Russian Railways (RZD) is a modern, high-tech company with 623,000 employees; the RZD Holding, including subsidiaries, employs over 1 million people. Geographically, the company is divided into 16 railways located in 77 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Every year, more than 1.3 billion tons of cargo and 1 billion passengers are transported by rail.
What are the specific features of Russian Railways in terms of the occupational health and safety management system's functioning?
First, it involves a vast number of business lines: train traffic management, locomotive facilities, power supply, infrastructure, and much more; the company manages over 1.5 million business processes.
Second, the scale of the company and the projects it implements, including the development of high-speed rail, the introduction of quantum communications, and the development of the Northern Latitudinal Railway.
Third, working in close contact with federal authorities, participating in working groups, and developing regulatory legal acts.
Analysis of industrial injuries indicates that the absolute majority of such cases are related to the failure of employees and managers to comply with safety requirements for production processes. That is, the cause of most workplace accidents is not technology, but the human factor. Therefore, training and involving employees in safety culture issues are the most effective ways to achieve "zero harm" goals.
We have identified priority areas for the development of HSE training: implementing active interactions in the learning process, forming a mentoring system, developing and implementing virtual reality simulators, creating software products, and holding competitive events.
Active forms of employee training were used in the development of HSE assessment sessions. An assessment session includes discussions, case studies, searching for safe solutions, analyzing an educational film, a "speaking before the crew" exercise, and a business game.
The structure of the assessment session is built on a modular principle, and specific modules are selected by the organizer based on the educational tasks, the level of training and activity of the students, their mobility, and the technical equipment of the unit. Thus, an assessment session can be conducted in person, in a blended format, or remotely using distance learning and monitoring tools; the duration and layout of the training modules are also determined by the organizer.
The main task of the assessment session is to foster "safe thinking" and, consequently, "safe actions" among employees. Our experience shows that the formation of "safe thinking" is possible only through direct contact with the employee during the training and feedback process.
The following tools are used to assess the level of employee training during the assessment session:
At the first stage, it was decided to extend the assessment sessions to middle managers, as the safety of work and the formation of attitudes toward HSE issues in the team largely depend on them.
Assessment sessions were organized at the specialized railway university — the Russian University of Transport (RUT (MIIT)) with the involvement of professional trainers from the "Institute of Continuous Development."
The next step was the training of assessment session moderators from among the HSE specialists of RZD units. As a rule, moderators are specialists who are themselves interested in promoting modern training methods and forming a safety culture in the workplace. A separate training program was developed for moderator preparation.
Unified tools for conducting assessment sessions include: a model training program, a presentation, a middle manager's workbook, an expert questionnaire, test questions, a set of developed cases, and a business game script.
Following the implementation of projects related to the introduction of innovative forms of training, we summarized the results over 5 years.
1,334 moderators have been trained in person and remotely, and about 17,000 middle managers have completed assessment sessions. An automated system — an Information and Educational Environment for planning and conducting assessment sessions — has been created. Over 30,000 system users have been registered, and 257 training cases have been uploaded for use in the educational process.
During this period, industrial injuries in the company were reduced by 35%, including a 14% reduction in fatalities and a 43% reduction in severe outcomes. Undoubtedly, achieving this result was the sum of many factors and areas of work, and training is certainly among them.
What problems did we encounter?
First: despite the significant number of trained moderators, we can say that there is a turnover of HSE specialists; furthermore, we saw that remote training for moderators is ineffective. Practice and immersion in the process of conducting an assessment session are necessary.
Second: we do not always understand the quality of the assessment sessions conducted on-site.
To improve the quality of moderator training and the efficiency of assessment sessions, it was proposed to: develop a one-day assessment session program, actively use moderator internships instead of remote training, and use mobile training tools to increase employee coverage, including in remote units.
Russian Railways used HSE cars for certain types of training and inspections. We set a goal for these cars to become a full-fledged part of the HSE management system and to promote new types of training, including assessment sessions. Currently, 14 HSE cars are in operation at RZD.
The use of mobile tools in the HSE management system is particularly relevant for the company, as it operates 2,500 structural units across 85,600 kilometers of railway tracks. At the same time, a number of units are significantly remote from training centers and parent organizations, and modern training tools are not available everywhere on-site.
To successfully resolve the identified issues, the following are necessary: a mobile training tool — an HSE car; an expert who can assess the functioning of the HSE management system and train employees, including in first aid; simulators and training programs.
To maximize the use of mobile tools in improving the safety culture, an updated Regulation on the HSE Car was approved. The HSE car is defined as a full-fledged element of the HSE management system; its work planning is based on a risk-oriented approach, an effectiveness assessment has been introduced, and the possibility of working across several railways is provided.
The mobile complex crew consists of the HSE car manager and attendants. The car manager conducts HSE audits and inspections, preventive talks, employee surveys, and training, including practicing safe work methods and techniques, first aid, and assessment sessions.
Next, Technical Requirements for the updated HSE car were approved, including the following innovations: the classroom area was increased through remodeling; the orientation of the tables was changed — whereas before they were arranged like a classroom and bolted to the floor, now folding furniture is used to expand the space for classes, including first aid and the use of simulators. The set includes VR simulators with pre-installed sensors on the car, which avoids a large number of wires on the floor. Equipment includes an interactive panel, a first aid simulator, and training programs.
Events for students of educational institutions, primarily schools, are also held in the HSE car to prevent injuries to citizens at railway infrastructure facilities.
The "Knowledge Train" project is being implemented on the South Ural Railway, aimed at preventing child injuries with the participation of the HSE car. For this project, a robot and VR simulators were purchased; children's training takes place in a playful way with the participation of actors from the Railway Workers' House of Culture in Chelyabinsk using life-size puppets and costumes.
The challenges of implementing the updated HSE car include increased cost, complexity, and time for work, and the need to develop a new project. The advantages consist of improving the effectiveness of the HSE management system, preventing industrial injuries, improving the quality of training and employee involvement in safety issues, increasing public safety, and economic efficiency from reducing employee travel costs.
This project will be useful to everyone who uses modular or mobile tools in the HSE management system, including for employee training, for companies with units in remote areas, and for educational institutions.