BALCO deploys Extended Reality technologies to augment safety training for workforce

Balconagar, April, 2022 (GNI): Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), India’s iconic aluminium producer, has developed an Extended Reality (XR) experience zone to augment safety training for its employees and partners. The zone makes use of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality technologies to enable simulation-based training, thus ensuring an immersive, engaging and safe learning experience for the workforce. BALCO has already gone live with the Work at Height safety training for its employees, and will subsequently deploy other modules like Confined Space, Using PPEs, Forklift Driving, Pedestrian Safety, Use of Fire Fighting Equipment, etc.

Speaking on the importance of safety, Mr. Abhijit Pati, CEO and Director, BALCO, said, “BALCO is striving to create the safest workplace in line with its philosophy of ‘Zero Harm’, through empowerment of each employee to stop any unsafe activity at site. Each member of the BALCO family is committed to contribute towards enhancing safety at workplace by adhering to cardinal rules of Industrial Safety, Occupational Health and Environment Management. I am certain that our combined efforts will result in nurturing a safety-first culture. Utilizing technology to enhance safety culture at workplace follows our two-pronged approach towards meeting our safety goals and leveraging digital technologies.”

In order to ensure best-in-class safety standards, BALCO has partnered with DuPont Sustainability Solutions to implement their industry-leading safety management solutions at site. Recently the company won National Safety Awards (Mines) for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019. The company has rolled out several initiatives and institutionalized best practices to bolster safety performance, such as ‘Suraksha Sankalp’, a safety meet on first day of every month to sensitize the workforce on various modules of safety.
Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) is India’s iconic aluminium producer. It is owned 49% by the Government of India and 51% by Vedanta Limited. BALCO is part of Vedanta’s Aluminium Business, a division of Vedanta Limited, which is India’s largest manufacturer of aluminium. BALCO operates a 0.57 million tonne per annum aluminium smelter in Korba, Chhattisgarh. It is also a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. With its world-class smelter and power plants, the company fulfills its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.