Operational
Excellence
Safety

SAFETY

Safety Performance

We monitor and measure several safety metrics across our operations, including Days Away, Restricted or Transferred Case Rate (DART), and Total Recordable Case Rate (TRCR), which measure the frequency of safety incidents that occur within our facilities

73%

Of all manufacturing sites and 100% of major manufacturing sites were ISO 14001 certified in 2023

31%

Of all manufacturing sites were also certified to the ISO 45001 standard for occupational health and safety

2018—2023 Safety Performance(1)

TRCR
38%
Reduction

in Total Recordable Cases (TRCR)(1) (from 2018 to 2023)

DART
7.1%
Reduction

in Days Away, Restricted, & Transferred (DART)(1) (from 2018 to 2023)

Annual data as of December 31 — end of each reporting year

  1. TRCR and DART are calculated per the U.S. OSHA definition for the Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) and the Days Away, Restricted or transferred (DART) Rate. Which are calculatedper 100 full time employees.

Our management system approach to environmental, health, and safety (EHS) includes:

  • EHS Policy and Global EHS Directives that establish the Company's standard expectations — which often exceed compliance obligations — for EHS performance across our operations.
  • Training across a wide variety of safety topics, including peer-to-peer observations and interventions.
  • Employee-led joint management safety committees that focus on improving our safety culture by identifying and addressing unsafe conditions, reinforcing safe acts, and instructing one-on-one safe work practices.
  • Commitment to International Standards Organization (ISO) 14001 implementation at all major manufacturing locations.
  • A focus on learning from events and near misses of all types that supports process redesign and improvement.
  • Extensive auditing and regular monitoring of our safety performance, which enables accountability at all levels of the organization and assesses the health of the program.
  • Award and recognition programs, including our annual Chairman's Awards for Safety, Environment and Sustainability Excellence, as well as a Safety Leadership Award for Plant/General Managers, Business Unit President Awards, citations for high-performing employees who make superior contributions to the business, and “Best Practice” designation for site-level projects that are innovative, impactful, and transferable across the enterprise.

EHS Best Practices

“Every year, facilities are invited to submit their best EHS projects of the year for the Annual Best Practices Contest.”

SILVER FLASH CYANIDE REPLACEMENT

At our Harris facility in Brazil, potassium cyanide was used in combination with silver nitrate. Both chemicals were diluted in water to form a “silver flash” coating that was then applied to the brazing rod. This coating improved the rod’s appearance but did not alter its performance in any way. In 2023, the manufacturing process was modified to remove the chemicals, eliminating the safety risks associated with them. Other benefits of the process change include: less filter cake generation, more options to recycle the filter cake, and a reduction in the amount of PPE required by operators.

ROBOTIC BILLET HANDLING

In the process of forming valve housings at our facility in Mason, Ohio, the moving of billets from a billet heater to a press had previously been done manually by operators. Since replacing the manual task with a robotic system, operators are no longer required to handle the heated billets repeatedly, which helps improve worker safety and creates ergonomic benefits. The robotic process also improves efficiency during the operation of the presses.

MIXER CLEANING

At our Colombian facility, flux mixers process the wet coatings that are later applied to rods in the manufacture of stick electrode. These mixers require periodic cleaning. Previously, the cleaning process involved a confined space entry followed by the time-consuming process of manually removing residual flux. Mixers have since been retrofitted with an automatic cleaning system equipped with strategically positioned spray balls that clean with pressurized water. This cleaning process eliminates the need for confined space entry. In addition, the process is now faster

WIRE RING CLOSURE IMPROVEMENTS

A redesign of the wire payoff rings at our manufacturing facility in Sheffield, England, has improved workplace safety at the site. Previously, the payoff rings covering the bobbins that feed into the welding wire drawing lines were designed with openings/handles that provided visibility during wire payoff. When the rings were identified as a potential hazard, the openings were enlarged to increase the visibility of the moving wire and covered with a mesh guard to prevent fingers or hands from entering the space. Not only does this redesign help prevent injuries related to cutting or pinching, but it also improves lifting and handling procedures since the mesh payoff ring is now 3kg lighter than the previous version.