Within the global aluminium industry, workplace safety is a top priority, mainly due to the combination of heavy machinery, high-temperature processes and complex chemical handling, which raises accident risks. But it's not just about the immediate impact on people; safety issues can also disrupt production, damage equipment and erode trust among stakeholders. It is essential to have strong safety measures in place, not just to meet regulations, but as a key part of sustainable growth. Here is a deep dive into the workplace accidents over the past five years, with real-time case studies and measures to overcome them.
The analysis for the workplace accidents from 2019 to 2024 is done based on two accident severities: the first being the lost time accident rate per MHW, indicating the time lost in operations due to an accident occurrence and the second being the restricted work/medical treatment accident rate, suggesting the human resource lost or delay due to the severity of the accident. Additionally, the workplace accident analysis concerns three major processes of the industry, which are aluminium smelter, refinery and bauxite mining.
Lost time accident rate (per MHW)
2024
Lost time accident rate, in 2024, globally shot up to 1.7, marking the highest level witnessed in six years. Smelters climbed to 1.9 and refineries reached 2.0, while bauxite mines remained steady at 0.9. In this year, the million hours reported to work for all three processes is 204.8 and the total recordable accident rate per MHW stood at 4.2. This sudden increase highlights the growing risks associated with energy-intensive operations downstream.
2023
This year, the industry remained stable at 1.3, but the performance gap was still noticeable. Refineries were operating at 1.6, smelters at 1.2 and bauxite mines at 0.9. The million hours reported to work for all three processes is 297, and the total recordable accident rate per MHW was recorded at 2.8 per MHW. This data highlighted that refining carried the highest safety risk.
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