Interview with Julie MALHERBE, the safety coordinator at ARCELOR DUDELANGE

A company which received an award during the STOP THAT NOISE campaign organised during the European Week for Safety and Health at Work in 2005

Specialising in galvanisation of surface coatings used in the building and automobile sector, Arcelor Dudelange is particularly exposed to harmful noises. "All in all, 100 individuals are constantly exposed to noise, but we consider all the personnel, such as the administrative staff, as exposed persons.”

Identifying noisy areas: noise mapping

Concerned with improving working conditions, not being a cause of deafness and reducing the sources of stress and risks of accident, the occupational physician has mapped the noise on site: "We have created as many control points as possible, since in our company, the employees are versatile and often change posts. This means that managing individual protection against noise is more complex. "

A policy aimed at combating noise

After having tested a signage system which proved ineffective, a procedure for compulsory wearing of individual protections was implemented, combined with an employee awareness-raising campaign. In parallel, "a policy of reduction at the source has been adopted. One must be aware however that reduction at the source is difficult if not provided for on designing the building. "

"We identified our needs in terms of protections by studying the problem of wearing the individual protection. In comparison to disposable earplugs and headsets, we concluded that a more effective and hygienic product was needed, thereby highlighting accountability of the user and above all providing the possibility of communication, which is not the case with the other products previously mentioned. With regard to conventional protections, we had noticed that not everyone wore them, in spite of compulsory wearing. The complaints related to comfort and fit of the protections in the ears. This is why we called on COTRAL. "

Setting up of a working party

Selected for the quality of its services and the ergonomy of its solutions (already recognised by the Arcelor Safety Commission), COTRAL Laboratory intervened within the context of personalised individual protective equipment through Jean Philippe Rauscher, its local prevention technician. A working party consisting of some ten individuals based on voluntary participation was formed "in which I myself participated, since it is important to show that the management is involved", composed of different operators involved at various points in the chain, some reputed to be difficult "in order to have a demanding opinion. The only risk was that these individuals would dismantle the system. A conscientious and specialist management makes it possible to minimise this risk .../... The involvement of a specialist, combined with the awareness booklet, will make it possible to explain how to insert them in the ear and clean them This should result in wearing 100% of the time spent exposed to noise by all individuals. This intervention supplements that which took place during impression taking. At least however, something structured is obtained". At the same time, booklets were submitted to the panel and the management "This should serve to step up wearing of the protections".

Participating in the safety and health at work week

This approach was rewarded as part of the European competition. "I wondered initially where the added value lies. What is the point in putting oneself forward? Finally, I did so discreetly, it took me a long while, the management was delighted .../... placing the site in the limelight allowed me to enhance the role of my operators .../... the impact within the ARCELOR group must be emphasised. Our site, which is considered small, has shown its full dynamism .../... this has contributed to creating awareness of the consequences of noise among the entire Arcelor group. On a professional level, receiving an award has allowed me to increase my perspectives and advance this project beyond the limits set at the outset. "

"No priority may prevail to the detriment of safety", the Managing Director of the Arcelor group