BALCO leveraging digital technologies to build a sustainable safety culture
Balconagar, Korba; 21stJanuary, 2023: Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), India’s iconic aluminium producer and a subsidiary of Vedanta Aluminium, has been one of the first companies in India to explore the field of smart technologies in the realm of industrial safety.
The company has undertaken several endeavoursto enhance safety culture at the workplace. SurakshaSankalpKutumbh is BALCO’s umbrella project for digital transformation of safety, which is aimed at integrating five safety modules for enhancement of leading indicators in safety practices. These include Extended Reality Training Centre, Video Analytics, Sustainability Mobile App, E-learning course on Safety Modules for Competency Building, and Digitalization of Workforce Connectivity. The project aims at skill development, auto detection of unsafe acts and conditions, driving digital safety culture & safety interactions, work force safety, productivity improvement and tracking of red zones.
The Extended Reality Training Centre makes use of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality technologies to enable simulation-based safety training thus ensuring an immersive, engaging and safe learning experience for the workforce. BALCO has already gone live with the Work at Height safety training for its employees, and will subsequently deploy other modules like Confined Space, Using PPEs, Forklift Driving, Pedestrian Safety and Use of Fire Fighting Equipment etc.
As a result of innovation, an android based application for interlock protection safety has been developed in house. The application has been developed after mapping 5,000 interlocks across the plant and offers risk rating and real time information of bypassed interlocks at a time of the entire plant.
LED logo/sign projectors are extensively used for crosswalk and safety sign display across various locations where there is heavy vehicle movement.
Apart from this BALCO is taking steps to sensitize the families of employees and local communities to become a catalyst of change towards ensuring the highest safety standards. Towards this end, the organization is conducting several safety training workshops, training on defensive driving, fire safety sessions, awareness on road safety and establishing retro reflective safety sign boards etc.
Speaking on the importance of safety, Mr. AbhijitPati, CEO and Director, BALCO, said, “BALCO is consistently striving to achieve the goal of creating safest workplace in line with its aim of establishing benchmark safety practices across industrial fraternity. At BALCO, every employee is empowered to stop any unsafe activity at site. Each member of the BALCO family is committed towards enhancing safety at workplace by adhering to cardinal rules of Industrial Safety, Occupational Health and Environment. We are extensively utilizing technology and innovation to further enhance the safety culture. Our unwavering commitment towards safety sees us continually improve upon and augment our safety measures. Utilizing technology to enhance safety culture at workplace follows our two-pronged approach towards meeting our safety goals and leveraging digital technologies. I am certain that our combined efforts will result in nurturing a safety-first culture.”
Testimony to BALCO’s safety-first approach, recently the company won National Safety Awards (Mines) for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 and has been declared as Platinum Winner’ at the 5th CII National Safety Practices Competition for its ‘SurakshaSankalpKutumbh’ project on safety digitization.
Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) is India’s iconic aluminium producer. It is owned 49% by the Government of India and 51% by Vedanta Limited. BALCO is part of Vedanta’s Aluminium Business, a division of Vedanta Limited, which is India’s largest manufacturer of aluminium. BALCO operates a 0.57 million tonne per annum aluminium smelter in Korba, Chhattisgarh. It is also a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. With its world-class smelter and power plants, the company fulfills its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
