By Andrew Smith, The Aluminum Association.
The Casthouse Safety Workshop, developed by the Aluminum Association, has been the premier safety series for operators, supervisors, and maintenance and EHS professionals in aluminum casthouses since 1993. The conference walks attendees through the foundations of molten metal handling and the associated risks during melting, transfer, and casting operations before diving deeper into advanced process, hazard, and equipment topics. Scattered throughout the workshop are breakout sessions that allow the attendees to apply their learnings and share strategies in molten metal explosion scenarios. Molten metal splash simulators are also supplied by member companies to bring attendees face-to-face with the “pop” of a modeled molten metal Force 1 explosion (Figure 1).
Since its launch, the workshop has continued to grow and transform to address new safety advancements and welcome new cohorts of casthouse professionals. The 2023 workshops in Spokane, WA, and Nashville, TN, maxed out their attendance with more than 200 total attendees from 30 companies. The association introduced new content in 2023, including heat stress prevention, improvements in hands-free casting, and human organizational performance in molten metal safety. Virtual reality simulators were one of the largest attractions in the fall Nashville workshop—demonstrating the “gamification” of safety training and alternative methods to familiarize employees on casthouse hazards and presenting emergency conditions without putting them in the line of fire (Figure 2).
One of the most valuable portions of the workshop is the company sharing session, when the microphone is turned over to attendees, who share their companies’ most recent safety challenges, strategies, and/or technologies. The audience is eager to ask questions and comment on their peers’ safety practices and challenges. It is an invaluable opportunity to convene the industry in one place to share knowledge and collaborate on molten metal safety. In the spirit of cross-company communication, the association also added small group focus sessions in 2023 to provide opportunities for attendees to dive deeper into the previously presented topics with the safety expert speakers.
The high participation in these workshops represents a clear commitment from the aluminum industry to improve safety culture at all levels of their organizations. This shared mission is reflected in the growth of the Aluminum Association’s safety programming. The 2023 Molten Metal Incident Report revealed the highest number of explosion incidents reported since the program’s inception in 1980. This growth is explained by a 50% increase in smaller, Force 1 reported explosions. While reporting of minor explosions has increased, 2022 saw a decrease in more severe explosions, and injury rates have remained at historically low levels. In conjunction with the decreases in the severity of incidents that the aluminum industry is seeing, there is simultaneously an increase in safety transparency. Therefore, the 71% decrease in explosion-related injuries since 2001 can be partially accredited to the industry’s commitment to train and prepare its employees to work safely in molten metal workplaces.
The enthusiasm surrounding industry safety improvements has led to new Aluminum Association safety projects in 2024. Some of the association’s members are voluntarily participating in a new safety incident sharing program to disseminate information on incident causes and preventative actions. In addition, the association is in the process of creating new safety resources, including heat stress management materials and revisions to its casthouse safety publications.
The Casthouse Safety Workshop series is also continuing in 2024. The next workshop will be held on Tuesday, November 19th through Wednesday, November 20th at the Sheraton Detroit Metro Airport Hotel in Detroit, MI. More information on registration will be announced in the coming months.
Editor’s Note: Those interested in attending the workshop, receiving future communications, and/or participating in other Aluminum Association safety programs can contact Andrew Smith at: asmith@aluminum.org.
This article first appeared in the April 2024 issue of Light Metal Age. To receive the current issue, please subscribe.