Effective Occupational Health and Safety Management System

I have been working in the safety field for 20 years. By education, I am a history teacher, having graduated from the Faculty of History at Kaluga State Pedagogical University.

I ended up in this line of work quite by accident. In my hometown of Kaluga, one of the largest plants is the Kaluga Turbine Works — an enterprise where people often work for 10, 20, or 30 years.

At 21, I was offered the position of HSE engineer because a vacancy had opened up. At the time, I could never have imagined that I would be working and developing in the safety field for many years.

Why choose a career in HSE? The most important factor is people's health and safety. One can view safety in different ways, but for me, the priority is helping people and the desire to make their working conditions safer and more comfortable.

After the turbine plant, I worked for foreign companies and have been constantly convinced of the importance of a sensible approach rather than a formal one. This approach prioritizes protecting the organization (prestige, high performance, absence of fines — essentially, business risk reduction), as well as employee safety and convenience. I want to emphasize that comfortable working conditions are vital. You can always do something extra for employees: purchase comfortable personal protective equipment, organize additional events, or equip a gym.

Of course, the question arises: why work in occupational safety?

Firstly, there is the moral aspect:

• a desire to help the organization and employees, protecting the business from risks and workers from health damage.
• constant development, studying domestic and international safety standards.
• career and personal growth, including personnel management skills and public speaking.
• new and interesting projects.
• experience interacting with government organizations and private contractors.
• the opportunity to establish oneself at the federal level.
• financial benefits; competent and proactive specialists are valued in any organization. It is worth noting that the number of skilled safety specialists is growing.

Many workers in this field face challenges, particularly how to create an effective Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS).

Here are a number of practices that have proven effective in building such a system.

The performance of an OHSMS depends on:

• the employer;
• the employees;

There are two approaches:

• reactive – addressing the consequences of accidents (often severe injuries, and sometimes fatalities) and incidents.
• proactive – systematic monitoring of HSE risks and working to reduce the probability of incidents that did not result in injury.

Top managers, the HSE department, and line managers in production are involved in the work according to each of the approaches described above.

What is the problem with building an effective OHSMS?

• lack of interest from the employer;
• indifference of managers;
• rejection by employees.

One often hears that occupational safety is the job of the HSE department, and that it only causes harm to workers.

I should note: if sufficient attention is not paid to the safety of personnel, can we really talk about the efficiency of a specific production facility where accidents occur periodically and no systematic work is done to prevent the risks of their occurrence?

To create an OHSMS, it is important to conduct an organizational assessment:

• assessment of the actual state: the condition of production units; how safe and comfortable the working conditions are. For this, it is reasonable to use checklists (lists of questions);
• document assessment: whether all documents are in place. Orders, procedures, instructions.
• safety culture assessment – the attitude of the employer and employees toward HSE. Unfortunately, many employees have a negative attitude, as they believe that occupational safety serves exclusively monitoring functions and interferes with work.

How to gain support from management and employees?

To do this, it is necessary to develop an organizational strategy and policy.

The company's strategy should be outlined in the relevant documents (including the policy) and approved by the employer. Regardless of the size of the organization, the employer must not only demand compliance with established rules from employees but also do the same on their part.

The policy should reflect goals: quantitative, measurable, achievable, and specific.

Goals are approved at the organizational and departmental levels: the number of employees who have completed HSE training; the number of suggestions from employees.

It is not advisable to set goals for reducing injury rates, as this can lead to the concealment of incidents.

Benefits of an effective OHSMS?

1. Increasing the organization's prestige. Successfully passing social responsibility audits, which allow for:

• receiving feedback on CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities through ratings.
• identifying the company's strengths and opportunities for improvement.

2. Reduction of injuries, accidents, and incidents.

3. High employee motivation.

4. Absence of fines.

5. Employer Certificate of Trust.

A Certificate of Trust is issued to companies with a good reputation in labor relations. Organizations that receive such a document can be free from labor inspection audits for three years. To obtain the certificate, the employer must independently submit an application to the State Labor Inspectorate. Applications will only be accepted from enterprises where proper HSE measures have been implemented and no employee complaints have been recorded.

