The steel sector is a fundamental industry in the global economy, facing challenges in both safety aspects and the need to increase competitiveness in response to growing environmental regulations and global market pressures. This article, based on information provided by various sources, reflects on the multifaceted role of digital technology (including technology related to Industry 4.0) in addressing these challenges. Digital tools result in safer environments. Digital technologies help make workplaces safer by enabling automated monitoring systems, such as Computer Vision, for detecting potential hazards and the use of robotics to keep workers away from dangerous situations. Moreover, solutions like AI-powered Predictive Maintenance enhance the reliability of your equipment, which is extremely important for security in high-risk environments and also to enhance operational efficiency. At the same time, digital innovations are important drivers of competitiveness by enabling more energy and resource-efficient production, incentivising decarbonisation, and improving supply chain management. Despite the promise, the implementation of such solutions will be contingent on research knowledge gaps regarding the use and application of solutions in practice, as well as the training of the workforce.