CGDIS and LPL safety teams, a life-size exercise

In this specific case, the teams had to simulate the fainting of an employee on the access bridge to the crane cabin in the TMB hall 13, an incident at height making the intervention much more complex than usual. The planned exercise with the production and maintenance sectors was observed by ArcelorMittal and CGDIS personnel in order to identify areas for improvement to make the procedure perfectly aligned with the intervention.

A “work accident” exercise is an obligation in obtaining the WCM level 3 for the TMB, pilot site. It was managed by Vivien Leininger, foreman of hall 13 TMB, and Adrien Tecchio, dispatcher of hall 13 TMB and leader of the WCM group.

Follow-up of the rescue.

Exercise flow

Beginning of the exercise, the bridge crane in the garage area, the accomplice gets into place, lying down, inert on the bridge. A few minutes later, an innocent colleague, Aurélien, is called to come up on deck. He then discovers his colleague and realizes the seriousness of the situation, he then applies the steps of the "first person on scene", essential actions to perform when discovering an accident. This step is very important to see if the employees have the right reflexes: secure the environment by locking out the bridge, call 2222 to allow the infirmary and the guard post to be informed. The guard guarantees good access to the emergency services, including the blocking of the CFL for the crossing of the railway tracks by the emergency services. While waiting for the arrival of help, it is important to always maintain communication with the victim, for him but also for the rescuer.

When the emergency services arrive, managers are responsible for accompanying the firefighters to the accident area. Intervening in an area at height is delicate work, and on our sites, these situations can happen at any time, which is why it is essential for their service, and ours, to simulate these interventions. The firefighters must then purge the nacelle to access the gangway and evacuate the injured person without incident. The end of the exercise is marked by the grounding of the basket with the injured person evacuated.

Obtaining level 3 WCM goes through a mandatory condition which is to carry out an emergency situation in the area. We seek to test and perfect our procedures. Through the safety section of the WCM approach, the group detects risks and dangers in order to eliminate them. We use this collective intelligence to improve our working conditions, sustain our achievements and increase the well-being of our colleagues.
Alain Pommez, WCM Responsible TMB Route - Steel Plant & Rolling Mill

​​​How to detect the discomfort of a colleague in his bridge crane cabin?

• Lack of response after radio solicitation
• Absence of movement of the bridge
• Lack of reaction from the bridge operator after calls from his colleagues
• Visually: you see your colleague in an unusual position and without movement

he management of the exercise was praised by ArcelorMittal staff and by CGDIS observers. Nevertheless, two areas for improvement have been notified: access must always be facilitated, certain code doors are not automatically kept open during the intervention and cause a waste of time and it is necessary to have the tidiest workspace possible, always with the aim of facilitating emergency access and intervention
This exercise is just one example among many of the meetings organized during the year to inform firefighters of the specificities of our environment so that they can cope, in the worst case, with particular situations and perilous access.
This is further proof of the excellent cooperation between our sites and the Grand-Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (CGDIS).

Debrief of the exercise by Quantilien Bury.