The usage, repair and maintenance of machines is one of the areas in which it still records a significant number of accident events. The occurrence of accidents at work generates social and economic costs for the enterprise. Therefore, employers should be take measures to improve safety at the workplace. The publication presents an accident analysis based on a comparison of the following measures: accident rates (i.e. number of accidents, event effects) and ratio analysis (frequency rate indicator and total accident rate indicator). Calculated indicators allowed to determine the accident rate during the usage, repair and maintenance of machines. The analysis covered a five-year period – i.e. 2013-2017. On the basis of the analyzes carried out, the proposal was presented of possible prevention solutions to reduce the number of accidents at work.

Work safety can be a component of the broadly understood sustainable enterprise approach that goes beyond the idea of sustainable development. Sustainability in an unpredictable and turbulent environment has many constellations, many aspects and many fields of the enterprise’s activity and it complements the rationality of the business. The aim is to understand the sustainability of safety, because this is the term we have adopted for rationality in occupational safety management, in the context of the analysis of work accidents in the Polish steel industry, with particular emphasis on the methodology of forecast assessment in the studied area, proposed by us. The realized forecasts were used for the creation of a combined model which formed the basis for formulating conclusions from the analysis. The publication presents the modeling of the victims of work accidents in the steel sector in Poland. Based on the research of the forecasts obtained, a downward trend is recorded in the number of persons injured in accidents at work in the steel sector. In order to select the optimal model, it was proposed to set combined forecasts. In order to select the optimal model, it was proposed to set combined forecasts. The obtained values of ex-ante forecasts in the combined model also confirmed the forecasted trends determined within the adaptation models. The study is a proposal to extend the combined forecasting methods used to assess occupational safety. We consciously chose to include the methodology of combined forecasting of the number of people injured in accidents in the interpretation of sustainability, because we see the possibility of interpreting accident rates in sustainable business in the future. In the publication, we propose the framework of the sustainable safety model as an element of work safety management in an enterprise. We are trying to answer the question about the place of accident prediction in sustainable safety.

The iron and steel industry is one of the largest sources of waste materials, primarily in the form of steelmaking dusts, sludge and slag. Those wastes are a serious threat to the environment. Main precondition for the protection of natural resources in the environment is to recover raw material and energy from waste. The use of waste as raw materials does not involve the storage and creates the possibility of closure of the existing landfill. The article presented utilization of same metallurgical waste containing 4-20 wt. % zinc in non-metallurgical industry. Performed chemical analyzes of pollutants contained in waste tested (dusts, sludge and slag) and in manufactured products (cement bricks, ceramic construction materials, colored glass products and slag for road construction). Aqueous extracts analysis results were compared with the maximum values for the sewage entering into water and soil. The performed research proves that proposed technologies (production of cement clinker, construction bricks, hollow glass, decorated glass) do not pose threat to environment. Harmful impurities are eluted from the products – clinker, constructions bricks and slag after the recovery of zinc recovery. Proposed technologies substitution of primary raw materials recyclable materials can reduce environmental degradation.

Streszczenie. W artykule zostały omówione uregulowania prawne dotyczące wymagań bezpieczeństwa dla maszyn eksploatowanych w przedsiębiorstwach produkcyjnych. Dla wybranych zagrożeń związanych z użytkowaniem tokarki przedstawiono proces zarządzania ryzykiem. Uwzględniał on działania przewidziane w ramach iteracyjnego procesu zmniejszania ryzyka oraz specyfikę profilu technologicznego przedsiębiorstwa. Celem opracowania było przedstawienie wpływu wdrożonych rozwiązań profilaktycznych na kształtowanie bezpieczeństwa związanego z użytkowaniem maszyny.Słowa kluczowe: bezpieczeństwo pracy, użytkowanie maszyn, zarządzanie ryzykiem SELECTION OF PREVENTIVE SOLUTIONS AS AN ELEMENT OF IMPROVING SAFETY OF WORK WITH USAGE OF MACHINESAbstract. In the article legal regulations on safety requirements for machines operated in manufacturing companies was discussed. For selected hazards associated with the usage of lathe machine, the risk management process was described. This process included activities predicted in the iterative risk reduction process and the specific nature of the company technological profile. The aim of the study was to present the influence of implemented preventive solutions on shaping the safety related to the usage of the machine.

