Chang In-hwa, chairman of POSCO Group, said on the 2nd that "we must once again deeply remind ourselves that safety at worksites is a top value, ahead of production, sales, schedule, delivery, and profit."
Through a New Year's address released that day, Chang said, "Despite (last year's) achievements, a series of safety accidents at the group's business sites caused great pain to the victims and their families," and stated accordingly.
Chang said, "As we greet a new year, we must make sure that such incidents (industrial accidents) do not recur," and named "safety" first among this year's priority tasks.
The priority tasks are: ▲ achieving zero-accident performance ▲ artificial intelligence transformation (AX) ▲ strengthening competitiveness in the steel business ▲ stabilizing the order intake base for the energy materials business ▲ enhancing revenue generation capabilities in the energy business.
To achieve zero-accident performance, Chang urged executives to be on the ground to support what is needed for accident prevention, and asked employees, as owners of their worksites, to build a culture of proactively safeguarding safety.
He also called for innovating the safety management system by leveraging the capabilities of the safety specialty subsidiary (POSCO Safety Solution), and spreading the know-how gained in the process to global business sites to establish the K-Safety model.
On AX, he emphasized the spread of the Intelligent Factory (going beyond the Smart Factory to an intelligent plant that automatically collects and integrates data generated at every process and, based on that, even conducts decision-making).
Chang said that, through the Intelligent Factory, unmanned technologies using robots should be applied to high-risk manual work points, and AI literacy should also be improved so that AI can generate results in office functions.
He also said that, to identify market demand in a timely manner and secure future technologies, POSCO should expand its research and development (R&D) infrastructure, including the Australia critical resources institute and the China R&D center, and further strengthen technological capabilities to lead industrial change.
Tasks to strengthen competitiveness in the steel business include realizing structural cost innovation through "CI 2030" based on technological prowess, completing the portfolio of eight strategic products, and proceeding without delay on hydrogen reduction steelmaking and the construction of electric arc furnaces.
He called for achieving research and development outcomes that match market demand, strengthening marketing capabilities, and improving productivity through process optimization, along with innovation in manufacturing costs, to stabilize the order intake base of the energy materials business.
To enhance revenue generation capabilities in the energy business, he cited leveraging the U.S. Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, stabilizing the Singapore subsidiary, and investing in the district electricity business and overseas LNG power plants. He also called for promoting offshore wind, solar, and energy storage system (ESS) businesses.
Chang said, "The industrial changes we face today are unprecedentedly fast and so complex that it is hard to find clear direction," adding, "But we must stay composed, keep our balance, and tenaciously seek answers in our respective roles without losing our way."
He added, "As byeongo is the year of the red horse, known for passion and drive, let's execute the plans we have made with speed and move dynamically toward becoming a top-tier company."