After a certain verification and a positive verdict, the company will be entered into a special register of reputable enterprises and issued a Certificate of Trust. From that moment, the organization will not be included in the inspection plan for three years. However, those who receive the certificate cannot relax — even in the case of a single complaint from employees, the labor inspectorate will conduct an audit, and if violations are found, even the certificate will not help avoid responsibility.

6. Refund of Social Insurance Fund money.

• Obtain a discount (up to 40%) on the insurance rate for mandatory social insurance against industrial accidents and occupational diseases (Art. 22 of Federal Law No. 125-FZ dated 24.07.1998). To do this, an application must be submitted to the Social Insurance Fund (FSS) by November 1 of the current year.
• Reimbursement for HSE measures. An application must be submitted to the FSS either in hard copy or electronically by August 1 of the current year with a full package of documents (Decree No. 2375 dated December 30, 2020).

7. Increased employee awareness.

8. Additional tools for increasing the organization's prestige include:

Winning competitions and HSE contests, such as:

All-Russian Occupational Safety Contest: https://eisot.creatium.site/rating-average-small.

Social Responsibility Contest: https://mintrud.gov.ru/events/1340

9. HSE Days TOP-100 Rating: https://hsedays.ru/508-rejting-hse-top-100.html

The international HSE DAYS project was created to unite professionals in the fields of occupational health, industrial safety, and environment. It is a community of directors and managers, carriers of best practices, whose knowledge and practical experience contribute to approaching the global Goal Zero — Zero accidents, Zero industrial disasters, Zero harmful environmental impact.

At the annual HSE DAYS 2021 forum, the first all-Russian rating for directors and managers of HSE and industrial safety began its work.

Participation in it is a great opportunity to establish oneself in the professional community of HSE specialists.

What does participation in the HSE TOP 100 rating provide?

Firstly, recognition from colleagues, many of whom are top managers and hold leadership positions.

Secondly, feedback at every stage of participation, which allows for self-assessment, gaining new ideas, and understanding directions for development;

Thirdly, increasing the company's prestige and developing the expert's personal brand;

Fourthly, involvement in active work within the community, which makes the professional side of life richer and more interesting, allowing for new acquaintances with fellow practitioners.

10. The opportunity to speak at conferences and webinars, share experience with colleagues, and publish articles on information resources.

How to organize interaction with managers?

• Conduct an introductory meeting. Position HSE as a huge help in achieving team goals.
• Involve managers in the three-stage safety control procedure, the HSE committee, and professional risk assessment.
• Regular meetings with managers: new issues are identified, and the status of open problems is discussed. A dialogue aimed at mutual benefit is extremely important.
• Bonuses and salary increments depend on the department's safety indicators (for example, the number of eliminated violations).

How to organize interaction with employees?

Through social dialogue — this is both a way to ensure socio-economic development and a goal in itself, as it allows people to express their opinions and advocate for them in communities and workplaces.

Social dialogue procedures and practices:

1. HSE Committee

• Established by the director's order;
• Representatives of the employer and employees participate;
• Quarterly meetings;
• Summarizing HSE results and outcomes. Setting new tasks.
• Receiving suggestions from employees and reviewing results.

2. Red Box

• Receiving suggestions from employees;
• Accessibility;
• Anonymity;
• Regular feedback.
• Memos about the importance of ideas and suggestions.

3. Annual Employee Survey

• Anonymity;
• Accessibility;
• Engagement;

4. Weekly Management Meeting.

All questions from employees (both management and subordinate levels) must be resolved, and safety violations must be eliminated.

The work at an enterprise is performed by people — specific employees at their workplaces. And the perfection of the enterprise, the efficiency of business processes, and especially the production process of that enterprise, will directly depend on their satisfaction, motivation, and involvement in the process.

This means that the choice of profession and investment in HSE will certainly pay off, and most likely, in the very near future.