Safety shoes prove their worth

Out of the thirty Continuous Improvement (CI) teams working within U. S. Steel Kosice last year, six were declared most successful based on the results they achieved in the CI process, and one of these was the Steel Plants Division team. On Friday, July 9th its members met for a celebratory dinner and a discussion session to assess their activity over the past year. They achieved particular success especially in the field of occupational safety, with the implementation of their project New Safety Footwear.

Donor has given fifty liters of blood

Two weeks ago Ladislav Suvak, a grinder operator in the Cold Strip Mill, went to give blood for the 100th time. What is more, this incredible number only hints at an even more incredible amount of blood, for his body has now provided exactly fifty liters. "It was my third blood-donation this year, and I'll get two more in before New Year's Eve," he told Ocel Vychodu. This altruistic assistance became a natural part of his life in 1978, when he went to the transfusion center for the first time as a twenty-two year-old. He has been a steelworks employee for 30 years now, celebrating this round-figure anniversary on July 1st this year.

Children's summer health camps

Wednesday of last week, July 14th, saw the official opening of the project named Summer Health Camps for Diabetic Children at the USSK recreation center at Kosicka Bela, in the presence of U. S. Steel Kosice President Christopher Navetta, Johnson&Johnson General Manager for Central and Eastern Europe Jean Patricot and other invited guests.
This project is the result of joint efforts by two American investors in Slovakia, Johnson&Johnson and U. S. Steel Kosice, in cooperation with the Slovak Diabetics' Association, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Family and the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic. Between July 3rd and August 3rd there will be three fortnightly camps for a total of more than 180 children aged from six to 18 years of age with the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus.

Very successful six months for Cost-saving Program

The first half of the year 2004 once again brought substantial savings for U. S. Steel Kosice in terms of cost-cutting. Compared with the results of the first half of 2003 they were 42 per cent higher, and an incredible 68 per cent greater than in 2002. The greatest share of savings within the whole company were made by four primary divisions - Cokery, Blast Furnaces, Steel Plant and Transport. The next largest contributors to costs savings were the Power Division, Quality Management and Research and Development.
These were followed by the four rolling mill divisions - Hot Strip Mill, Cold Strip Mill, Tin Mill and Packing/Dispatch. Then there were Purchasing and the four sections under GM Maintenance - Elektro, Mechanika, Special Maintenance and Maintenance Management. Other USSK work centers also joined in the cost-saving program earlier this year. Starting last month, U. S. Steel Kosice has joined in the competition to find the best Cost-saving Projects involving all USS companies. The USSK Cost-savings Section has sent the first 15 projects to the USA.

Company management on occupational safety

At the present time all employees of U. S. Steel Kosice are undergoing training on occupational safety. This process started in the tiered conference room in the Head Office Building with training for all operations managers. They heard a presentation by U. S. Steel Kosice President Christopher Navetta, who emphasized that occupational safety is a crucial issue not only for production operations as divisions or plants, but it concerns every single Company employee. This applies equally in Slovakia, the USA, and in Serbia. He required those present to communicate the information from the training to all of their colleagues.