The article presents the acoustic properties of selected polyurethane materials. The study involved a porous polyurethane foam primary and secondary, for whom assigned the value of sound absorption coefficients in the frequency range of 100 – 1250 Hz. The study was conducted in impedance tube Kundt.

The issue of ensuring work safety during the use of machines plays a key role due to the recorded accident events, the source of which are the machines in use. In the scope of reducing the risk associated with machines, particular attention should be paid to the threats, as well as solutions allowing to limit their negative impact on the operator. The study presents the possibility of using visual management (VM) as a form of information transfer that allows to meet the requirements set out in legal regulations, as well as reduce the risk of accidents. The machines in question were assessed for the possibility of using various forms of visual management to reduce the risk of accidents. The investigations were also supplemented with an analysis of accident statistics to present the importance of using visual management in improving the safety of machine operators' work. The conducted analyzes allowed to determine the direction of activities in the use of various forms of visual management aimed at improving the safety of machine operators.

Purpose: The aim of the study to assess the possibility of using the creeping trend model in the forecasting of accidents at work in the steel sector in Poland, was presented. Design/methodology/approach: A four-stage research methodology was used to analyze the accident rate trend in the steel sector, based on: collecting empirical data, forecasting (creeping trend model), qualitative assessment of forecasts and determining the direction of activities in the field of health and safety. Findings: Based on the conducted research, it was found that it is possible to use the creeping trend model in forecasting the number of persons injured in accidents at work. The forecasts and their acceptance based on the criteria adopted in the methodology of own work made it possible to determine the directions of activities in the field of occupational health and safety in the steel sector in Poland. Research limitation/implications: The conducted analyses were limited to statistical data published by Statistic Poland. Forecasts of the number of persons injured in accidents in the steel sector were possible to determine thanks to the forecasting process using the creeping trend model. The forecasts are subject to errors, which is why it is important to interpret them more broadly, taking into account the specificity of the industry being the subject of the analyses. Practical implications: The forecasts can be important information on health and safety issues for the steel sector in Poland. The use of the creeping trend model, with the fulfillment of methodological assumptions (qualitative ocean of forecasts), can be useful in determining the direction of OSH activities in enterprises. Social implications: The article addresses the issue of the occurrence of accidents at work, the implementation of effective preventive measures in order to reduce them. Originality/value: The article presents the possibility of using the creeping trend model in the forecasting of the total number of persons injured in accidents in the steel sector in Poland. The forecasts and trend analysis can provide information for employers and employees of health and safety services regarding the effectiveness of the implemented preventive measures. Keywords: Creeping trend model, forecasting, accidents at work, steel industry. Category of the paper: Research paper.

This article focuses on the number of accidents at work in enterprises in the steel industry. Accidents have a significant effect on the operations of enterprises due to the social and economic costs they generate. This article presents the dependence between the number of accidents at work, demographic characteristics (sex, age) and work experience of injured persons, which allows for the identification of risk groups based on to the tested feature. The scope of the analysis covers the structure of accidents at work in the steel industry in the years 2009-2015. The aim of this article is to present the dependence between the number of accidents at work and the demographic characteristics and work experience of workers employed in the industry under examination. The conducted analysis led to the conclusion that there is a relation between the number of accidents at work and the demographic characteristics of persons sustaining an accident at work. In the period between 2009-2015, male workers aged 30-39 were involved in accidents at work the most frequently. The research methodology applied in this article consists of: absolute and generic analysis of work accidents, ratio analysis and statistical analysis of the relation between the number of accidents at work and the demographic characteristics of workers injured in accidents. The applied methodology of analysis of accidents at work may be used for a benchmark analysis of various industry sectors in any country or the same sectors in various countries.