CITE Program starting
The quality of environmental protection provided by a company depends significantly on the environmental training of its employees, so this is one of the fundamental steps in continuous improvement of environmental protection itself. With the goal of improving the environmental awareness and behavior of all its employees, in January 2004 U. S. Steel Kosice is starting implementation of a new educational program of basic knowledge and skills regarding the environment named CITE - Continuous Improvement To the Environment. CITE is an award-winning educational and developmental program for workers and managers which has been successfully introduced in dozens of U. S. Steel Corporation plants around the USA, and it has gained nationwide acclaim in that country due to its innovative approach.
Two top-quality instruments in operation
The range of instruments in the metallographic laboratory of U. S. Steel Kosice's Research and Development Center has been improved recently with the introduction of two modern machines which according to their future users represent the current leading edge in their categories. The first is a rastering electron microscope with EDAX microanalyzer, and the second is an X-ray diffractional analyzer. The inaugural operation of these instruments was attended by USSK Vice-president Operations Scott Pape, GM R&D Robert Frascarelli, and other managers in charge of quality, sales and production. Also participating in the presentation were representatives of the science, research and university communities in Kosice and some of their colleagues from the Podbrezova Steelworks. Ocel Vychodu was informed by Andrej Lesko, Head of the Metallography Department at the USSK Research and Development Center, that in the last three years the Company has invested almost 20 million SKK in purchasing new laboratory instruments.
Kosice quintet in the All-Stars game
Last week there was a short break in the ice-hockey season following the 44th round of the Special League. Some of the hockey players from the Special League teams made use of this break to play in the All-Stars game which took place in Bratislava last Saturday. For the second time after last year's inaugural game, the ice-stadium of champions Slovan was the meeting-place for the teams of selected players from the Slovak Telecom Special League and the Czech Tipsport Special League. The nominations for both Special League selections were known beforehand, and the first six-member formations together with the goalmen were decided by the now-traditional voting of the fans. The second formations were decided by the media representatives, and the third and fourth by the trainers. The Slovak select squad was led by trainers Jan Faith (from Special League team Skalica) and Jan Jasko (Zvolen), and the Czech team was guided from the benches by the duo of Vladimir Ruzicka (Slavia Prague) and Pavel Marek (Trinec). The Slovak Special League squad beat the Czech star selection 12:10, and instead of the originally-nominated four players it ultimately featured five stars from HC Kosice, namely defenders Juraj Kledrowetz and Pavol Segla, and forwards Arne Krotak, Jaroslav Kmit and Marcel Simurda.
Purchasing activities more efficient
In the middle of January the Replacement Parts Purchasing Department underwent a course of training known as P.R.I.D.E. This is another product from the consultancy company Workplace Transformation, concerned in this case with making our purchasing processes more efficient. The training course was led by WT's top representative Jack Nora, and focused on finding ways of making the various individual processes involved in purchasing activities more efficient.
