14.12.2004
Almost ten tons of road spreading salt, five tons of sand and another 40 tons of crushed slag – this is the stock of road spreading material of VÍTKOVICE STEEL for this winter. This material will be used for maintenance of sidewalks inside the premises of the company as well as for maintenance of most frequently used sidewalks leading to tram stops and bus stops.
It will be used also for maintenance of seven parking lots and other parking places, stairways, pedestrian subways, roads, foot bridges, ramps and other areas that are administered by the company and at the same time are used also by other parties residing in the premises of the company.
,,We ensure practicability of roads and communications in the surroundings of the company in case of need together with the technical service department of the Ostrava Magistrate. Practicability of railway sidings is ensured by VÍTKOVICE Transport on the contractual basis,“ explained Miloslav Temel, Head of the Service Department.
But winter measures do not include preparation of road spreading material only. They include also ensuring regular supplies of iron, coke, lime, and other raw materials necessary for the operation of the steelwork, including distribution to critical places (the dispatch communications must be always free). It is necessary to protect all hydrants against frost and to ensure inspections and repairs of heat insulations. Roofs, buildings, insulations, entrances for pedestrians and vehicles, functionality of gates, road signs are checked and earth works on communications are completed.
We start preparing winter measures in VÍTKOVICE STEEL every year in August (summer measures at the end of March), they are effective since October, but we start using them only when we get at least 5 cm of snow or when severe frost comes,” explained Ivan Harazím, Technical Director of VÍTKOVICE STEEL, a.s. ,,But the frost itself does not make any harm if we leave aside the necessity to maintain the sidewalks etc. Only when the temperature rises suddenly from minus 10 to plus 10 degrees, the problems start – melting ice causes cracking of material – mainly terminal branches of piping and sludge traps. I can remember that a terrible situation was in 1984 when the temperature on Sunday afternoon was +14 degrees and the next morning it was minus 20. Almost everything got frozen, piping was cracking, we had to defreeze hydraulic systems, and so on. But if this winter is similar like the last year’s one then I am not afraid of any big problems,” added Harazím.
Care for employees in this cold season, heating of halls or critical places where certain temperature needs to be preserved (for example because of the stored material) – all of this is also a part of winter measures. „This year we are slightly worried of cold at the 4.5 Two-High mill which is operating only on morning shifts. This means that the stand-by crews must ensure regular activation of all hydraulically driven equipment when idle so that it does not get stuck. It will be some extra work, but it is nothing unusual,” said Harazím. But on the other hand, in some halls and warehouses the situation this year is much better. VÍTKOVICE STEEL decided to make investments into modernization and into heating – the new heating system in the rack warehouse will cost more than 3 million crowns. „We expect that the money invested will be paid back within two years. In the past we were using hot water heaters for heating like in many other halls and shops or we were using coke-fired heaters. But heat was very quickly lost in the space, so despite very high consumption the temperature in the halls was very low. Furthermore, since the year 2000 the price of this energy increased by more than 40 %, thus being the most expensive energy.”
In the past, average consumption of steam in VÍTKOVICE STEEL in Summer was approx. 4.5 tons and in Winter almost 20 tons. For this reason the company decided to substantially reduce this type of energy and the company is switching over to more efficient heaters which consume mostly natural gas. For example in the Flame-Cut Shapes Center we installed radiant heaters last year.
Of course, winter clothing is a must. ,,All people working outside are entitled to winter coats, gloves, warm footware, and necessary pieces of work clothing. And always available are tea rooms in which employees can get hot tea and other non-alcoholic drinks. Workers working in cold operations have unrestricted access to these tea rooms,“ added Harazím. All of this is embedded in the collective agreement which VÍTKOVICE STEEL signed for the years 2003 – 2006.
