with gas detectors, the human factor remains. Workers do not always promptly leave the area when maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) are exceeded, sometimes use faulty devices, or turn them off altogether. Preventive rounds by gas rescue workers revealed only a small fraction of such violations — the tip of the iceberg. This required a transition from administrative persuasion measures to technical solutions that eliminate the possibility of hidden rule violations.

Technical Implementation of Remote Monitoring

To minimize dangerous actions, an online control system based on LoraWAN technology was implemented. The speaker details the solution's architecture, which allows transmitting signals from personal gas detectors directly to the dispatch rooms of structural divisions and the gas rescue station. The choice of the blast furnace shop as a pilot site was due to the highest concentration of risks associated with blast furnace gas.

The system tracks not only MPC exceedances linked to a worker's specific location but also additional critical parameters. In particular, the device's battery level and the employee's immobility are monitored. This allows for the prompt identification of situations where a worker has lost consciousness or cannot independently leave the danger zone due to deteriorating health, which is impossible when using only stationary gas detectors.

Overcoming Barriers and Practical Results

The implementation of the system faced typical heavy industry barriers: from a complex technical environment (high temperatures, dustiness, abundance of shielding metal structures) to resistance from line managers who perceived the project as an additional burden. The presentation shows how a competent defense of the investment project, based on micro-injury statistics and the register of significant risks, made it possible to secure funding and change the attitude of the shop management.

The launch of the system ensured real-time transparency of all gas-hazardous work. The main result was a reduction in the gas rescue service's response time to incidents from 10 – 15 to 3 – 5 minutes. Furthermore, workers' awareness of continuous monitoring led to a sharp decrease in the number of dangerous actions — cases of working with turned-off devices were minimized.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to justify investments in an expensive remote control system for gas-hazardous work to management?
• What parameters, besides the MPC level, are critical to track for workers in a danger zone to prevent severe poisoning?
• How to overcome technical limitations (metal structures, dustiness) when deploying wireless monitoring networks in workshops?
• How does remote control affect personnel discipline and reduce rescue service response times?
• How to integrate data from personal gas detectors into the enterprise's overall risk management system?