Healthy and Safe Summer... POSCO Pohang Works Offers Special Nutritious Meals to Prevent Heat-related Illnesses

"Mobile Safety Bus" Offers Health Checks, Hydration, and Rest Areas for Workers

POSCO Pohang Steelworks is ramping up its support activities to help employees beat the summer heat as they work hard on the steelworks site, sweating under the scorching sun.

Employees of POSCO Pohang Steelworks are receiving a special nourishing lunch served in the company cafeteria on the 15th to celebrate the first day of the hottest period of summer.

Due to the nature of steelworks operations, with many outdoor repair sites and high-temperature areas, special attention is being paid to heat illness prevention activities for workers at Pohang Steelworks.

On July 15, marking the beginning of the hottest period of summer, the steelworks provided a variety of special nutritious lunches such as abalone samgyetang and mulhoe in the cafeteria to encourage employees working in the heat.

During the peak heat season, the steelworks manager plans to operate a food truck four times, delivering snacks like patbingsu and toast directly to all employees at the worksite to boost morale.

Since June 15, the 'Mobile Safety Bus' has been transformed into a 'Cooling Shelter,' visiting outdoor and high-temperature work sites to provide customized health services during workers' break times.

The original purpose of the 'Mobile Safety Bus' was to offer audiovisual safety education and VR-based experiential safety training for subcontractor employees with limited access to training. However, during the hot season, it is also used as a 'Cooling Shelter' for workers at high-temperature sites vulnerable to heat illness, in addition to safety education.

Workers exhausted from the heat can replenish fluids with cool water and saline glucose inside the safety bus, where a staff member in charge of safety and health education is always present to check their health status and provide basic medicine if needed.

If any health abnormalities such as high blood pressure or hypoglycemia are detected, the right to stop work is explained and the affected employees are instructed not to participate in work.

Additionally, to prevent heat-related illnesses, Pohang Steelworks has extended the lunch break by 30 minutes, from one hour to an hour and a half, for 60 days from July 2 to August 31.

At major repair sites, the steelworks provides rest supplies such as shade canopies and ice water so workers can rest comfortably. They have also established rest time standards according to temperature by work type, and are actively implementing heat illness prevention activities by operating self-diagnosis checklists for heat illness, rest time and perceived temperature logs to continuously monitor workers' health.